i. Biography
Coming Up
Fine-dining discipline in Italy is often built through repetition inside kitchens where timing, restraint, and finish are non-negotiable. Claudio Mengoni’s early work alongside Andrea Berton at Il Ristorante Trussardi alla Scala placed him in that register, where precision and contemporary Italian elegance were part of the daily language. Further stages alongside Gaetano Trovato at Arnolfo Restaurant, alongside Andrea Migliaccio at L’Olivo, Capri Palace, and then at Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence, extended that training across different rooms, expectations, and service pressures. The through-line is a vocabulary formed by rigor rather than display. Produce, timing, balance, and restraint carry more weight than gesture in this kind of cooking. Across those kitchens, Mengoni absorbed a way of working that keeps national tradition in view while allowing research, refinement, and a contemporary hand to shape the plate. Authorship in a hotel dining room requires the same technical base, but with clearer responsibility for continuity and identity. As chef at Hotel Aldrovandi / Assaje in Villa Borghese (2016–2019), Mengoni moved from collaboration into a more defined voice. That period gave practical shape to a style marked by composure, attention to local ingredients, and controlled expression. Florentine fine dining asks for confidence without excess: the setting carries its own weight, and the cooking has to answer it without leaning on scenery. Today, Claudio is Executive Chef, Hotel Lungarno and Ristorante Borgo San Jacopo of Lungarno Collection (since 2019). Since 2019, the work there has continued in a rooted, elegant, quietly ambitious register.
The Work Today
Refined contemporary cooking from the peninsula depends on selection, sequence, and control more than ornament. The philosophy here is direct: authentic and sincere cooking built on carefully selected produce, creative dishes, rigor, extensive knowledge, continuous research, and new processing techniques. On the plate, that means clarity of texture, acidity used with intention, and familiar Italian references carried into a modern frame. Vegetable work is treated as structure, not garnish. Cooked and raw vegetables with porcini mushroom ice cream and fig molasses is described as an unmissable dish, built on contrast: fresh and earthy, cool and sweet, garden and woodland. The plate shows Mengoni’s interest in vegetables as protagonists rather than background material. The meat cookery reads tradition through refinement. Suckling pig in porchetta with salsify, shallot in port, and Dijon mustard draws on the memory of porchetta while tightening it into a composed plate. Salsify brings delicacy, shallot in port adds sweetness and gloss, and Dijon mustard gives lift and definition. The seafood register is concentrated without abandoning comfort.
Signature
Signature dishes include Suckling pig with roast pork, Calamarata pasta with redfish, and Suckling pig in porchetta with salsify.
Credentials
Recognition here is tied to craft continuity rather than publicity. Claudio's honors include First Michelin star (2016). That sits within a career built through demanding kitchens, a defined period as chef at Hotel Aldrovandi / Assaje in Villa Borghese (2016–2019), and the continuing role as Executive Chef, Hotel Lungarno and Ristorante Borgo San Jacopo of Lungarno Collection (since 2019).
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Claudio
What role does Claudio Mengoni hold?
Claudio Mengoni is chef at Borgo San Jacopo — Italian, Modern Cuisine.
Where did Claudio Mengoni work before?
Earlier in their career, Claudio Mengoni worked at Il Ristorante Trussardi alla Scala, Arnolfo Restaurant, and L’Olivo, Capri Palace.
What recognition has Claudio Mengoni received?
First Michelin star (2016).
