i. Biography
The cooking works from direct, tactile materials: rabbit ragu folded through tagliatelle with girolles, octopus charred against tomato relish, purple potato cut with lime, cauliflower set against salsa verde, tahini and turmeric. In Mariano Russo’s plates, a familiar base is often shifted by acid, smoke, spice, or a sharply drawn sauce. Mediterranean warmth meets Asian inflection without losing rustic texture; ingredients keep their edges, and refinement comes through balance rather than polish for its own sake.
The Climb
Kitchen progression in London is often built by station work, repetition, service pressure, and the discipline of moving between dining formats. Mariano Russo trained at Liceo Scientifico before entering that sequence across savoury and pastry, neighbourhood dining and hotel dining, Italian sensibility and broader contemporary cooking. The early roles show a cook developing range inside professional London kitchens. Russo was Sous Chef at Number Twelve Restaurant & Bar (2007–2008), then Sous Chef and Pastry Chef at Mennula Restaurant (2008–2010). That savoury-and-pastry pairing matters in the work that followed: depth, measure, texture, and finish are not separate habits. He continued as Sous Chef at Shoreditch House (2010–2011), then worked as Chef De Partie at Gordon Ramsay Restaurants (2011–2011), in a setting associated with exacting standards and tight execution. Italian-inflected cooking remained part of the line of development. Russo was Sous Chef at Il Baretto (2011–2012), then moved into kitchen leadership as Head Chef at Bar Trattoria Semplice (2012–2013). The move from support role to Head Chef was followed by a longer period as Sous Chef at Tozi Restaurant (2013–2016), where consistency across repeated services would have been central. In 2016, he became Head Chef at Blakes Hotel London, United Kingdom (2016–2022), bringing that accumulated discipline into one of London’s distinctive hotel dining rooms. The current chapter keeps the London through-line intact. Mariano is Executive Chef of CACCIARI'S LIMITED (since 2022) and Executive Chef of Blakes. The record is not built around a single break; it is built through kitchens, roles, and responsibilities that have shaped a tactile, flavour-led, cosmopolitan style.
The Work Today
Asian Fusion cuisine at Blakes in London, United Kingdom, is handled as an exchange between structures rather than a collision of references. In Russo’s current specialty, Mediterranean cooking supplies the base: pasta, slow-cooked meat, roots, brassicas, herbs, and familiar savour. Asian influences adjust the seasoning logic, changing how acidity lands, how sauces carry heat or depth, and how a plate is lifted instead of weighted. The menu works through cross-currents that require control. Rabbit ragu folded through tagliatelle with girolles stays grounded in richness and earth; the mushrooms bring woodland depth, the pasta carries the sauce, and texture does as much work as flavour. Octopus charred against tomato relish is built on contrast: marine firmness, grill edge, tomato brightness. Purple potato cut with lime brings acid to a humble root. Cauliflower set against salsa verde, tahini and turmeric brings nuttiness, herbaceous sharpness, and warm spice into the same frame. The through-line is balance rather than allegiance to one technique.
Credentials
Recognition for Blakes on Opinionated About Dining's Casual Europe list (2025) and Opinionated About Dining's Casual Europe list (2024) places Mariano Russo’s work within a European casual-dining context where identity, atmosphere, and kitchen clarity are measured together.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Mariano
What does Mariano Russo currently do?
Mariano Russo is chef at Blakes — Asian Fusion.
Where did Mariano Russo train or study?
Mariano Russo trained at Liceo Scientifico.
What recognition has Mariano Russo received?
Blakes ranked on Opinionated About Dining's Casual Europe list (2025).
