Valentino Salvi

The Essentials Italian cuisine is the base, and at Aida - vino e cucina in Istanbul, Turkey, Valentino Salvi applies it with tight control and little interest in slack execution. As Executive Chef, he works in a Michelin Bib Gourmand kitchen where the food is framed by detail: disciplined, measured, and built to hold together without excess. Dough sits at the center of that work. In fresh pasta, Salvi treats it as a technical standard rather than a background element, and he is explicit about the expectation: “I can confidently say that at Aida we serve one of the best doughs in the world in the fresh pasta category.” “I do not compromise on dough. Our dough is truly exceptional.”

Contrast is one of the clearest tools in Salvi’s kitchen. The Red onion tarte-tatin uses caramelized edge and savory depth to keep the plate moving; gorgonzola mousse and cooked pears set intensity against softness; Sheep neck risotto leans into grounded richness; mandarin, rosemary fondue brings brightness and aromatic lift; and Broth of porcini mushrooms, chestnuts, radishes and mini pak choi is built as a layered, seasonal composition where each element stays legible.

The through-line is clarity. Valentino Salvi’s cooking favors structure over clutter, letting ingredients keep their own character while still landing as a deliberate whole. That same approach shows up in his attention to fresh pasta dough, which he treats as a measure of kitchen discipline and a core part of the standard at Aida.