Gaetano Trovato Chef

The values of transparency,,innovation and balance that my brother Giovanni and I have inherited from our family are among those we have adopted in my kitchen; our aim is to convey quality without glitz

Born in Sicily, Gaetano Trovato at the age of six moved with his large family of 5 brothers and sisters to Colle di Val d’Elsa.
Gaetano’s career begins with the poorest but nevertheless most symbolic food ever: bread

In the summer holidays, to add to the household income, I started working in a bakery near my home in the old town of Colle di Val d’Elsa. This bakery made bread with sourdough starter and cooked it in an old wood-burning oven; I remember that you could smell the freshly made bread in all the nearby streets. This experience left an indelible mark that continues to influence my cooking and, even now, we serve our own bread to our customers, twice a day.

A few years later, Gaetano moved away from the province of Siena.  He started his career in Rimini, Turin and Switzerland.  He then moved to France where he began his training in haute cuisine with the founding father of nouvelle cuisine Roger Vergè and the pastry chef Gaston Lenotre. Before starting his own business, Gaetano had the opportunity to work in Sarzana with Angelo Paracucchi where “ he learnt how to bring flavor to life”

Gaetano’s many achievements over the years have now culminated in the opening in 2022 of the new Arnolfo in Colle di Val d’Elsa, at a new location, in its 40th anniversary year.

What we offer is simple and honest taste. Our traditional approach to pastry making optimizes the characteristics of the main ingredients, revisiting classic methods, then, by adding secondary ingredients we create new and surprising sensorial experiences.