A top Italian chef will be bringing his vast skills to the Little Venice group over the next four weeks.

Executive guest chef Stefano Tabacchi, along with his gifted sous chef Massimo Canzian, will be ‘in house' at the group's Hamilton restaurants - La Trattoria, The Harbourfront, Little Venice and La Coquille - on various dates between today and March 23 as the restaurants plan their new seasonal menus.

“We decided to invite these world class chefs to work alongside our own executive chefs to develop a new dimension of dishes to offer our valued clients,” the Little Venice Group said in a release.

Mr. Tabacchi can rightly claim his place amongst the top echelon of Italian chefs, having served presidents and celebrities alive, including George W. Bush, Silvio Berlusconi, Bill Gates, Michael Jackson and Luciano Pavarotti, as well as having acted as a consultant for restaurant openings around the world.

He is also a repeat guest on many radio and TV programmes in Italy and other parts of the world.

“Mr. Tabacchi's reputation speaks for itself and we have been lucky enough to have him as our guest before he goes on to open yet another restaurant,” said Little Venice.

Born in Pieve di Cadore, the 40-year-old has accumulated an incredible amount of professional expertise, which allows him to be one ofthe best interpreters of modern Italian cuisine.

He has worked in many prestigious Italian establishments, including Miramonti - Majestic Hotel on Cortina d' Ampezzo, l'Hotel Majestic in Rome, The Royal Sporting Hotel in Portovenere and l'Hotel Hassler - Villa Medici in Rome.

He has also opened a number of highly prized Italian restaurants around the world, including Ristorante Italianissimo in Seattle, Settebello in Chicago (opened in 1995) and George and Ray in Tokyo in 1997.

Mr. Tabacchi has achieved great success at various culinary competitions with a Honours Diploma in Culinary Arts at the International Fair of Colinary Art (Art Culinaire International) in Switzerland in 1987, top place in the Italian Championships of Culinary arts (Campianato Italiano d' Arte Culinaria) in 1993 and first place in the Academy of Kitchen Excellence (Accademico di Cucina Eccellente) in 1996.

He believes in a combination of attention to the selection of ingredients, always ensuring freshness and using genuine produce, a choreography achieved by artistic display, allowing for a seductive appearance, culminating in the ability to fully stimulate the taste buds.

This combination brought him to the attention of the producers of RAI TV in Italy (the country's premier channel) and he now regularly appears in food shows on the network, in shows called Sereno Variabile, Scacco Matto and Uno Mattina.

He is also known on various radio programmes throughout Italy on the Dina Luce Show and in many foreign countries as a culinary expert.

Mr. Canzian has worked with Mr. Tabacchi for the past ten years and they make a formidable team, supporting and encouraging the creative process within the exciting world of food preparation, appreciation and presentation.