Chef Floriano Pellegrino On Experimental Dining & Creative Cuisine at BROS' – Interview

INTERVIEW

Tucked away within the Baroque churches and Roman amphitheatre of Lecce’s old town, BROS' offers an intimate ambience that complements its revolutionary culinary approach. Its warm wooden interiors, polished floors, and soft lighting create a discreet yet inviting atmosphere, setting the stage for an intimate gastronomic journey accompanied by modern music and nuanced service. This is the home for Chef Floriano Pellegrino and Isabella Potì.

Chef Floriano Pellegrino, born in 1990 in Scorrano, brings to BROS’ the essence of Italy’s heel — Salento. Growing up on a family farm, he developed a profound respect for sustainable, quality produce, which shaped his early culinary passion. Alongside rugby, which taught him discipline and focus, Chef Pellegrino’s journey led him beyond his regional roots to across the culinary world from Spain, France, Denmark and England.

Today, Chef Pellegrino, together with Isabella Potì, challenges dining norms with BROS’ daring and imaginative cuisine while blending deep-rooted regional influences with avant-garde cooking techniques. The restaurant, far from Italy’s bustling northern cities, defies its picturesque setting with a menu that challenges and delights the senses, securing its place as a beacon of innovative Italian cuisine.

1. How would you describe your path into becoming a chef?

My path becoming a chef could be described as challenging and arduous. There is always a lot to enjoy but also to learn in this job. When people ask me how I see my path past and future, I always like to say that this is not a 100-metre race but a marathon. As I said I think you never stop learning, but above all, you never stop making mistakes which teach you a lesson. It's all an enjoyment in the end because I work daily for what I believe in.

2. What inspired you to open BROS’ in Lecce, and how did your hometown influence the concept and cuisine of your restaurant?

When we were thinking of opening our restaurant, our first thought, mine and Isabella's, was not to open Bros' in Lecce. We have always been lucky enough to have international experiences, therefore we initially considered opening a restaurant in London. After some time being in London we realised that it was not a city that fully represented us, that identified our territory and what we wanted to convey. To open my own place was always driven by my desire to put myself in the’’ game’’. The city I grew up in, initially pushed me to want to see something else. And therefore, I had my answer. We knew that our homeland was the place. Still, once after opening I saw what was out there, it allowed me to realise how important it is to have an identity and concrete development of the creative process in such a globalised world. That’s what we do at BROS’.

"It's all an enjoyment in the end because I work daily for what I believe in." - Floriano Pellegrino, Chef & Co-Founder of BROS'

3. Can you share more about the philosophy behind BROS’ avant-garde cuisine and how you incorporate the taste of Puglia into your culinary creations?

The Bros' philosophy is inspired by Salento, Puglia and Italy in general and adds all the significant influences from our experiences around the world. This merge drives you to an unexpected and ‘’out of your comfort zone’’ experience. The Bros' philosophy is straightforward, but because it is essentially explicit, the creative process we carry out is that of the tasting background. We do not start from the ingredient or technique but first from identifying the taste of our own territory according to the seasons and the various facets of taste: salty, bitter, acetic acidity, citric, etc. So, everything goes through research and work ‘’behind the scenes’’ to get the final result which is the menu.

4. What advice would you give to aspiring chefs planning to open a restaurant together?

I would like to say that the first and most important thing to do when you decide to open a restaurant together with your partner in life or a partner chef is to have clear roles and, above all, not to confuse them. Another piece of advice is to build up each other's strengths because it will be a challenging journey while being exciting. Another essential factor is to have a clear, common goal from the start and to pursue it consistently.

Finally, I would say that my biggest advice to a young chef is to have a solid relationship with your team and a strong base within yourself, even if there are different points of view the goal shall always be common. This is a good way to cope with the difficulties of this path.

Still, once after opening I saw what was out there, it allowed me to realise how important it is to have an identity and concrete development of the creative process in such a globalised world. That’s what we do at BROS’. - Floriano Pellegrino, Chef & Co-Founder of BROS'

5. What do you want guests to feel and take away from their time at BROS’?

What we want is certainly to leave a memory in them. Still, more than anything else, what matters to us is to make our guests understand what we want to communicate, which is our cuisine, our way of seeing things, and our interpretation of our experiences. It’s definitely a different avant-garde way. Cooking is our form of expression, it's like art sometimes. For us is what we have chosen for ourselves in life and what we pursue therefore through cooking, we want to convey who we are, what we represent and above all we want to promote our territory. This is what we want our guests to take home: our point of view as chefs, the daring ideas of two young people, who have a lot of passion to expose the experiences and tastes we have identified in this journey.

All imagery is provided by Lotus International.

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