Meet Piersimone D’anna | Chef de cuisine

We had the good fortune of connecting with Piersimone D’anna and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Piersimone, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I am still far away from success, but I believe that success doesn’t happen overnight, but with hard work, effort, dedication, and above all the passion I put into what I do every day, I am sure that in just a matter of time sooner or later success will be within my reach. It may seem like a trivial answer, but I believe success can be achieved by changing our mentality and by broadening our way of thinking.
I live in Los Angeles, the city of opportunities where you can meet a waiter who may become a celebrity in a year, or even have a coffee at Starbucks and sit next to a future bestselling author. I work hard every day because one day I would like to be successful. I have no dreams but goals and I work really hard to achieve them.

My goals, determination, and eagerness will lead to the success of my brand. Everyone struggles and faces difficulties at all times, but for me I used my life struggles as my motivation and overcome it with my determination. This is who I am, I will never give up, and I will reach my success.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The passion for cooking was passed on to me by my mother because she too is a fabulous cook. Since I was a child I was always inspired by being in the kitchen, learning how to cook and sometimes I even followed her to work to help and learn new techniques in the kitchen, I saw it as my playground. My first real job was when I was 18 years old I worked in a pizzeria near my home where I started delivering pizzas on the weekends. During my free time on the weekdays I would go to the pizzeria and learn how to make pizzas for free. Once I graduated from high school my passion for cooking grew, and I decided to pursue this dream in England. It was a struggle at first, I wasn’t ready to become an adult, i was facing a big change in my life, from being a carefree boy to learning how to be adult, it was a struggle mentally and physically. Because of this, I almost got fired three times from my job, I was still acting like a kid, but I had a blessing and thanks to my first chef and employer who believed in me and my potential he never fired me. He helped me changed my mentality and perspective in life, it was a great trade and I still stay in contact with him after all this years.

After two years in this restaurant I decided to try to make a big leap of fate and I went to work in a star michelin Scandinavian restaurant, “Aquavit” here I started as a commis chef. Despite working in the the kitchen for two years, I thought I already knew a lot of things, but in reality aquavit made me realized that I have not yet seen anything in the real kitchen industry. I was amazed by many things, for example how peeling a carrot in different ways can change the result in cooking and plating. I worked in this restaurant for six months but it expanded my learning in the culinary industry. I had to quit because I was working 12 to 17 hours a day, and the small amount of time I was there, I didn’t even get to know the people I was working with, we were all just busy with work, and just went home right after.

After this experience I decided to go back home to Italy and work in my country. I found a job at Emporio Armani Cafe in Milan. I worked as a chef de partie at the pasta station, the pressures and demands were quite high, it was my first time in this position and my patience was put into test, and I learned how to manage my time so I can work efficiently without making any mistakes as much as possible to keep up with what my chef asked me to do. I was able to learned a lot in this restaurant, and grew as an individual.

In terms of cooking and the people I worked with it was fantastic, I couldn’t complain the only problem that went through my head was, “I’m young and I don’t want to stay in one place I want to grow and discover new places, and a few months later I received a job response to an offer that I had sent a couple months before going back to Italy. This job offer was for Disney in Orlando. I was very excited and thrilled to go to the United States, that I accepted the offer without reading my contract and knowing the job position I was getting into. A few months later I flew to the United States to start working at Disney, unfortunately I was not expecting the position I was given too. But the great part of this experience was not the job but the people I met throughout this experience and it is still the best years of my life, I was able to build good relationship with everyone.

After the year and a half of my contract in the United States I decided to go to London but unfortunately I realized that even if I loved London it was no longer the right city for me, and so I moved to Monte Carlo to spend the summer in an excellent Italian restaurant on the sea, “La Vigie” here I worked a lot on the grill and in this kitchen we always get fresh fishes, and I learned how to butcher and properly clean out different kinds of seafood.

After this experience I had another great idea in my head that I wanted to do, and that was to go to Australia. So I packed my bags and went to Sydney Australia. I stayed there for a few months and worked in a restaurant called “Otto”. Unfortunately I did not learn from my chef in this restaurant, after working and learning from my previous job, I did not see my chef as a great leading. After a couple of months I decided to move to Perth another city in Australia. At this time the pandemic broke out and I was lucky to have some friends that welcomed me at their home. A couple months pass by and I was able to go back home to Italy. I was able to get a job during the pandemic in Monte Carlo at a restaurant called “Caffe Milano” as a chef de partie, working all the stations in the kitchen. But because of the pandemic the restaurant had to shut down and I was jobless for the time being. After a couple months I received a call from an old chef of mine informing me that they needed staff at the four season in Los Angeles, I was very excited and accepted the offer right away. We started the visa procedures right away. Unfortunately due to covid the procedure was longer than expected. While waiting for my visa, I was able to find a job in a good restaurant in Italy who needed help for a part time position which helped me saved up enough money. By November 2021 I was able to fly out to Los Angeles and worked for four seasons. I worked all the kitchen station and I brought in the Italian cooking tradition and everything I learned from my previous kitchens. After six months I realized that this kitchen is not the right place to learn and grow. Through some acquaintances I found Spring Place Beverly Hills, an excellent members only club that offers a restaurant inside the facility, where I am currently working now. I find this place giving me a good opportunity to grow as a better chef.

One of my daily difficulties is worrying about my family and friends, not being able to see my brothers children, and having the idea of my mother getting older and not knowing if she needs help. The time difference of having my whole family across the world, by the time I get off work my mother is still sleeping. The struggle of dreaming of the American dream, being able to live life as an adult. But at the end of the day I think about my home which is Italy. At the end of the day, I am choosing my own path and happiness, and I find happiness here in Los Angeles. Having the money and freedom, being able to live carefree and travel whenever I can.

I am very proud of my accomplishes, started working from a pizzeria to coming to work here in Beverly Hills is a ones man dream, but I know this is not my stopping point and I will keep pushing my goals, and I am more excited for what the future brings into my life.

Throughout this journey, I learned that nothing is easy to accomplish, but with hard work and dedication you can make everything happen. I believe that one of the biggest risks is to leave your comfort zone and venture and explore into the unknown. This is the only way to get involved and achieve results that you can ever imagine as an individual.

My goals, determination, and eagerness will lead to the success of my brand. Everyone struggles and faces difficulties at all times, but for me I used my life struggles as my motivation and overcome it with my determination. This is who I am, I will never give up.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friends comes and visits for a week long trip. I would show them the different cities of California. I am not originally from here, but I fell in love with the beautiful weather, people of Los Angeles. I would try and show them to have the best time of their lives by having them go to Santa Monica to see the beach and take a picture at the iconic route 66 sign in Santa Monica, from the pier we would bar hop and enjoy the day and walk down to Venice Beach and see the local arts, and different street performers we have. I would also take my best friend hiking up to the observatory to have a good look of the Hollywood sign. I would also take my best friend to Hollywood, to see the famous walk of fame with all the famous stars. Would also recommend driving up to San Diego and visit the Sea World to see Shamu, from their id take them to the gas lamp, and would definitely go jet skiing around the San Diego bay. Stay at the hotels in San diego with the beach view. From San Diego we’d drive up to San Francisco, visit the golden gate and see the alcatraz, knowing the history is always good. Have a good clam chowder at the fisherman’s wharf, and take a good picture at the lombard street. For me having a good drive to see the scenic views on your drive is the best thing one person can experience. You can have a stop over at local mom and pop shops, and be surprise of other peoples stories.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to dedicate this interview to my family who continuously supported me throughout my life, making sure I never miss a thing, and not doubting any decisions I made in life. My parents raised me with great values and education that allowed me to be the person I am today. I would also like to dedicate this interview to my closest friends because they motivated me and help me envision my future.I am a fantastic person but I know that I am not easy to deal with, for the people who had dealt with me and the people who will meet me in the future, I would like to say thank you and dedicate this interview to all of you. I would like to close this answer by saying that in the end for for any reason, one way or the other, we all need someone not relationship ways, but to guide us in our daily life.

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