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| Enrico Olivieri, left, and his wife Filippa Fiorenza run the Sicilian restaurant Ciuri Ciuri in western Seoul. They pose for a photo after an interview with The Korea Times, Thursday, at the restaurant. / Korea Times Photo by Lee Gyu-lee |
By Lee Gyu-lee
Pizza and pasta are common dishes known in Korea to represent Italian cuisine. But, the owner of Italian restaurant Ciuri Ciuri, located near Hongik University in western Seoul, says Italian food is a lot more than just those two.
Chef Enrico Olivieri, 51, and his wife Filippa Fiorenza, 49, run the Sicilian restaurant together.
Opened in 2014, the restaurant received three forks in 2017 on Italian wine and food guide Gambero Rosso, which is equivalent to three stars on the Michelin Guide for Italian restaurants. The interior of the restaurant features the ocean-like theme of Italy's largest island Sicily with blue walls and hand-crafted accessories on a fishing net.
"I hope to introduce regional Italian food and spread the culture among Koreans," he said during an interview with The Korea Times at the restaurant, Thursday.
Originally from Rome, Olivieri came to Korea for a wine business in 2008. He worked as a sommelier at a fine-dining Italian restaurant and as a consultant for a wine trading company until he opened his restaurant with Fiorenza five years ago.
"We started to think of doing something together in Korea. That means sharing our tradition with the Korean people," he said.
Sicily is where he first met his wife, a local Sicilian, in 2006. He was a graduate student studying for a master's degree in the wine business. Most of the restaurant's Sicilian dishes ― including the restaurant's signature dish arancini ― are made in accordance with the home recipes from Fiorenza's family.
"We provide our customers with the real home food (that Italians eat)," Olivieri said. "We want to introduce the regional Italian dishes and make them more familiar to Koreans."
Italy has 20 regions, each with its own distinctive delicacies. "Each region has a different tradition and specific cuisine, depending on where they are originated, special taste and tradition," he said, emphasizing that tradition is essential in Italian culture.
When he started living in Korea, he said he was disappointed to see Italian restaurants that were commonly considered upscale and too generalized. "Italian cuisine should not be fixated as upscale and luxurious. So I wanted to make it more accessible to people as there is a lot more to the cuisine than being high-end."
Its richness in flavor and diverse ingredients make Sicilian cuisine unique from others. To bring out the traditional taste and richness of the cuisine, Olivieri uses strict and high standards in food preparation.
"When I cook, all I think about is the quality and the authenticity of the food to get them as the exact taste of local Sicilian dishes as possible."
Olivieri says cooking means more than just the food, but also introducing the tradition and the culture of where the food originated. He takes great pride in introducing Italy's regional culture to Koreans. Some of his customers become interested in traveling to Italy and ask for recommendations of places to visit during their trip.
"I want to act as a window of Italy for Koreans to help them grasp and to make them curious about the real Italian culture," he said. "It is the culture that I came from and it can't be compared with those who only try to offer general Italian food."
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