Enrico Dutto

Four Seasons Tenure

• Originally hired 2019; now since 2024
• First Four Seasons Position: Pastry Chef de Partie, Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait at Burj Alshaya

Employment History

• Chic Nonna, Dubai; Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait at Burj Alshaya; Palazzo Righini, Fossano, Italy; Zumbo Patisserie, Sydney; Miann, Auckland, New Zealand; CAST Alimenti, Brescia, Italy; LaMadia, Licata, Sicily; La Ciau del Tornavento, Treiso, Piedmont, Italy

Education

• Diploma, Istituto Donadio Dronero, Italy

Birthplace

• Fossano, Italy

Languages Spoken

• Italian, Spanish, English, French

“I like to go around to see the people here, take in the local way of life, and sample the products,” says Enrico Dutto of the inspirations he taps for the treats he fashions as Executive Pastry Chef of Four Seasons Resort Mallorca at Formentor. The goal of getting to know the island off the east coast of Spain isn’t about replicating but rather innovating on what he finds. “Dining and cultural traditions run deep on Mallorca. I want our pastry team to use what’s around us to envision elegant desserts for our guests.”

As a member of the Resort’s pre-opening team, Enrico began the latest chapter of his Four Seasons career busy, and he is bound to get busier. Working out of a well-equipped pastry kitchen that he played a role in assembling, he designs desserts for every food and beverage outlet on property – not least the signature all-day dining experience Mel serving farm-to-table Mediterranean fare, and the pool restaurant and bar Quiosc surrounded by greenery on the pool terrace.

He also oversees amenities for sweet-toothed guests, and the pastry courses for in-room dining and banqueting for meetings and events. Fortunately, he has a lot of experience designing wedding cakes, he says: “With the pine trees and the sea, this is a magical setting for matrimony.”

If all of that weren’t enough, Enrico will also develop menus for a signature Nikkei restaurant, an artisan ice cream shop, and a pastry shop that are due to begin welcoming guests during the Resort’s second year.

For the above, Enrico leads a team of about a dozen pastry chefs, including an overnight crew that creates all baked goods served onsite. While everyone shares a passion for tempting guest palates, Enrico takes his further through training and support, the better to spread his knowledge and shape the skills of pastry staff members for future success. Teamwork is the key, he says, noting his reliance on everyone to come up with new recipes and standards. “That’s the joy of opening a property: Everything is new, and the door is open for all of us to contribute.”

Inspired to the kitchen, like so many Italian chefs, by Sunday family lunches prepared by his grandparents, Enrico was always drawn to the sweet side of the kitchen. Born and raised in the Piedmont region of Italy, renowned for hazelnuts, wine, and culinary in general, he enjoyed playing with basic ingredients, including and especially chocolate. His parents were keen to his pursuing a culinary career, and his father arranged for him to work in the pastry kitchen of local hotel prior to trade school just to see how he liked it. “I did.”

After honing the fundamentals of pastry in Italy, Enrico pursued assignments around the world to “break out of” his box and grow culturally. His first stops were in New Zealand and Australia, where a big push for bakery items helped him develop new skills while the multicultural makeup of the cities where he lived widened his perspectives.

He later joined Four Seasons in Kuwait as the property was introducing new food and beverage concepts. He recalls the three-year assignment as a “really big step in terms of my professionalism” that paved the way for him to rejoin the company later in Mallorca. “Four Seasons culture of focusing on the employee experience as well as guests always seemed in tune with my own.”

Now right at home with Four Seasons again surrounded by sea instead of desert, Enrico is making the most of enjoying Mallorca with his family, as well as the island’s convenience to Italy. Not that he has much time to travel back home these days. “Pastry keeps me busy, but I’ll take any opportunity for new experiences.”