Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait at Burj Alshaya

Four Seasons Tenure

• Since 2022
• First Four Seasons Assignment: Current

Employment History

• Baglioni Resort, Maldives; Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Taipei, Taiwan; The Westin Siray Bay Resort & Spa Phuket, Thailand; Armani Ristorante, Armani Hotel, Dubai; Palazzo Viva, Kuala Lumpur; Cast Alimenti International Academy, Italy

Education

• Isituto Tecnico Alberghiero Santa Cesarea Terme, Italy

Birthplace

• Lecce, Italy

Languages Spoken

• Italian, English, French and Spanish

Helping with his cousin’s catering business when he was just a shy 12-year-old – and turning down beach trips with friends to hone his culinary skills – was the first sign of the commitment that has driven Chef Luigi Frassanito’s career to date. Soon, the youngster was working every day after school “learning the basics,” often until 11:00 pm, with his sights set on mastering his craft and sharing the cuisine of his homeland with the world.  

“From a young age I loved planning my career and my future,” Chef Luigi muses, remembering the big dreams of a boy from a little Italian seaside village. With a taste for luxury inspired by the restaurant of a local high-end casino, he knew he wanted to work his way up to the best hospitality brands.

Having gained his hotel management diploma and several years’ experience in Italy, he set off for France – despite not knowing a word of the language. Within nine months, he was not only fluent but fully immersed in the life around him. “I love travelling because I don’t just learn about a job – I learn about a culture,” he says. “It’s an opportunity to experience life differently and opens your mind to new tastes and ingredients.”

Meeting and working with people from all over the world has also informed his leadership style. “To get the best out of my team, I need to understand where they come from,” he says, with his characteristic humility. “That way I can help steer them in their own direction, not mine.”

Luigi’s dedication to learning the culinary arts has taken him to top restaurants across the globe from France and Netherlands to Malaysia, UAE, Taiwan and Thailand. As he drew on the traditions and ingredients of each location, he began to develop a style uniquely his own – one he describes as cucina libera or “free cuisine." “It’s a direction and style that I created myself as it allows me to devise recipes on my own without being connected to any cooking styles or combinations,” he explains. “Every dish within this style is unique.”

Having spent the last decade developing his skillset to secure a coveted Four Seasons role – a 10-year goal of his – Chef Luigi’s warmth and creativity have found the perfect home in the casual elegance and upbeat vibes of Dai Forni at Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait. Here, beneath the huge copper-sheathed wood-burning ovens that give the restaurant its name, classic Italian comfort food finds new levels of taste thanks to "secret cucina libera" ingredients, which may be as simple as incorporating Asian ingredients into authentic Italian dishes to create a unique richness of flavour.

When he’s not crafting free cuisine, Luigi can be found exploring. “Give me a bag and the freedom to travel and I’m at my happiest,” he enthuses. From motorbiking to rice farms and remote village markets in Thailand to visiting oolong tea makers in Taiwan, he loves “to see everything” of each country through its people and producers.