Italian name: CARLO
Graduated: IL CUOCO – ALMA 10^ edition
Location: POHANG
Restaurant: CENTRO
Favourite dish: PESCE AL CARTOCCIO & BOLGOGI
Carlo, what do you do today?
Today I own a restaurant: it’s called “CENTRO”. I worked with my friend Mapo for a year in his restaurant. When I told him that I wanted to open my own restaurant he said: – I am the “L’ANGOLO” (the angle), you do “CENTRO” (the center) – this is how the name was born.
Tell us more about “CENTRO”.
I opened it in Pohang, near the sea, an area similar to Puglia in Italy. I’ve opened it about 6 years ago, it hosts 26 guests. I specialize in Italian Cuisine: the main dish is “pesce al cartoccio”, a fish baked in foil. Two people are currently working with me in the kitchen and one person is serving in the dining room.
You also went through the difficulties of the pandemic. How did it go?
We were also open, we managed to work. Fortunately, we never got sick.
What did you do before coming to ALMA?
I studied at university, Science Faculty, I was a student in electronic engineering. But that was not my path: I left university and went to Seoul to work in the kitchen, because that was my dream. I worked for 2 years, to save money to come and study in Italy.
Tell us something about your experience in ALMA.
It taught me so much! I made a lot of friends, I was very happy. I had the chance to do an internship in Bolzano and a second internship on the island of Ischia. I really enjoyed it, seeing both the Alps and the Mediterranean Sea, because they were such different environments, but both equally beautiful.
Tell us about your future: what’s next for “CENTRO”?
I love pizza. I would like to include pizza in my menu and install a wood-fired oven. Sometimes also Italians come and eat in my restaurant, because there are international companies in this area that have employees from all over the world. I enjoy practicing and speaking Italian, but I speak little with them, because I am always working in the kitchen.
