Keisha Shakespeare-Blackmore, Staff Reporter

Chef Tardi and Carlene Jackson, pastry chef at Sandals Dunn's River, displaying her Blue Mountain espresso mousse cup with tropical fruit couli.

Antonio Tardi , executive chef at the Sandals Dunn's River Villaggio Golf Resort, is Italian by birth but he just loves Jamaican cuisine.

The 33-year-old chef left Naples, Italy, for the island over a year ago to take up duties at the new Italian-inspired resort. Chef Tardi has been in the food industry for the last 18 years and has paid his due over the period.

"I inherited my passion for cooking from my father, Joseph Tardi, who held the reins of the kitchen in our family. As a result, I developed a love for cooking and decided to pursue it as a career," Tardi told Food.

Essential tips

The journey to the present began when, at age 16, he applied for his first job at a restaurant in his homeland. For this job, he arrived in short pants and was told he could not make it as a chef dressed the way he was. He eventually got the job after he was lectured by the chef on proper attire and other essential tips.

In 1990, Tardi went to the Instituto di Stresa in Lago Maggiore where he did a bachelor's degree, graduating with honours five years later.

Subsequently, he worked in several of Europe's finest hotels and restaurants including: the two-star Michelin; Restaurant San Domenico in Inola, Italy; the one-star Michelin La Grand Cascade in Paris, and as executive chef at the Grand Hotel Quisisansa in Capri, Italy.

Over the years, Tardi has also had the opportunity to work under famed Italian chefs Gualtiero Marchesi, who pioneered Italian nouvelle cuisine and Alfonso Iaccarino who was recently named Italy's Chef of the Year.

Enthusiastic chef

About 17 months ago, the enthusiastic chef met a Sandals representative who was searching for a new Italian chef. "I interviewed, got the job in the Il Capitano Italian Restaurant at the resort and within eight months I was promoted to executive chef," he said.

The chef notes that he always finds a job not for the money but because he loves cooking and every day presents a new experience.

I love Italian cuisine but I no longer eat just bread and pasta," he revealed. Now he has a love for spicy dishes and all Jamaican foods. "You can use your fantasy and mix the foods of both cultures like ackee with calamari," he said.