Born in Sarno in 1981, Giuseppe Mancino has led Il Piccolo Principe at the Grand Hotel Principe di Piemonte since 2005. He earned the first Michelin star in 2008 and a second in 2014—then Italy’s youngest two-star chef—maintaining both through the 2025 Guide.
Raised among the produce markets of the Agro-Nocerino district, Giuseppe Mancino studied at Salerno’s hospitality school before seasonal posts in Sardinia, Switzerland and the Côte d’Azur shaped his classical rigor and Mediterranean sensitivity. In 2005 he arrived in Versilia as executive chef of Il Piccolo Principe, then open only to hotel guests.
Just three years later he took the restaurant to its first star (November 2008)—a Versilian hotel first—followed by the second in 2014, making him Italy’s youngest two-starred chef that year. Michelin has reconfirmed the two stars annually through 2025, evidencing steady evolution.
His cooking balances Mediterranean aromas with French technique: crystal-clear fish juices, biodynamic vegetables from a nearby partner farm, second-perfect timings. Signature dishes such as Gillardeau oyster with fermented cucumber, green apple & seaweed; Wild-herb risotto with cuttlefish and zimino sauce; and Turbot with veal marrow and charred lettuce showcase lightness, umami and precision.
Mancino runs a circular kitchen: compost enriches the farm’s soil, three seasonal tasting menus—one vegetarian—highlight Tuscan biodiversity. The cellar, curated with head sommelier Michele Angiolini, lists 1,200 labels, favoring grower Champagne and major Tuscan whites.
A regular at Identità Golose, he appears at events such as Care’s – The Ethical Chef Days and teaches masterclasses on clean extractions and seaweed fermentation; in 2024 he joined Euro-Toques Italia as a coastal-sustainability ambassador.
“Ingredient respect, pinpoint cooking, calibrated acidity—that’s how I tell the story of my sea and land,” the discreet chef says, making Il Piccolo Principe an essential stop for understanding Italy’s new classicism.
