Bizarre and sometimes manic demands: chef Falsini recounts his encounters with celebrities from around the world at the prestigious California property where he leads a red and green star restaurant. Among the most extreme cases was that of a well-known client “who demanded that every day-for breakfast, lunch, and dinner-I go to the balcony of his suite and prepare his meals live. He had to watch me physically cook; he didn't want anyone else to do it."
The Chef
He was just sixteen years old when he began his adventure in the kitchen: Roman by origin, passed from Felice a Testaccio to the conquest of the star at Harry's Bar, up to training with Ducasse, Massimo Falsini certainly needs no introduction. He himself, cosmopolitan in spirit, is now in charge of the gastronomic offerings at the five-star ultra-luxury Rosewood Miramar Beach in Montecito, having literally traveled the world thanks to his talent and love for food.
In his 30 years of dedication to the industry, laced with constant study and experimentation in Italy, Europe, Asia and North America, Falsini has moreover had the honor (in some cases burden, more like) of cooking for some of the world's most prominent celebrities. In a recent interview with Business Insider, he therefore revealed some anecdotes and the most unusual and bizarre requests he has found himself fulfilling. “I can make an ice cream, I can make a croissant, but I can also prepare a starred dish (his gourmet Caruso's boasts two stars, red and green, ed.). I have prepared buffets for 3,000 people. I cooked for 2,000 people in the middle of the desert. During the time I was an executive at the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai in Hawaii there was a regular customer who became very fond of my cooking. For one of his stays in the presidential suite, the guest booked on the condition that I would cook all his meals. So every day, for breakfast, lunch and dinner at the resort, I had to go to the balcony of his suite and prepare the corresponding meals. He had to watch me cook; he did not want anyone else to take care of his food. Unfortunately, I can't reveal the name of the guest, otherwise I would get in trouble, but I can tell you that he was a big, big big guy in the entertainment business,” he confides jokingly.
There was another customer, then, who had special demands regarding sitting in the restaurant: “This guest refused to sit in a previously used chair. His chair had to be new, only he could sit on it. So we bought him one, then packed and stored it; every year when he came back to the hotel, we opened that chair and showed it to him. Whichever restaurant he went to, we always brought the same chair." Another celebrity's request was also maniacal: "He wanted the fruit salad to consist exclusively of pieces cut into 2.5 cm squares and it had to be mixed in a certain way; I had to create a standard procedure for preparing it. Otherwise she would not have eaten it, she would have made a big mess and complained".
It is precisely the extravagances of the guests he has encountered from time to time that, despite his 30-year career, Chef Falsini is still enthusiastic and never tired of his work: “I have designed luxury hotels. I've designed resorts. I've designed theme parks. The beauty of food is that every day is a new day, and every day is different. That's why I feel like I've never worked a day in my life. People, when they are celebrities, probably travel a lot. They probably eat out a lot. They probably entertain a lot. So when they come here with their family or partner, they just want to have fun. They just want to relax and eat really good, simple food."
