He wants to create the Amazon of ‘made in Italy’: Stefano Balsamo on building an Italian culinary empire and why he is finally putting his face out there
- Stefano Balsamo is CEO and executive chef of The Italian Club online platform, which has just launched a flagship fine-dining restaurant in Central, Hong Kong
- The entrepreneur, who once ran multiple restaurants in Hong Kong, has his sights set on building more than just a series of places to eat out
After a long day managing his successful food portal The Italian Club, Stefano Balsamo likes nothing more than to de-stress by working in a hot, busy kitchen.
“Being in the kitchen allows me to realise nobody can sell Italian products better than me,” says Balsamo, who is CEO of the company by day and its executive chef by night. “I really care about the origin of ingredients and I always want to be in this position as executive chef of the group.”
Balsamo, born to a Sicilian family that moved to the city of Monza – just northeast of Milan – when he was a child, operates one of Hong Kong’s most successful Italian food and product e-platforms.
He launched the first version of The Italian Club in the shape of a few small, under-the-radar restaurants in 2017, but it has since developed a huge presence online and on social media. There has been nary a food lover who has not been served a sponsored post or two from the brand offering items such as burrata and Parma ham.
