Martin Lazarov, 29 years old, former personal chef of Valentino and of the great Milanese families: «You earn up to 15 thousand euros a month but you have no working hours. I chose Sicily”

«For a year I was the personal chef of Valentino and his family. In the fabulous castle of Wideville, in Crespières, near Paris, where the designer who created one of the most famous brands in the world lives. A generous person, a great esthete. Working for him, in the French castle and other luxurious residences in London, Rome and New York, made me grow and mature. No school could match him.” Martin Lazarov, a 29-year-old chef of recognized talent, with Milan in his heart, tells it: he lives there a few months a year and considers it the most stimulating and competitive stage for haute cuisine (which is not dead, as some claim: it has only changed way of presenting yourself).

Born in Voghera on 11 May 1932, Valentino Garavani – defined in Matt Tyrnauer’s documentary The Last Emperor to celebrate 45 astonishing years of career and by the International Herald Tribune, in 1967, as “the Rolls Royce of fashion” – lives like a prince. It’s not easy working for him: he always demands maximum dedication. It happened in 2022 to Lazarov, who today is appreciated at the San Corrado hotel in Noto, Sicily, where he manages the gourmet restaurant Principe di Belludia – already mentioned in the Michelin guide -, the Casa Pasta tavern and all the food & beverage offer of one of the best five-star resorts on the island. Here we meet him, and he tells us the most unforgettable experience of his career.

Why did Valentino choose her?
«I know he was impressed by my CV, I had already worked for large families of Italian entrepreneurs. Let me introduce myself first. I was born in Macedonia, but at four and a half years old I was already in Italy, with my family. We lived near Alba.”

Place, between wines and truffles, of great gastronomic importance.
“Already. In fact, I attended hotel school and started working in the kitchen very early. I went to school until 1pm, then I was in the brigade, learning. There was, and still is, a passion for the most beautiful profession in the world, even if it is tiring.”

Passion born in the family?
«From my mother, it came very naturally to me, it wasn’t difficult».

When did the proposal come from Valentino where he worked?
«I had been at Castello di Guarene in Piedmont for four years, where I joined as sous chef, and then became responsible for the kitchen. But I had already worked for important families, such as that of Chicco and the Garavoglia (Campari) in Milan.”

What does a chef who works for these illustrious families earn?
“The range is from 7 to 15 thousand euros per month. Much more than in a restaurant. But you are at the complete disposal of the family, every hour of the day, as it should be.”

A lot of work. But you left the restaurant in Guarene to return to a private family. Why?
«The offer to work for Valentino, which was made to me by an agency in Milan, was irrefutable. Not so much for the money, but for the opportunity to get to know a world of unparalleled beauty, style and strong internationality up close. To be admitted you must have many characteristics and it is not easy to be called to those levels.”

What was his exact task, in this dream world?
«I took care of lunches and dinners for the family and any guests. The valets took care of the breakfasts instead. Yes, that’s exactly their name, chosen from among the castle’s service staff. A body of staff of around one hundred people, if not more.”

Staff like a grand hotel, rather than a family. Did she bring her brigade?
“No, each Valentino residence has its own, well-tested one. I organized and directed the kitchen, dinners and lunches. But the most spectacular is the Château de Wideville, in Davron Crespières, purchased in 1995. It is a sixteenth-century residence. We stopped there more than anywhere else.”

In an interview Valentino said: «If I hadn’t become a couturier, I would have been an interior designer. I have always been obsessed with beauty in all its forms.” Is every house princely, with important guests? Can you give us some names?
“Are you kidding? I really can’t. Discretion is the most appreciated quality in certain environments. When you work for Valentino, you become a person he trusts. As a chef, I had to sign many papers, in which I promised myself to the utmost confidentiality, about people who frequent the castle and the other wonderful residences. I think that’s right. I can only say that the castle has hosted large parties and receptions, including one for Kim Kardashian and Kayne West’s wedding in 2014, before I worked there, but that’s public knowledge.”

What was a typical day at Valentino’s court?
«I woke up early in the morning, went shopping, agreed on the menu to propose for lunch. First for the staff, then for Valentino and family. Same protocol in the afternoon, for dinner. Valentino is very attentive, he only wants top quality products, for him and for the people who work for him, from the valets to the laundry, cleaning, park and garden workers. Château de Wideville has a well-kept park of around 120 hectares, without a blade of grass out of place, with a thousand varieties of the rarest roses, much loved by Valentino. He spent hours there.”

What does Valentino prefer at the table?
«I don’t think I’m violating privacy if I say that it has excellent taste, in the most elegant simplicity, with dishes masterfully executed in technique, haute cuisine, but without unnecessary frills. At his table, seasonality and Italian style prevail. Pasta with tomato, risotto and Milanese cutlet, rice with tomato. No ban on meat and fish. He didn’t disparage garlic and onion, in moderate doses: I never had orders to remove them. He likes everything classic and Italian. I can say that the same obsessiveness in sewing a pence, in choosing a fabric, wanted to be replicated at the table. He told me to always buy the best raw material on the market. Even for a simple dish, always the best. But not only for himself, but also for his collaborators.”

Do you appreciate desserts and wines?
«Yes, I personally prepared the desserts and ice creams for him. I didn’t have a pastry chef like at the restaurant here in Noto, where there is the very talented Fabrizio Fiorani. They were simpler, not elaborate like in a fine dining restaurant. Valentino appreciated them a lot. As for the wines, in addition to the best labels of the Italian classics, the most renowned French ones were served. Everything was calibrated, never too many calories in a single meal. He is very careful about health and fitness».

He says of himself: “I am an incurable obsessive.” A man attentive to detail like Valentino, who knows what mise en place he expected.
«A delicate task to which he dedicated himself personally. Every day we put on the table dishes made of different ceramics, ancient, French or of other origins, according to his directives. One day in shades of red – we are at Valentino’s house, that’s his color -, one day they resumed floral designs. I forgot: at every lunch and dinner there were fresh flowers on the table, chosen by Valentino and positioned with the care he dedicates to a work of art. Details that make the difference. She loves antique porcelain, such as that of Meissen, Russian or PK Selesia, a German company from the 1930s. Seeing my dishes in those precious works of art was gratifying.”

Is working for Valentino a source of pride?
«For me it was an unforgettable experience. In that year of serving him I grew and matured. He gave me awareness. Among us young people it often goes to extremes, with signs and behaviors, thinking we are doing something extraordinary. I understood that it’s useless, that true economic value and beauty are deeper things. Valentino is a generous man. He treats the people who work for him in the best way, demanding for them, for example, the same quality as the dishes intended for him. This is not always the case in other large families. It is no coincidence that loyalty is very high among the valets and the staff, the majority of whom are male: there are those who have worked at the castle for 20, 16, 15 years. You don’t stay that long if you don’t feel good.”

Then she left.
«Yes, I accepted the proposal to come to San Corrado in Noto, made to me by Rita Pili, director of the resort. She is my mentor, she had believed in me even at Guarene Castle, I couldn’t say no to her. Valentino took it well, greeted me cordially, adding his best wishes for my future. I returned to a restaurant because I need contact with the guests, to have my guys on the team.”

To have a stage, as every great kitchen is after all. What do you think of Milan, your chosen city, even if you don’t work there?
«Milan is a city where you can have everything, there is a lot of stimulation. At every moment of the day you have to be one step ahead of someone who has already taken three steps ahead.”

Your legendary chefs?
“Three. Michelangelo Mammoliti, a workaholic who works masterfully on vegetables; the Danish René Redzepi, off the screens; Joël Robuchon, star of French cuisine.”

Where do you see Martin Lazarov in the next five, ten years?
«Always with Rita Pili and Paolo Gionfriddo, owner of San Corrado. If they were to open, let’s say, in a skyscraper in New York, I would follow them immediately.”

Go to all the news from Milan

Subscribe to the Corriere Milano newsletter