The wave of controversy is growing over the interview given by Max Mariola the other day to Corriere della Sera.
Newsworthy especially in the part that concerns the prices of gastronomic Italy and, in particular, the prices of the restaurant opened in Milan in the Brera area, by the 55-year-old Roman chef.
“Italy should aim to become the haute couture of food: maintaining current production and quantities, but raising prices,” said Mariola, “as Hermès does, which in fact has a waiting list for Birkins: increase prices, not circulation.”
The former face of Gambero Rosso does not have an economic background, in fact the Corriere journalist points out to him that in this way prices would also increase for ordinary people.
Controversy over the prices of Max Mariola’s restaurant
The response from Max Mariola, the main cause of the controversy of these hours, is lapidary: “Common people must understand that they don’t necessarily have to buy salmon, mackerel is fine.” Then, realizing the risk of confusion, the chef king of social media shifts the discussion to seasonality.
“And you shouldn’t buy asparagus in December, but broccoli. At Christmas you can find cherries from Chile: they cost who knows how much and they are not sustainable! I would like to hit those who buy them, and maybe even have an eco-friendly shopping bag.”
The chef with 9 million followers across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube also defended himself from the criticism leveled at the Milanese restaurant that bears his name, which opened on January 24th. Criticized for the furnishings (“There are no tablecloths”) and for the prices that are too high.
Not for nothing, anyone who searches for the chef’s name on Google comes across a worrying question: “How much does your restaurant cost?”.
Max Mariola’s answer refers to the average expense: “60 euros per person, drinks included”. And he comments: “It’s a low price in the area: you have to think about how much a waiter and the rent cost here…”
Carbonara at €28
Of course, the price of carbonara, the cornerstone of Max Mariola’s videos, protagonist of the catchphrase “the sound of love” (the sound of pasta when it is creamed), does not help to dampen the controversy.
Anyone who sits down in the Milanese restaurant pays 28 euros for it, “but it’s made at the table: it’s not just a dish, it’s a show”, the chef justifies.
Who for now considers the restaurant an investment. “If we are good, in a year we will cover the cost of financing for the construction, without earning a cent”.
It is not the attention of the guides that he dreams of, because he believes that he is not interesting to them. “I don’t make controversies”, says Max Mariola candidly, “my cooking is so simple”. “And then mine is an unusual place: we serve the artichoke alla giudia in a context where there is music, not in a trattoria with a checkered tablecloth”.
Anyone who takes photos for social media in the Milanese restaurant, rather than enjoying the dishes, is welcome. The former host of the Gambero Rosso Channel, who owes much of his fortune to social media, believes it is right that they take a souvenir photo. “Without them,” he says, “I’m nobody.”
Who is Max Mariola’s wife
He attributes the idea of opening his restaurant to his wife who, despite the earnings from events, consultancy and social media, kept telling him: “You’re not a chef if you don’t have a restaurant!”.
Max Mariola’s wife is practically an entity, she doesn’t show herself and no images of her are known. This time the Roman chef lets something slip: she is 45 years old, she graduated with honors in Management and unlike me she loves studying and she does it all the time”.
Even though she is a foreigner, she holds a Rome tourist guide license. And she is the multimedia arm of the family, because she knows how to shoot, edit and post the videos that made her husband famous.
Max Mariola: autobiography
In the interview given to Corriere, Max Mariola reconstructs his biography. Son of a restorer of precious metal objects with an established Roman workshop, he found himself an orphan at the age of 22, when he decided to change his life.
Starting from the bottom: “I cleaned the kitchen of a restaurant, at first for free”. But he considers the experience useful because whoever wants to manage a kitchen must know it. “And only those who know how to obey also know how to command.”
The first money you earn at the restaurant pays for a private cooking school.
In 1999 a teacher at the cooking school informed him that she was about to open a food television channel, and offered him a role as an assistant. After his beginnings behind the scenes he never stopped: he worked on TV for 22 years.
Then came social media. The main push comes from Mariola’s wife who shoots the first videos for Facebook and YouTube.
After some positive feedback, the couple takes the plunge, but in 2022, amid controversy and a collapse in views on horizontal videos, Max Mariola has a moment of uncertainty.
“Everything had moved vertical, and I said to myself: what do I do? Do I go on Tik-Tok? I was afraid of being out of place, with white hair. Instead, my knowledge of cooking and my language worked.”
Now that he’s a star, he says that you can earn a lot on social media, “but you can also get shit off.” It depends on greed. “In 2018 they offered me 38 thousand euros for three videos and four photos, I was supposed to promote diced bacon in a tray. I refused”.
Controversy on Tripadvisor: Max Mariola focused on the restaurant
The former restaurant handyman, unpaid to boot, today earns good money, especially with events. Less with books, he wrote one but “It’s the thing that brought me the least money”.
To respond to the negative reviews with associated controversies that have sprung up on Tripadvisor, after the impressive queues at the inauguration, Max Mariola wants to focus on the Milan restaurant.
Even if economically interesting proposals arrive through social media. “Once they asked me to go and cook on a private Turkish island that could only be reached by helicopter or boat.”
Next project: an online cooking academy
By the way, the Roman chef’s next project will also be digital. His wife is working on the project of an online cooking academy, whose maximo tutor, needless to say, is Mariola himself.
