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Andrew Sun

Loyalty is a prized commodity among chefs, and Valentino Ugolini has earned his stripes over nearly 15 years to become one of Hong Kong-based Italian chef Umberto Bombana’s most trusted lieutenants.
Ugolini, a native of the Umbria region in central Italy, has worked for Bombana since 2011, starting as a sous chef at three-Michelin-star 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana.
“He teaches me a lot,” Ugolini says of his boss, who is among Hong Kong’s most respected Italian chefs.
“He has a lot of knowledge about food. He knows a lot about ingredients. For me, he really is a big mentor. We are also very similar in what and how we like to eat.”

In addition to working at Hong Kong’s Otto e Mezzo, Ugolini played an important role in the opening of Bombana’s outposts in Shanghai, Beijing and Macau over the years.
In 2013, casual Italian concept Ciak – In The Kitchen was launched in The Landmark mall in Hong Kong’s Central neighbourhood, and Ugolini was chosen to run the kitchen.
He not only opened the venue, but remained its executive chef for close to 12 years.
During his tenure at Ciak, Ugolini established himself, making one of Asia’s best pizzas according to several surveys and polls. The Landmark venue held one Michelin star between 2015 and 2017.
“I don’t consider myself a pizza chef or a baker. I just learned how to make pizza properly,” Ugolini says. “Chef Bombana and I worked together on the pizza dough.
Bombana is really amazing because he never changes. That’s why we’ve been together for many years
Valentino Ugolini
“To do the flour right, you need 24 hours to let it rest, ferment, relax and rise. At Ciak, we also had help from a flour technician from Italy. He guided us on how to work with the flour and the mother yeast. And people liked it. We made up to 300 pizzas a day sometimes.”
Ciak was loved by Italian expats and Hong Kong natives alike for its unpretentious cooking and conviviality, but the space was repossessed by landlord HongKong Land in 2024.
As a free agent for the first time in Hong Kong, Ugolini temporarily lent his talent to the Sophia Loren House as the Italian brand expanded in Asia and took over the historic Woo Cheong Pawn Shop in Wan Chai.
One year on, Ugolini is back on team Bombana as the new executive chef of Venedia Grancaffe, bringing his sophisticated version of trattoria cuisine to the ornate but casual Venetian-themed restaurant on Des Voeux Road Central.
At Venedia, Ugolini says he uses the knowledge of pizza making he acquired at Ciak to create a similar product but with a different touch. “This kind of pizza requires a long fermentation process. The result is it’s easy to digest – you don’t feel thirsty or bloated – with a crispy edge.”

“It’s easy to work with Bombana because the focus is on flavours,” Ugolini says. “His flavours are really intense and nice. It really blew my mind when I tried [his food] for the first time. I was really happy to find someone with this same idea in their food.
“Beyond being a chef, he is also one of the most charming people I have ever met in my life. I never see him angry. I never see him shout at anyone. He never talks down to people.
“He’s taught me a lot, including how to handle myself in this business when I was young and, let’s say, out of control. I was really pushy with everything so he taught me to calm down, think before I act and even before I talk.”
Both 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana and Ciak were part of the Lai Sun Dining Group, which also runs Plaisance by Mauro Colagreco, in Central.
Venedia is operated by Octavo Management Group, which Bombana co-founded. The group’s portfolio includes equally refined restaurants Octavium, Nove at Galleria, Rex Wine & Grill, Cannubi and Tuber; the latter recently earned its first Michelin star.
I like to put on the plate what my grandmother and mother taught me to cook
Valentino Ugolini
Ugolini is not the only Italian chef to hold Bombana in such high esteem. He is widely known as the only chef outside Italy to lead a three-Michelin-star Italian restaurant. But Ugolini has gained his own unique perspective under Bombana’s tutelage.
“I came [to] Hong Kong in 2008 with a different project called Domani, in Pacific Place,” he recalls. “I was only 23 at the time, I didn’t speak English. Still now I don’t speak it very well. For me, everything was new.
“After a few years, I thought since Bombana was here with a three-Michelin-star restaurant, I should take this opportunity to join him.
“At the time, it was really a big opportunity for me to learn a lot of things. In Italy, I wouldn’t have this chance, especially because where I come from is the countryside.”
He adds: “Bombana is really amazing because he never changes. That’s why we’ve been together for many years. I like his kind of comfortable and friendly workspace.
“He creates just the right kind of stress. We’re busy but there’s no chaos.”
Instead of chasing fine-dining ambitions, Ugolini focuses on making classic, simple Italian food. Bombana is no doubt hoping Ugolini repeats the success he had with Ciak at Venedia.

“After 10 years running a place, that’s my style, right?,” Ugolini asks rhetorically.
“I really like this kind of kitchen, this kind of cuisine, and my customers seem to enjoy this kind of cuisine too. I like more rustic food, casual, but maybe with a touch of new and different ingredients.
“I like to put on the plate what my grandmother and mother taught me to cook.”
Highlights on his current menu include Tuscan braised beef tripe and baby octopus stew. In terms of pizzas, he recommends the Norcina topped with mushroom and a home-made sausage from his own family’s recipe.
Ugolini says he has learned a few new tricks since moving to Hong Kong.
“My wife is also a chef and she cooks a lot of Asian food at home with different spices and soy sauce,” he says. “That’s something I now like to play around with in my dishes too.
“Sometimes I use soy as a marinade and in beef tartare. It gives it a different touch. I’ve also started cooking more by steaming. It’s very nice.”
G/F, One Chinachem Central, 22 Des Voeux Rd Central, Central


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Valentino Ugolini worked with Umberto Bombana in Hong Kong to perfect pizza dough, lessons he applies at Venetian-themed trattoria Venedia


Valentino Ugolini worked with Umberto Bombana in Hong Kong to perfect pizza dough, lessons he applies at Venetian-themed trattoria Venedia.


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