An Italian chef's culinary journey in Suzhou

At the recently concluded 2026 Shanghai International Pizza Masters, a " Taihu Lake Three Whites " pizza won two awards: Best Creativity and Best Design . Behind the winning dish were two young Chinese chefs, Wei Qiyi and Lu Haolin, guided by their mentor Ilario Turri, an Italian chef living in Suzhou .

Turri's connection with Suzhou began with a 28-day honeymoon. In 1999, he visited the hometown of his wife for the first time. "Even though it was only 28 days, Suzhou left a deep impression on me," he said. That short trip, he recalled, felt like a seed planted in his heart.

Ilario Turri is preparing a dish. Photo/Li Hanpeng

He moved to China later that year, working across regions from Inner Mongolia to Guangdong, studying local ingredients and cuisine . In 2018, he and his wife decided to settle in Suzhou and open their own restaurant. " It feels like half my soul stay s in Venice and the other half c omes to Suzhou, " he said.

As a chef, Turri quickly recognized the uniqueness of Suzhou's local produce. However, many of these ingredients were still largely used in local or Chinese dishes. That sparked his ambition to introduce them into global cuisines.

His approach is far from simple East-meets-West blending. He strictly follows one principle: each ingredient and culinary tradition must be fully understood and respected. At the 2025 SIAL La Cuisine Cooking Competition, he put Suzhou's famous Biluochun tea into tiramisu, a bold move that earned him a silver medal.

Ilario Turri (L) at 2025 SIAL La Cuisine Cooking Competition. Courtesy of interviewee

The "Taihu Lake Three Whites" pizza represented a more complex experiment. The "three whites" — whitebait, white shrimp and white fish — were chosen for their delicate, naturally sweet taste. The technical challenges, however, were significant. White fish had to be carefully deboned by hand, blended into a paste and repeatedly filtered to remove remaining bones. During mixing, heat control was extremely critical, as excessive warmth could ruin the texture of the fish. The team eventually developed a precise temperature-control method to solve the problem.

Courtesy of Shanghai International Pizza Masters

Not every experiment succeeded. Attempts to incorporate watershield and water bamboo into pizza were abandoned due to undesirable textures. "I am a chef. I must respect food. If it doesn't fit, I won't use it," said Turri.

For Turri, the exploration of Suzhou -style flavors is not just about personal creativity, but about continuity and inheritance . He believes basic skills are essential for passing on skills to the next generation.

To prepare first-time competitor Wei Qiyi, the team invested heavily in training, using thousands of kilograms of flour and producing hundreds of pizzas. "We really trained one pizza chef with that scale of resources," said Turri's wife, Fan Minxia.

To his apprentices, Turri is a strict but fair mentor . Lu Haolin admires his high demands for hygiene standards and kitchen discipline. Wei recalls how Turri personally corrected his way to handle dough.

Looking ahead, Turri and his wife are focusing on the broader development of the industry. They note that structured Western culinary education remains limited locally and hope to leverage their experience to train more culinary talent for Suzhou ' s food sector.

Source: 引力播 (Yinlibo app)