Born in Catanzaro, Calabria, Francesco Ascrizzi moved to Edinburgh in 2013 and has worked at some of Edinburgh’s best restaurants. He joined Sotto as head chef from its opening in 2024.
What’s the closest thing you have to a signature dish:
Pappardelle with ‘Nduja and Straciatella takes me back to the smell of a ragu cooking in my house on a Sunday morning; the Stracciatella isn’t traditional but the creaminess balances the heat nicely. Pangratatto too, which is very traditional.
Describe your style of cuisine in ten words:
Traditional, home-made, regional, seasonal, local, passionate, from the heart.
Best and/or most memorable meal you’ve ever eaten:
When I was travelling in Kuala Selangor in Malaysia, a friend took us for breakfast at a lady’s house. She just had a few tables in her garage and no menu. We had chicken feet with soy sauce at 8:30am, and the meat just melted in the mouth and the flavour was so strong. I’ve tried to make it myself but never managed.
The worst meal would have to be a deep fried pizza from a place I won’t name delivered to my house at 1:30am. It went straight in the bin.
Worst/weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten:
I once bought a rabbit and a squirrel from Stockbridge Market and decided to stuff the squirrel inside the rabbit. The squirrel was very tough, and had a very iron-y flavour.
Worst thing you’ve ever cooked:
When I first moved to the UK, I was cooking for my flatmates on my day off and I wanted to make Patate e Peperoni, a dish of roasted potatoes and peppers. I went shopping for bell peppers in the local market, but my English wasn’t great at this point so I bought extremely spicy ones by mistake. It was like someone had set tear gas off in the house.
What’s the dish that you’re most proud of having cooked:
An entire Cote de Beouf that was about 6kg, cooked over fire on the beach in Italy. It was a real challenge to get right and I was cooking for all my friends, but it was perfectly tender.
Favourite ingredient (could be an ingredient or spice which transforms dishes):
Basil. I use it in almost all my pastas.
Your go-to recipe book:
My grandmother has a handwritten one at home that I’m always calling her to get something from. If not, the Artusi cookbook, Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.
What other country’s cuisine really excites and intrigues you?
Japanese and Middle Eastern cuisine. So much of Japanese food is inspired by the health-giving properties of the ingredients, which fascinates me.
Most you’ve ever paid for a meal:
In Bermuda, I paid about $400 for a big platter of sushi. I was trying to impress my partner but when it was presented to the table, it was laughably small for the price. She said she didn’t eat sushi, which was lucky as it was only enough for one. We got a pizza on the way home.
Your favourite Scottish chef:
Tony Borthwick from the Plumed Horse, who I was very lucky to work for.
Favourite chef outside Scotland:
Antonio Cannavacciuolo, an Italian celebrity chef from Naples who has nine Michelin Stars. I love his generous style of Neapolitan cuisine, he sticks to traditions and is a great guy.
Who taught you to cook or ignited your passion for food as a youngster:
My grandma, though I maybe didn’t realise it at the time. I would help her peel tomatoes and do little jobs in the kitchen, all the time thinking about playing football. So it was only when I started cooking that I realised how much she had taught me.
Most important lesson a young chef can learn:
Don’t ever stop learning.
Best thing about the industry:
I can express my creativity.
Worst thing about the industry:
Long days.
What’s the biggest sin a chef can commit:
To not respect the ingredients, and be wasteful.
What do you eat when you’re at home:
I have a seven-year-old daughter, so she usually writes the menu. I want her to taste the flavours I grew up with, so traditional things, but she also loves ramen.
Celebrity guest or your perfect dinner party – who would you most like to cook for:
Valentino Rossi, my sporting icon. Ideally he brings his Yamaha and gives me a spin.
Tell me something about you that virtually no-one knows:
I can’t kill a live lobster, it breaks my heart. I have to freeze them. I’ve never told my colleagues though, as they’d take the mickey.
What’s your favourite wine?
I don’t drink that much, but I like fish so I tend to drink fresh whites. Ciro Bianco or Mantonico from my region are my favourites.
Your spirit of choice?
Grappa when I’m home, maybe a very occasional dram here. I like peated whiskies.
Do you play music in the kitchen and, if so, what’s your go-to track or artist:
No, we just sing.
If you weren’t a chef, what would you be:
I’m very handy, so maybe a carpenter. I used to work at IKEA and I was the best forklift driver by a long way. It had a screen and a joystick, and was like playing on a playstation.
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