Alberto hails from a small town in northeast Italy. Between learning the secrets of handmade pasta and a tiramisu that will make you cry, he considered every young mans dilemma. “Do I chase a fortune in the local business world (no, not the mafia) or seek a wanderlusting life roaming Europe?” The wide smile offers a hint at his decision and his drink of choice, a vermouth whose blackness you can only find in Barcelona confirms his final destination.

“How would my friends describe me?” “I am loyal. Treat me well and I will look cook for you all your life.” And cook he does. About eight years ago it was an Albanian chef who taught him the secrets of his now signature dish of white fish baked with potatoes, olives and anchovies. Since that first salty encounter, a lifelong romance began and continues to inspire a man who cooks, eats and lives with a smile.

What does this dynamic Italian eat when he’s not cooking rustic classics? “Toast with butter and Nutella, followed by a cold shower during which I quietly cry to myself“, he puns with a wide grin. It’s this switch between gentleman and joker that makes Alberto instantly likeable — just read hisreviews on EatWith.

Outside of the kitchen, the man is your Italian cliche. He reads philosophy while sipping on very short and very black coffee and every visit home promises a return with a salumi-packed suitcase. Has he forgotten his roots? Not when you see photos of this adventurer scaling the wild mountains of Cataluña and riding down the Costa Brava on his vintage frame.

Perhaps it is his response to the familiar question about who to invite to a dream dinner party, where his Italianess truly shines: “I would invite just Marco Pantani (the great Tour de France cyclist), just him. There are so many things I would ask ‘The Pirate’. And I would definitely cook “piadina.”

And why Gino Latino? A stage name and a simple way to describe the crazy young Italian he will always be no matter how many years he lives in Barcelona.

Alberto hosts modern Italian dinners (Japanese being the current fusion of choice), along with offering tours of the beloved markets where he buys all his produce. Don’t miss Alberto in Barcelona for a taste of authentic Italian with just a touch of crazy.