Italian Chef Marco Tola (Instagram A/c: marco_tola_ ) was born in Cagliari. He is a self-taught chef who now works as a professional chef, specializing in pastries and creative cuisine. His art lies in the space between technique and emotion, where instinct and discipline collide.
Q.) Kindly share your accomplishments.
Chef Marco: I started from nothing and built myself up. No shortcuts, no conventional route. I gained knowledge through failure, repetition, and obsession. Today, I research concepts, make distinctive meals, and work on my own book, which is very personal and reflects not only recipes but also a way of thinking. My true accomplishment is not a title, but having a voice.
Q.) When did you initially fall in love with cooking?
Chef Marco: Not in the romantic sense. It was not immediate. Almost unintentionally, it developed steadily. It started out as curiosity, evolved into necessity, and eventually became everything. I knew I was in love with cooking when I couldn’t stop thinking about it—even when I was fatigued and things didn’t go as planned.
Q.) What would you say about your cooking style?
Chef Marco: Emotional, accurate and changing. I prefer not to repeat myself. My approach strikes a mix between contemporary technique and raw instinct. There is influence from Italian roots, but also from Japanese precision and global perspectives. I make an effort to eliminate the superfluous and retain only what is important.
Q.) How do you stay up-to-date on the current culinary trends?
Chef Marco: I watch, but I don’t just follow. Trends are not directions; they are information. I observe, taste, and study, but I filter everything through my own identity. You will vanish if you follow trends. If you comprehend them, you maintain your relevance without losing your identity.
Q.) Your meal presentation is really colorful; could you perhaps share your inventiveness with us?
Chef Marco: Color is structure, not decoration. It’s balance. Each component—contrast, tension, and harmony—has a function. I work like a chef, but I think like a painter. I begin with an emotion or a concept and then transfer it into color, texture, and shape. Nothing happens at random.
Q.) What do you think about the food industry’s current trends?
Chef Marco: Though there is a lot of noise, there is also a lot of innovation. Sometimes aesthetics dominate too much over substance. Today, maintaining authenticity while continuing to evolve is a challenge. Although technique is crucial, it is meaningless without identity.
Q.) How can you make sure your food is visually appealing and enticing?
Chef Marco: Control and Intention. You have to understand light, texture, spacing, and proportions. The eye must be guided naturally by a plate. More significantly, though, it needs to make sense. It fails if it tastes bad despite having a lovely appearance.
Q.) What do you think about “The Rise of Food Styling for Social Media”?
Chef Marco: It’s powerful but risky. It stimulates imagination, but it can also produce delusions. Food is more than simply an image; it’s an experience, temperature, texture, and aroma. Social media is a tool, not an objective. You lose something important if you cook just for the camera.
Q.) Any advice for the upcoming chef.
Chef Marco: Work. Fail. Repeat. Avoid seeking approval too soon. Build your foundation with discipline, technique, and consistency. Next, discover your voice. And once you find it, keep it safe.
Because cooking isn’t about being perfect in the end.
It’s about being authentic.
By: Rida Khan (Aviation Author)
Instagram A/c: aviationauthor.ridakhan
