About

I was born in 1961 in Catania, the second largest city in Sicily.

It's a sunny island since it is the most southern region of Italy.

I started to make music on the keyboard when I was 12 and, at the same time,

I was involved in a tennis and a volleyball team. I won some tournaments in tennis and played volleyball at competitive level.

Then I got a degree in Human Kinetics, working in a school and several gyms.

At the same time I performed concerts and shows, most of them in a Duo

'De Mousse & Le Clerc',

winning, in 1987, a nationwide competion, sponsored by the leading Italian music magazine 'Fare Musica'

Since I lived alone and needed to eat, I learned to cook!

My style was a creative one from the beginning.

I cooked my food and created my dishes in the very same way that

I composed music and taught gymnastics :

No boundaries and focused on the final result.

In 2000 , following my other passions, nature and trekking,

I started to work as a Guide,focusing on exploring Etna Volcano.

After 2 years, for personal reasons, I moved to Japan, to Iida City,

where I opened a restaurant which I called 'Casa di Paolo"

I ran it for 4 years making thousands of Japanese happy with

the only real Sicilian restaurant in Nagano prefecture.

I learnt alot from this chapter and further developed my skills at running a business,

at the same time enjoying interacting with customers, providing delicious dishes with a smile.

Wanting to return to my early passion of music,

I later embarked on an adventure seeking a job as a musician in 'Itaria Mura',

a resort village in Nagoya. Unfortunately, they did not have a position available,

but as luck would have it, they soon discovered my cooking skills,

and I was offered a job as a cook in their leading restaurant 'Vino Fontina'. I

was lucky enough to work there for one year under the supervision of the great Chef Antonio Settembrini,

who taught me a lot! I went on to work for another year in 'La Rocca' restaurant located in Seki,

and my love for cooking evolved even more, before then returning to beautiful sunny Sicily.

Back in my country in late 2008 I needed a Job. I took a A.I.GA.E. Licence to be

a professional Naturalistic Guide and, thanks to my previous experiences,

language skills and natural predisposition to working with people,

I started to work a lot. I've brought roughly 8000 thousand people on Etna and

to other Sicilian locations, running an average of 150/200 tours per year, to 2019

...We get to present day...

During an Etna Tour I met an Irish woman, we fell in love and so I

decided to move to Ireland, a truly wonderful Country.

We established a small company which we called 'Island to Island'

to import D.O.P. Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Etna Volcano Area

and unique Artisan Food products from Sicily.

We also compose and record original music and video, calling ourselves

'Uncaught'.

Inviting people to have Sicilian dinners at our home I noticed

how enthusiastic and appreciative they were about my dishes and, so,

the idea of 'YourHomeChef' became reality........

Just some photos...