Matteo Guida now is responsible for gastronomical concepts of all restaurants of Four Seasons Hotel Lion Palace St. Petersburg. Having worked for several years in some of the famous Michelin-starred restaurants of Europe and being instrumental in the opening of Four Seasons Hotel Moscow, Matteo has moved to St. Petersburg and now presents to his guests the variety of contemporary gastronomic innovations.
Major changes are happening in the menu of Tea Lounge restaurant, whose concept is built in a combination of Russian and European cuisines. Matteo is paying special attention to exquisite design of the dishes and unusual combinations of ingredients. For example, the wild salmon in pomegranate glazing is served with parsnip and green apple mousse with goat cheese; pike perch from Ladoga Lake comes with tender eggplant puree and pearl onions; and tuna tartare is a virtuoso composition with white balsamic cream, red plum and lemon and lime sorbet. A fan of light and healthy dishes, Matteo follows principles and techniques of slow food, such as long cooking of meat and fish at lower temperatures, thanks to which each product preserves its nutrients.
Matteo Guida started his culinary journey at home – in the Italian province Emilia-Romagna. At 14 years of age he started studying in one of culinary schools of Parma. Then for five years he worked in some of the signature restaurants of Italy and Switzerland. Among them is the popular Il Maestro restaurant in Italy, with Executive Chef Gualtiero Marchesi being one of the recognised masters of contemporary Italian cuisine. The period of work in two Michelin stars Il Maestro is considered by Matteo one of the most fruitful periods that greatly contributed to his development as a chef.
His next stage was the three Michelin starred Waterside Inn in United Kingdom, then Fat Duck in Berkshire (also three stars), which was created by the famous theorist of modern molecular gastronomy Heston Blumenthal. Fat Duck was the place where Matteo learned the contemporary trends of modern European cuisine and studied innovative techniques of working with ingredients.
After that Matteo moved to Switzerland, where after two years at Four Seasons Hotel Des Bergues Geneva he exchanged the hotel genre for the creative restaurant Le Domaine de Chateauvieux (two Michelin stars), located in the mountains. In 2014 Matteo once again braved the change and moved to Moscow, in the status of Executive Sous Chef of Four Seasons.
Having become the Executive Chef of Four Seasons Hotel Lion Palace St Petersburg, Matteo never tires of repeating that the main condition for restaurant success is the constant attention to immaculate quality of fresh products in the kitchen, and it is chef’s responsibility to open, accentuate and combine the flavours of the best ingredients. This is precisely the principle he follows while updating the menu concepts for Percorso, Sintoho and Tea Lounge restaurants of the Hotel, as well as bespoke banqueting menus for many functions taking place in the Hotel.
