The Italian chef who left Australia to open a restaurant in Molise

“At Tetsuya’s, I started as a chef de partie and worked my way up to junior sous chef. He (chef Tetsuya Wakuda, ed.) was at the restaurant a couple of times a year, and I learned about working with garlic from him, as well as dry aging fish. And discipline at work, dedication, precision, and the importance of raw ingredients.” Before landing at the renowned Japanese chef’s Sydney restaurant, where he stayed for about two years, the thirty-year-old Molise-born chef from Isernia, Maurizio Labella, had already worked at the luxurious Bennelong by Peter Gilmore at the Sydney Opera House. Barely twenty years old, after graduating from the hospitality school in Villa Santa Maria (Chieti), he flew to London, working in the kitchens of L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon. Over the following years, he built new fine-dining experiences with Enrico Croatti at Dolomieu in Madonna di Campiglio, with Matteo Metullio at La Siriola in San Cassiano, and in other Michelin-starred kitchens. A way to satisfy his passion for travel and his fascination with haute cuisine.

A new restaurant in Isernia

“I built my career by traveling, and my upcoming restaurant will also be a journey,” Labella tells Gambero Rosso. The chef has returned to his roots, coming back to his homeland two years ago to raise a family and fulfill his dream. “I will open my restaurant by the end of this year,” he assures, “I already have the concept, and my partner and lifelong friend Vittorio Tagliente and I are very close to finally securing the location, which will be in Isernia.”

From the left, chef Maurizio Labella with his partner Vittorio Tagliente.

“I came back after ten years abroad and many sacrifices,” Labella continues. “I left a land that gave me a lot, but where, in the end, you still feel like a guest. Is this province ready for the challenge? I was skeptical, but I’ve changed my mind— even in this small place, food culture is evolving, and people want to go out and eat well. And I feel the need to give back to my homeland. I imagine a restaurant that enhances the territory but without rigid rules or constraints—rather, a fusion between extraordinary Italian products and global excellence. This is already what we do with our pizza.”

Hippo: an exportable format

“An adventure that started as a game with Vittorio, which, by pure chance, came before the restaurant.” This is how chef Labella introduces Hippo, his Roman-style pizza-by-the-slice format, launched last September in a tiny 38 sqm space (including an open kitchen) near Isernia’s station park. The format has already attracted interest from abroad, with two new openings on the horizon in Padua and Treviso.

“The pizzeria is a guaranteed source of income,” Labella jokes. “Every top-level chef must secure a revenue stream to support their project. In this case, I am both entrepreneur and owner. I develop the recipes together with the pizza maker, we train the staff, and we want to be like a family. We have built a strong and close-knit team, with a dough specialist, a stretching and baking expert, a toppings specialist, and multiple counter staff.”

“We didn’t expect such success,” the chef admits. “We started with a plan for thirty trays a day, but on weekends, things spiral out of control—some customers come back for lunch and dinner, even for several days in a row.”

Hippo’s roman-style pizza

Crunchy, crumbly, airy inside, light, and melt-in-the-mouth, with perfectly balanced toppings and authenticity—ingredients carefully sourced from the best local and beyond-local artisans. “We focused on a simple and honest pizza, a product that doesn’t lie, with a good quality-to-price ratio,” the chef explains. “We work with top-tier small local producers who deserve to be recognized. Our research is constant, tied to availability and seasonality. That’s why the menu isn’t fixed (for Special and Super Special pizzas) but announced at the counter—always a surprise, except for the Classic pizzas, which feature essential and irreplaceable products like Monteroduni extra virgin olive oil, Flagella tomatoes, Miranda fiordilatte, Cetara anchovies and anchovy extract, and top-quality garlic.”

The garlic work

The numbers speak for themselves: out of three squares of Hippo pizza, one is a Marinara —it’s the most popular of the Classic options. And for good reason. Beyond the recognized quality of the oil and tomatoes, the real difference here is the garlic— Sulmona’sredgarlic. And you can taste it. Aromatic and intoxicating, it adds depth and memorability to each bite, yet remains light.

“We fry fresh garlic in extra virgin olive oil at low temperature for about an hour,” the chef explains. “Basically, we dry it out until it becomes crispy, then blend it and sprinkle it over the red base at the end of baking, finishing with fresh oregano. It’s a technique I learned from Tetsuya, which preserves the aromatic essence of the bulb.”

“Dino” and sourdough bread

“We’d like to expand the space to work better, perhaps with an external lab, and dedicate more time to sourdough bread, which we knead with potatoes as is traditional in Isernia. Right now, we bake once a week—15-20 loaves, all reserved a week in advance; we just can’t do more,” says chef Labella.

“During Covid,” the chef recalls, “at Tetsuya’s, we were clearly told that if we wanted to return home, we should go. I was preparing takeaway meals for families, and they also started requesting bread. That’s how my licoli (liquid sourdough starter) was born—just water and flour, from a small Sydney producer. I refreshed it and kneaded 4-5 loaves at a time. I named it Dino and took it with me from Australia. I dehydrated it, vacuum-sealed it, then rehydrated it. It took me a few months to adapt it, feeding it little by little with a different flour. I refresh it daily, and it performs just as well as before. Sourdough bread will also be an integral part of my gourmet offering.”

Bread sourdough Hippo

What will be on the menu at chef Mauririo Labella’s Restaurant?

“My restaurant will be a journey through the flavors of my homeland, intertwined with my experiences abroad. My idea is to showcase ‘poor’ ingredients—like cuttlefish livers, monkfish or salt cod tripe, sea snails, and meat offal, including head meat—products that are usually overlooked.”

“Saying fine dining is dead is absurd,” Labella concludes. “Haute cuisine embodies study, research, and professionalism. I am ready to invest in it—it’s what I love to do, an indulgence, and, given today’s challenges, a bold move. But I don’t want to regret not trying. In the end, what truly matters is sustainability.”