Domenico Santagada
Domenico Santagada.
Hailing from Calabria, Italy, Chef Domenico Santagada has over 15 years of culinary experience, specialising in fine dining concepts. Chef Domenico has been working as a chef since he was 15 years old and has built a career in the kitchen working for various award-winning restaurants across Italy, Spain, and the UK.
Working his way through the kitchen ranks, he had the opportunity to embark on a culinary adventure with Francesco Mazzei in London, a cosmopolitan city where Domenico was immersed into his first fine dining experience giving him an insight into the arts of culinary. From that experience, he moved onto a new challenge as part of the pre-opening team of Conrad Dubai, where he had the pleasure to meet and work with Massimo Mantarro, Michelin Star chef from Sicily.
Following his introduction to the Dubai scene, Domenico then moved onto a second project at Marco Pierre White Steak House over 2 years with Conrad. It was there he joined Meraas where he had the favorable circumstance to bring to life homegrown concepts from scratch as a Head Chef.
During this time, Domenico had the pleasure to meet, discuss, elaborate on concepts and broaden his knowledge with renowned chefs such as Tim Raue, Galvin Brothers and Virgilio Martinez. This melting pot of experiences allowed Domenico to assemble a kitchen from renderings, fittings, equipment and subsequently develop and curate a southern Italian seafood menu with its touches of elegance and simplicity.
Chef Domenico is currently working as the Head Chef of the multi award-winning restaurant, Alici, and has been a part of the pre-opening team since 2018. Under Chef Domenico’s leadership and culinary innovation, Alici Restaurant has been awarded as 'What’s On Dubai’s Newcomer of the Year in 2019, Time Out Dubai’s Best Seafood Restaurant in 2020, and What’s On Awards Best Seafood Restaurant in 2022.
Chef Domenico has designed Alici’s menu to reflect the authenticity of South of Italy cooking. Some of his specialties include a wide range of crudo or raw seafood selection.