Originally from Bologna, situated in the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna, Diego is a motivated and dynamic cooking professional with international experience in luxury hotels and have a successful team such as the Ferrari Racing department in Maranello, Italy.
With over 15 years of culinary experience, Diego has travelled extensively. He has been on a professional journey and has navigated across many countries, such as England, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Egypt, Indonesia and Singapore to name a few; each time touching on different food & social cultures that enables him to learn new techniques and flavours. From humble beginnings as a Commis Chef in the Four Seasons Hotel London, to his last appointment at The Fullerton Hotel, Chef Martinelli has persisted in perfecting his craft through the years.
After an initial 5 years period with the Four Seasons hotels in both England and Ireland, Diego returned to his hometown of Modena as part of the team behind the renowned “Il Cavallino”. The restaurant is located just opposite the Ferrari factory and its name means, “The Pony”, an obvious reference to the Ferrari insignia. As part of the Ferrari stable, the restaurant is a favourite with the grand prix drivers and team members. While at Il Cavallino, he also had the opportunity to cook for the racing team drivers at their events in the restaurant.
His journey then took him again to the Four Seasons hotels in Milan, Doha and Cairo, Egypt. Here he was the Restaurant Chef of the Italian restaurant, “Bella”.
Having attained considerable experience in Europe and the Middle East, Diego was keen to explore new challenges in Asia. This prompted him to head to the plush Bulgari Hotels & Resorts Bali, where he served as the Chef de Cuisine of their signature Italian restaurant, “Il Ristorante”. Together with his team, he won the Best dessert Award at the Black Box final competition held in Dubai in May 2008.
His last hotel stint saw him as the man behind The Lighthouse restaurant re-opening, situated at the apex of The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, where he stayed since 2009 collecting the award of Best Hotel Restaurant for 4 consecutive years.
Today Diego is based in Bali, where he lives and runs his consultancy business.