Luca Ardito

The initial path was full of fatigue and sacrifices. As I said before, it all started at the age of 16 in a small bar in the province of Monza where I learned the art of the coffee and basic cocktails. I often worked in the morning as an extra at the NH Hotel and in the evening I continued as a bartender, after which I took the first basic course to be a Barman and at the age of 18 I left. The first real experience abroad was Zurich, where I started as a barback at a golf club, it was a sensational experience. I admit it was difficult because of the language barrier and the different mentality. I learned it as an essential part of our sector – the importance of each and every single position behind the bar and I improved my knowledge in the world of Champagne. Second step: Rome. It seems incredible that a Brianza boy moved to the capital but I swear I love Rome, and I think it is truly a unique city. It gave me absurd emotions and satisfaction. I worked at Tempio di Bacco, a restaurant/wine bar in Via Veneto. There, I learned about service, the real way, the way that provides Italian excellence. Above all, I learned about the wines: a vastness of Italian labels. Rome, how beautiful you are. Third step: London. Here is where I made the most decisive step of my career. I started working at The Ampersand Boutique (5 Star) Hotel in South Kensington as a bartender. I was lucky enough to stand out and it was all great, it was a small bar but with fantastic colleagues and managers. With them, I entered my first competition for the Old Forester brand. Even though I qualified among the 10 finalists in the UK, it didn’t go very well, so I did a second competition and it was for The Mixing Star for Disaronno (Italy), which I had the luck and the strength to win. Having won this award, my F&B manager gave me the position of Head Bartender and it was an immense joy and an honor! I participated in Imbibe (an event for hospitality in the UK) at the Franklin and Sons stand, thanks to Gaetano Chiavetta. It was an incredible and satisfying experience. After 3 years I changed places to make a big leap in quality and I was lucky enough to be contacted by Federico Pavan, Maurizio Palermo and Salvatore Calabrese, to work at The Donovan Bar at Brown’s Hotel in Mayfair. The team at The Donovan was in another category: knowledge, commitment, concentration, creativity, innovativeness, elegance etc. The Donovan was the bar above par in excellence, the most beautiful that I have ever seen and I had the luck to be there. We managed to enter in the 87 Best Bar’s in the world (we deserved much more)! There, too, I really wanted to do and show off, so I did the Yaguara Cachaca competition and I placed 2nd. I was also among the top 10 UK finalists at the Beluga Signature competition. This brand became part of my life, thanks to Kristina, and I was lucky enough to be able to represent the Beluga brand with my colleague and friend Ago Schiavo at Imbibe and at the Berlin Bar Show. After 6 years in London full of sacrifices, successes and friendships, I received a call from the Hotel Excelsior Gallia (5 Star) in Milan. They asked me if I wanted to be part of this new project with the position of Assistant Bar Manager and I found it impossible to refuse to come back home in an historic place like Gallia, with a fairly prominent position like this. So I decided it was time to go back! Here we are, at the Gallia Terrace, advice managed by the Cerea Brothers (3-star restaurant da Vittorio Michellen). A really excellent team full of professionals and competent people from the kitchen, commanded by the Lebano Brothers passing to the floor, that is Stefano, Giuseppe and Paolo to the rest of the team. We are waiting for you so that we can give you unique experiences!