Diavola, Napoli salami, tomato, Buffalo cheese and basil. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Tavola, a well-known Italian restaurant in Beijing, has a new executive chef, Mauro Portaluppi.

Born in Milan in 1975, Portaluppi has always loved cooking. He cooked pizzas and pastas along with his twin brother when they were 8, because meals at school weren't "delicious enough".

After school, he attended the Carlo Porta Professional Hotel College in his city, and then worked at top restaurants and hotels across Europe for the past two decades.

During four years at the Principe di Savoia Hotel in Milan, he was under the tutelage of Romano Resen, a famed chef who once cooked for the British royal family, and at Yacht Club on the Italian island of Sardinia, Portaluppi worked with the celebrated chef Silvano Sollai to cook for high-profile foreign guests.

The chef now offers a mystery-themed menu of Italy every month to diners at Tavola.

If you go:

Grand Summit (Section B), Liangmaqiao Diplomatic Mansion, 19 Dongfang East Road, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-8532-5068.