«Each flavor tells a story that transcends the plate»

By Flavia Tomaello, https://flaviatomaello.blog/, Instagram @flavia.tomaello

On the sixth floor of the Grand Hotel Parker’s, the evening light caresses Naples and Vesuvius is drawn on the horizon like a silent witness. Domenico Candela works in that geography between sky and city, where each ingredient is observed with attention and each gesture is measured with memory. His cuisine is not limited to reproducing flavors: it translates them into emotions, reorganizes them into textures and colors, and turns them into its own language, deeply contemporary and always faithful to the Neapolitan tradition.

The George restaurant, with its two Michelin stars, is the reflection of a process that privileges emotion over solemnity. Each dish unfolds like a story: there is evocation of childhood, international influences, French precision and Japaneseism in the essence of the technique. All with balance, rhythm and a clear intention: that whoever tries it experiences the story behind each flavor. Born in Naples in 1986, Candela grew up surrounded by aromas and gestures inherited from women who cooked without manuals: his mother and grandmother taught more with their hands than with words. Professional discipline came later, first washing dishes, then learning alongside masters such as Antonio Guida, Stefano Mazzone, Damiano Nigro and, decisively, Yannick Alléno, who marked his conception of haute cuisine as a complete system, where every detail matters. Since taking over the George restaurant in 2018, Candela consolidated his vision: a cuisine that connects memory, technique and global creativity, turning each dish into a bridge between the intimacy of what was lived and the sensory experience of today, between emotion and excellence.

– What elements do you consider essential in your culinary style, even when you experiment or deviate from tradition?
– Even when I experiment or deviate from tradition, there are elements that I consider essential to my culinary style. The seasonality of the product is always the starting point: cooking what nature offers at all times means respecting the territory and obtaining an authentic flavor. Memory occupies a central place: each dish is born from a memory, from a lived experience. Added to this is time, understood as waiting, maturation and respect for natural processes. Taste continues to be the core of my work, always seeking a balance between intensity, elegance and technique, because technique must support the flavor and not impose itself on it. Sustainability, attention to the relationship between territory and digestion, and conscious innovation, capable of dialogue with tradition without denying it, making it contemporary, are also fundamental.
– How do you define George’s gastronomic identity in relation to the city that surrounds him and the international panorama?
– George’s gastronomic identity is born from a constant dialogue between the city that surrounds him and international thinking, with a strongly innovative vision. It is a cuisine that absorbs the energy, rhythms and culture of the urban context and reworks them in a contemporary key, without ever being static or predictable. George looks at the world with curiosity and openness, while maintaining a deep bond with his roots, Mediterranean memory and the quality of raw materials. International techniques and influences become tools of research and precision, put at the service of taste and identity, never simple exercises in style. The result is an innovative, recognizable and coherent proposal, capable of speaking a global language without losing character, and of dialogue with a local and international audience through an evolved, balanced and personal cuisine.
– How do you structure your research process when working on a new gastronomic idea?
– My creative process is daily, it is an integral part of my work. Every day in the kitchen I observe, experiment and reflect on products, techniques and flavors, letting memory, innovation and taste naturally guide the birth of new gastronomic ideas.
– What criteria do you use to decide if a technical innovation really adds value or if it is just an exercise in virtuosity?
– I listen to the comments of clients and my collaborators: their perspective and experience help me understand what really works. If an idea has potential but is not yet mature, I work on it until it is harmoniously integrated with the taste, balance and identity of the dish, so that each innovation is functional and meaningful, never an end in itself.
– How do you approach the reinterpretation of Neapolitan flavors without falling into nostalgia or a gratuitous break?
– For me it means capturing the emotional and identity essence of classic dishes, preserving their soul and history, but translating them into contemporary languages ​​that speak to today’s palate.
– What do you understand by “perfection” in a dish and how do you manage the tension between perfection and emotion?
– For me, perfection in a dish does not exist: it is not about numbers or exact measurements, but about something more alive and human. My goal is to always look for emotion, to transmit love and passion in every gesture and in every ingredient.
– How do you build the emotional and gustatory progression of a tasting menu?
– I build the emotional and gustatory progression of a tasting menu as a calibrated journey, where each dish has a precise role in the story and guides the taster through flavors, aromas and textures. I start with light and delicate elements to open the palate, gradually introducing complexity and intensity. I alternate textures, contrasts and temperatures, creating rhythms and pauses that enhance each ingredient without overloading it. Each step is designed to evoke memories, generate emotion and build expectation towards the next, in a coherent journey between memory, innovation and taste, until an end that leaves a feeling of fullness and satisfaction.
– Which cuisines in the world have expanded their conceptual palette the most, not just their taste?
– The cuisines that, in my opinion, have expanded their conceptual palette the most—not only in taste—are Italian, French and Japanese. They are cuisines that unite memory, technique and cultural innovation, and that are part of my gastronomic identity. In George’s menu these influences intertwine: French refinement, Italian depth and seasonality, and Japanese essentiality and precision. They are not just flavors: they are languages, narratives and visions of the world that translate into coherent and exciting sensory experiences for whoever sits at the table.