Roberto Petza

He once told us years ago, that as a kid, he dreamed of becoming a carpenter, and who knows what would have become of him, had he pursued a career among wood and scalpels. His creativity would have certainly led him to overcome the thin line that projects a craftsman who uses his head – besides his hands – into the world of art. But perhaps this definition would not have been appreciated by the chef (pardon me, the cook), who’s absolutely convinced that so much of his cuisine comes, in fact, from the same craftsmen who surround him in his Marmilla, be they breeders or farmers.

Roberto Petza was born in San Gavino Monreale, a small village in the Campidano area in 1968. He attended catering school in Alghero and then decided to cross the sea and arrive on the Continent. The experiences in Italy and abroad are many, and at the age of thirty he feels he’s ready to go back home and put to use the expertise gained overseas. He has put this in an important room, the one in which you welcome guests and share the most beautiful moments, namely a room that in the Sardinian language is called S’Apposentu. It is 1998 when Roberto opens his first restaurant in San Gavino Monreale.

Four years later, the opportunity to move his creature to the Sardinian capital becomes a reality and inside the prestigious city theatre S’Apposentu al Teatro Lirico is born. In no time, he becomes the director of a kitchen orchestra that never looses its contact with the territory, and is a real mine of flavours and culture. His only desire is to highlight certain sensations at their best and, most of all, to rediscover a heritage that has deep roots in the gastronomic culture of Sardinia. The recognitions arrive later, and even a Michelin star shortly afterwards.

However, it is Roberto’s attachment to his land’s culture that places a new challenge in front of him. In 2010 he moves S’Apposentu to a liberty villa dating back to the early Twentieth century, in Siddi, in the heart of Marmilla – the previous headquarters of a historic artisanal pasta factory. At Casa Puddu, besides the restaurant, there’s the high Accademia di Cucina he directs. But, most of all, there’s an ideal dimension for the chef, which appears straight away in his dishes. And the Star soon returns.