Giovanni Pilu is arguably the most recognisable chef on the peninsula. His Freshwater restaurant is 22-years-old, he hosts culinary tours to Italy, and he has made a name for himself as the mastermind behind countless memorable dining experiences. He’s also been named as a finalist for Chef of the Year in the 2027 Good Food Guide Awards, which will be decided later this week. Rod Bennett sits down with Sardinian chef to thumb through his recipe for success.
He grows up in a village with a population of 250, where there is one main bar in town. Everything happens around this bar. Long summer nights. The oldies play cards, while the kids run around until 11 or 12 in the evening.
We are in Sardinia, an island off the coast of Italy, and Sotza, the home town of Giovanni Pilu, chef and owner of his namesake restaurant next to the beach at Freshwater.
In terms of material things, it is a poor existence for the Pilus. When the children are old enough to drive it is one car for six people. But their life is rich with family, community, food and belonging. He says they all cook. His mum and aunties make the bread and sweets; and the big wood-fired oven his dad builds is still there.
Sotza is one of seven villages; all are within about 5km. The bar also has table soccer and a juke box. His favourite band sings in English but not speaking the language he doesn’t understand the lyrics. Still, he really likes them. “I think they are American,” he says.
In fact, it’s AC/DC. The raw driving rhythms and gravelly vocals resonate with the young Giovanni, and he follows their career. In time, he will also follow them to their true country of origin.
A little older now and he gets his hunting licence before his driver’s licence, and recalls his first-ever hunt in the Sardinian mountains. “I shoot a wild boar on my first hunt and carry it down from the mountain on my shoulders,” he says. “It is the proudest day in my father’s life. It’s like when you score the last penalty in the World Cup. I am a hero!”
“I shoot a wild boar on my first hunt and carry it down from the mountain on my shoulders.”
He works in his uncle and auntie’s bar at the age of 14, washing glasses. He loves it and he can’t wait to go there after school each day. Later he works in the kitchen of a five-star hotel. “The chef there is an absolute bastard. Tall guy, mean, really scary man. But I am learning. It is hard work, up at 5am, setting up for breakfast.”
He works in four different Sardinian restaurants between the ages of 18 and 22, as his appreciation of fine dining begins to take hold. This is also around the time he meets the love of his life, Marilyn. Over the next two years the pair would travel to Australia, where Marilyn lives, return to Sardinia and marry, and then travel back to Australia to start their life together.
He says Sotza continues to enjoy a population of around 250!
“I am excited to go to Australia,” he says. “I’m from a small village on an island. It can be hard to get out, right? The money. Even going to the mainland is expensive.”
He arrives in Sydney at night and goes to Marilyn’s parent’s home in Terrey Hills. He describes waking the next morning as ‘the turning point of his life’. “The view from the kitchen – all the eucalypts over the National Park down to Narrabeen. I fell in love with this family and this place.”
His first meal at an Asian restaurant is Terrey Hills Chinese: “I look at the table when we sit down and think ‘where is the bread’?” He wants to play football and Marilyn suggests he joins the Wakehurst soccer team. “I’m the only non-Aussie on the team and they call me ‘Johnny Pilu’. I think they like having me on the team but I can’t understand what they’re saying. I have to ask Marilyn on the sideline (in Italian) ‘what did he say?’.”
Giovanni enrolls in TAFE and does four years learning English, and as an apprentice chef. His dedication is rewarded at one stage with a certificate. He is quite proud of the achievement: “I won this award for Communications Skills because I was writing it well and reading it well.
“TAFE was incredible – a great time of learning; 32 people in the class who all wanted to be chefs.” Many years later Giovanni revisits TAFE as an ambassador but laments the way the tertiary institution seems to have been forgotten.
For the interview we meet at Pilu Freshwater – a stunning room on its balcony with a magnificent view of the beach. Sunlight fills the space; various shades of blue fill the windows. Giovanni is smartly turned out. Nothing out of place.
The couple now has two adult children, Martino and Sofia. Family is still everything to Giovanni. His dad passes in 2024 after a relatively short illness. It’s still raw for him. His mum now spends her summers in Sydney and then returns to Sardinia for the European summer. Two of his brothers are also no longer with us but a sister Alessandra is living near Sotza.
When it comes to cooking, the celebrated chef says family members are the hardest critics. “No-one realises that mistakes sometimes happen at the restaurant, because they can be fixed,” he says. “But at home … one time I cook pasta for the family and it’s too salty. They complain about it and say things like ‘you’re too heavy-handed’. I cop it for a couple of weeks mate. Some memories stay with you. This is a good one!
He learns from his parents to be humble and honest and for this is very thankful. “This really pays off for me and Marilyn – two very similar families,” he says. “I’m grateful for the people I’ve met in my life, who’ve helped me to shape the person I am. People like my first boss, Peter Bignasca, who gave me so much trust.
“At the end of the day it’s the human connection. It’s your spouse or partner, it’s your kids, and then the people that surround you.
“It all comes down to that.”
Want to learn more? Here’s an earlier story we have done on the restaurant when it turn 20.
