Bencotto Restaurant Welcomes New Head Chef Who Loves Tomatoes and Italian Home-Style Flavors

▲Bencotto Italian Restaurant’s new head chef, Loris Pistillo.

Reported and photographed by Huang Shiyuan, Taipei

Loris Pistillo is probably the biggest tomato enthusiast among Taipei Mandarin Oriental Hotel’s chefs. He is the new head chef at Bencotto Italian Restaurant. There are no flashy or overly elaborate cooking gimmicks or plating techniques—just authentic Italian home-style flavors inspired by his grandmother’s family recipes. Whether in salads, pasta, or pizza, you’ll find tomatoes in all kinds of styles. Loris Pistillo says he just loves tomatoes the most.

Loris uses tomato sauce in his salads, fresh tomatoes in his pasta, and sun-dried tomatoes on his pizzas. For seafood risotto, he also incorporates tomato sauce. Even in the braised beef short rib with red wine dish, after marinating the wagyu short ribs in wine, he takes them out the next day to stir-fry with vegetables and tomato sauce until they turn a brownish hue.


▲Boiled Boston lobster salad with tomato vinaigrette and fennel.


▲GAMBERI Pizza.

Loris Pistillo is 38 years old and hails from Milan, Italy. He has over 18 years of culinary experience. As a child, he had a strong interest in cooking. After graduating in 1997, Loris was determined to fully commit to the profession. He worked in his hometown of Milan for two years, often logging more than 14 hours a day. At age 23, Loris left his hometown for Oslo, Norway, where he worked at the high-end Italian restaurant Costa. In 2003, he was headhunted to work as sous chef at the boutique Uhu Villa Hotel in Budapest, Hungary. In 2006, he moved on to Tom George Italian Restaurant, which is regarded as one of the best Italian restaurants in Budapest.


▲Seasonal Seafood Pasta.


▲Slow-roasted Iberian pork spare ribs with mustard seed mashed potatoes and stewed Portuguese chicory.

In 2014, Loris was hired at a high salary to work at La Cucina Italian Restaurant at Roppongi Hills Club in Tokyo, Japan. Prior to joining Taipei Mandarin Oriental Hotel, he was the head chef at Boccalino Italian Restaurant & Bar at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, South Korea, where he also oversaw its opening preparations.

Inspired and influenced by his grandmother and mother, both skilled cooks, Loris draws much inspiration from his grandmother’s family recipes. He believes that preserving classic Italian flavors and authentic preparation methods is of utmost importance. He selects ingredients that reflect freshness and seasonality, and strives not to overpower their original taste during cooking. Loris is committed to presenting Italian dishes in the most traditional, unembellished way, conveying the essence of classic Italian home-style cuisine.


▲Homemade layered eggplant rolls with tomato pesto.

Take Loris’ signature dish, the boiled Boston lobster salad with tomato vinaigrette and fennel, for example—the lobster is simply blanched in broth before being marinated for two hours with celery, tomatoes, garlic, lemon, and olive oil. As for the seasonal seafood pasta, it’s made by sautéing minced garlic and anchovies in olive oil, then adding seafood such as small octopus and squid, and stirring in white wine.

Additionally, the homemade layered eggplant rolls with tomato pesto represent a childhood memory for Loris—a taste of home he deeply cherishes. The dish involves slicing eggplant, coating it in flour, and frying it at a low temperature. Then, a cheese filling made from ricotta, goat cheese, and egg yolk is rolled inside the eggplant slices. Buffalo mozzarella and Parmesan are added on top, and the rolls are baked at 160°C before being drizzled with tomato sauce.