Felice Tocchini

Felice was born on the 22^nd November 1964, in Porcari; a small village just outside Lucca, in Tuscany, Italy. 

In my early years my sisters and I were looked after by my grandmother as both my parents were working. Both my mother and grandmother were great cooks. Cherubina, (Grandma), having survived the Second World War, was a master at making great meals out of very little. Teresa, (my mum) loved to cook and usually she cooked on Sundays and on specialoccasions dinner, when she was not working. 

Giuseppe , or Beppe as everyone used to call him (my dad), like me, had also a catering background, from selling ice cream, to cooking in a restaurant, but he was  mainly known in the area as the best pizza chef. 

My family, like most in Italyalways had a strong relationship with the countryside and its way of life. We always had a vegetable garden, fruit trees, and all sorts of animals, which we used to play with until it was time for the pot! Hunting and fishing was also part of everyday life.  

I had my first taste of catering at the age of six when my parents took on a bar in the local village. It was great fun “helping” in the bar; I used to love to make coffee!  During the last year at school it was suggested I either take up an art or a technical drawing course at college. 

Painting is another one of my loves, and I have won some painting competitions during my early teens, but I could not see a future in art, so the nearest thing I could think of to art was cooking… a blank canvas,(the pot), the colours, (the ingredients), the masterpiece, (the final dish). This came as a surprise for both my family and teachers but the decision was made, and at the age of fourteen I signed up for a three years cookery course at the Catering CollegeFerdinando Martini in MontecatiniTerme, Italy.. While acquiring my diploma I worked in several three and four stars hotels in Montecatini, during the summer and in ski resorts during the winter.  

During my last year in college aged 16 I met what was to become my future wife, Fiorinda; who was studying front of House and languages. 

At the end of the catering course, in 1981I was offered a job in England at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre Restaurants as a Commis Chef. This was an opportunity to work in a new country, acquire new experiences, and finally learning some English which I so much struggled learning during the college course. 

Fiorinda was also offered a job and In March 1982 we arrived in Stratford Upon Avon for what was supposed to be one year contract. I finally left the company in 2004, covering a number of roles during my employment to include, restaurant manager, chef patron and finally GM of a 3 start hotel in the Cotswolds that I pulled through a complete refurbishement.   

I run Seymour House Hotel for nearly 16 years collecting over the years AA Rosettes, a listing in Michelin, Heartbeat awards and many more awards. 

As a sale stunt, I created the “Pasta Club” which in the 90’s became very successful, with nearly a 1000 members.  

In the early 2000 I was approached by the British Sprouts Association and I was appointed as their honorary chef.  

Working with Sprouts is what has brought me in contact with national media, television and radio; to include Heart of the Country, GMTV, Central, One Show, Midlands Today,Countryfile, BBC good food show at the NEC, BBC Christmas show in London, Cooking on the radio for Woman’s hour, interviews with local and national radios and more… 

Over the years I have also worked with schools promoting fresh local seasonal produce, teaching children how to grow and how to use fresh produce. 

I have done cookery demonstrations for BBC Good food Show to include “the British Theatre and Hotpoint, Heart of England Fine Food, and at the Malvern Three Counties show.(The demonstration at the Malvern show proved so popular that I wasgiven a unique spot;running what became “Felice’s Kitchen” at the three main shows in 2009) taste of Birmingham, (where I met Jean Christophe Novelli). 

Since august 2010 I am regularly heading classes at the NovelliAcademy, and I am also working with an American company in creating recipes to promote sweet potatoes.  

A number of my recipes have been featured on a book by Tess Read, and the most quirky recipes “sprouty cake” has reached “global” attention, with cakes being made in USA, and even Australia. Obviously in 2009 I created the “unsinkable biscuit”: “The Worcester Dunker”. 

My restaurant: Fusion Brasserie opened its doors at the beginning of April 2004 in rented premises in the middle of nowhere in an old barn in the Ragley estate nr Alcester. The name represents the blend of old and new, the variety on nationality that we employ, and the approach to cooking that we were embarking on. The restaurant gained local popularity very quickly, but problems with the landlords, pushed us to move quicker than we wanted to seek for alternative premises. The present venue, the Bird in Hand, was purchased in August 2006. The company run both restaurants until January 2007, when we closed the original restaurant to concentrate on the Worcester venue. 

In 2007 after winning the regional “Most promising new business” through the British Chamber of Commerce we went through as finalist in the nationals, winner of best local restaurant in 2009 and highly commended in 2011. 

In 2010 we opened our second venue fusion too, a modern bistro with an open kitchen where customers can see what the chef is cooking.