A nuclear engineer by training, an Italian expat turns a new ravioli in the kitchen, Tracie Barrett discovers.

One might expect a nuclear engineer with a love of cooking to focus on the science-heavy techniques known as molecular gastronomy, but Filippo Fiori's passion is for the traditional cuisine of his native Italy.

Fiori, 30, was born in the small town of Lari in the countryside between Pisa and Florence in the Tuscany region, with a population of about 1,000 people. He has always been interested in food - perhaps, he says, because his father often spoke of having been a cook in the army - and started working in restaurants at the age of 16.

Five years later, he first left Italy for London, where he spent a summer working as a waiter and bartender while improving his English skills. He continued working in kitchens and dining rooms while studying for his bachelor's and master's degrees in nuclear engineering at University of Pisa.

"When I was 22, I took a summer job as a baker. I grew up with a wood-fired oven at home so it was normal to bake bread at least once a week and pizza at least every two weeks," Fiori says.

He currently shares those skills with students at The Hutong, a popular cultural events center in central Beijing, where he averages about six classes a month, most of which are quickly sold out.

At his pizza and fresh pasta classes, his passion for food, people and storytelling are immediately obvious as he shares the origins of the craft.

He says his then girlfriend, Janet Ng, a Malaysian-Chinese who also has permanent residency in Australia, suggested he start teaching as he was cooking too much at home.

"Janet got fat that summer and then she said, 'I'll stop eating bread now'," he says, smiling.

"Before it was baking, which is a very technical class - a master class I would call it. But now I enjoy sharing the culture the most, telling stories. There's a series of classes called 'Taste of Italy' where I try to bring people to different parts of Italy. I hope that people see me as a storyteller."

Life-changing times

Ng and Fiori wed this summer, first on May 27 in a castle in his Tuscany hometown, and then again on July 26 in Malaysia.

The couple has also begun hosting dinners at home through Weyoufan, an online platform that connects home cooks with groups of strangers eager to sample their creations.

"I try to express myself more directly in food through the dinners. I usually have a six-course meal - Italian, but with a twist.

"You meet people that you normally wouldn't meet."

Fiori is currently completing his PhD at Tsinghua University, while also helping the University of Pisa develop business in China. His thesis is three-quarters written and he is working on the final project. He expects to graduate in January.

He says he chose the field because he was very curious about physics, and nuclear engineering has the broadest range of physics of all the sciences.

He moved to Canada at age 24 to take a job as a research assistant at McMaster University in Ontario, staying for less than a year.

And then he went back to Pisa to work in a group at the university there, doing international consulting, and research on the side.

He also came to China for the first time in 2011 for work, and fell in love with the country. He applied for a PhD program that began in September the following year.

He was also accepted to PhD programs at two universities in the United States in addition to Tsinghua, and offered a job in Rome, all in one hectic week.

"I was choosing between just a career and something that was life-changing - that I really hoped was going to open my mind," he says. "I would see a different culture and learn (about) a different world.

"The real reason is I enjoyed China when I was here and wanted to see more."

Future in food

Having worked in his field for three years and with his doctorate nearly completed, Fiori sees his future in the food and beverage industry, but says his studies have given him the boldness to make that move.

"It gives me the confidence that I can put all my money in my new project and when I'm broke, it's fine, I can find a job," he says.

"The thing I learned the most from nuclear engineering is to think wide, don't focus on only one aspect because the machine in terms of a nuclear power plant is so complex."

Together with a high school friend who was best man at his Italian wedding and is now at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, he is seeking investors to set up a restaurant they project will be the first of a chain in the US.

"It will draw from Italian tradition and project that into the future. It will be the fast casual segment - a segment above fast food in terms of quality, social responsibility, environmental awareness and stuff like that. High-quality. Fresh."

Fiori says he loves Beijing and doesn't know if he will be as happy elsewhere as he has been here, but the lack of space and environmental issues make him reluctant to raise children here.

"China will always be part of my life," he says.

Contact the writer at tracyliannebarrett@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 09/08/2015 page8)