How Marco Deriu Turned A Teenage Passion Into Culinary Success

At just 16 years old, Marco Deriu stepped into a professional kitchen for the first time through a school internship at a five star luxury hotel in Sardinia. What began as an opportunity to experience the hospitality industry soon became the starting point of a career that would take him from his hometown of Alghero to London and eventually to one of the world’s most competitive culinary destinations, Dubai.

Today, Marco Deriu is Chef de Cuisine at CUCINA at Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah. His journey reflects years of discipline, international experience, difficult transitions, and a deep connection with Italian food. From learning the foundations of professional cooking in Sardinia to working alongside teams connected with Gordon Ramsay and later developing his skills at Armani Ristorante in Burj Khalifa, Marco has steadily built his reputation through experience rather than shortcuts.

His story is not only about becoming a chef. It is about leaving home, adapting to unfamiliar environments, learning from demanding kitchens, and eventually finding a place where his roots and professional ambitions could come together.

Marco Deriu Discovers His Passion In Sardinia

Marco’s relationship with cooking began in Sardinia, where his first professional exposure came through a school internship. Being introduced to a five star hotel kitchen at the age of 16 gave him an early look at the discipline behind luxury hospitality.

Professional kitchens can be demanding environments. Long hours, high standards, teamwork, and constant attention to detail are part of everyday life. For Marco, however, the pressure helped reveal something important. He had found an industry that genuinely interested him.

Instead of treating the internship as simply a school requirement, he began developing a passion for the kitchen. That early decision eventually shaped the direction of his career.

His education at Scuola Alberghiera IPSAR Alghero also gave him a foundation in hospitality before he began pursuing opportunities beyond Sardinia.

Marco Deriu Takes His Culinary Journey To London

After gaining experience in Sardinia, Marco made an important decision. He moved abroad to London to challenge himself in a completely different culinary environment.

London gave him the chance to work closely with restaurants associated with Gordon Ramsay, exposing him to an international approach to professional cooking and hospitality. For a young chef, working in such a demanding environment can provide lessons that extend far beyond recipes.

It teaches precision, consistency, organization, and the importance of performing under pressure.

Moving abroad also meant adapting to a new country and a different professional culture. Such transitions can be difficult, particularly for someone building a career at a young age. Yet the experience became another important chapter in Marco’s development.

The arrival of the pandemic eventually changed his plans and brought him back to Sardinia. Instead of seeing the interruption as the end of his international journey, Marco used the opportunity to continue developing his skills at home.

A New Chapter Begins In Alghero

Back in Sardinia, Marco joined one of the leading restaurants in Alghero. The experience became an important stage in his growth because it allowed him to reconnect with the food culture that had influenced him from the beginning.

After around a year, he earned the position of Junior Sous Chef. This promotion represented more than a new title. It showed that the experience he had gained through different kitchens was beginning to translate into greater responsibility.

Working in a leadership position also requires a different mindset. A chef must not only focus on the plate but also understand teamwork, timing, organization, and the development of other members of the kitchen.

For Marco, this stage helped prepare him for the next major move in his career.

Marco Deriu Brings Italian Expertise To Dubai

At the end of 2021, Marco once again decided to leave Sardinia and move abroad. This time, his destination was Dubai.

The city offered an international hospitality environment where chefs from around the world compete to deliver exceptional dining experiences. Marco joined Armani Ristorante at Burj Khalifa as a Senior Chef de Partie.

The role placed him in one of Dubai’s most recognizable hospitality settings and gave him responsibility for the pasta section while also assisting the head chef.

Pasta became an especially important part of his professional identity. His Sardinian background gave him a strong connection with handmade Italian cooking, while his international experience allowed him to approach traditional dishes with a broader understanding of technique and presentation.

His time at Armani Ristorante became another significant step in his development. The restaurant has received Michelin recognition, adding to the level of culinary exposure Marco experienced during this period.

The Challenge Of Building Cucina From The Beginning

At the end of 2022, Marco moved to Marriott Resort Palm Jumeirah as Senior Sous Chef for the pre opening of CUCINA.

Pre opening a restaurant is very different from simply joining an established kitchen. Teams have to build systems, test dishes, establish standards, train staff, organize operations, and prepare for the moment guests finally arrive.

For a chef, it can be an intense period filled with responsibility and uncertainty. It also provides an opportunity to shape the identity of a restaurant from its earliest days.

Marco’s experience made him well suited to this challenge. His background included luxury hotels, international restaurants, leadership positions, pasta expertise, and experience working under demanding standards.

The journey eventually led to his promotion to Chef de Cuisine at CUCINA, a role he publicly celebrated as an important step in his career.

Marco Deriu Builds A Culinary Identity At CUCINA

At CUCINA, Marco has been able to bring together many of the influences that have shaped his career.

The restaurant’s identity is strongly connected with Italian cuisine, while Marco’s Sardinian roots give his cooking a personal dimension. CUCINA describes him as a chef whose journey began in Sardinia before continuing through Gordon Ramsay’s London kitchens, Alghero, and Armani Ristorante. The restaurant also highlights his focus on artisanal pasta and more than 35 pasta recipes.

His approach is not simply about reproducing familiar Italian dishes. Recent work at CUCINA has shown an interest in balancing tradition with modern techniques, seasonal ingredients, and personal memories.

In 2025, Marco spoke about creating a new menu inspired by his Sardinian upbringing, family memories, handmade pasta, and the desire to respect Italian traditions while allowing them to evolve.

Turning Personal Memories Into Food

One of the most engaging parts of Marco’s culinary philosophy is his connection between food and memory.

His Sardinian upbringing continues to influence the way he thinks about Italian cooking. Family meals, local ingredients, handmade pasta, and the environment of Alghero have all contributed to the identity he brings to the kitchen.

For Marco, food can communicate where someone comes from without needing many words.

That philosophy has become particularly meaningful in Dubai, where people from different cultures come together every day. Italian food can become more than a meal when it carries a sense of place, family, and tradition.

His cooking therefore creates a bridge between Sardinia and Dubai, bringing the character of his homeland to an international audience.

Recognition And The Road Ahead

Marco’s career has also begun receiving recognition beyond his restaurant responsibilities. He was shortlisted as a finalist for Young Chef of the Year Under 30 in the Middle East, a milestone he described as a reflection of hard work, passion, and purpose.

He has also continued to participate in culinary competitions and professional events. His recent achievements include a second place finish in a Senior Culinary Competition organized by the Marriott Business Council, following a third place result two years earlier.

These moments show that Marco’s journey is still developing.

From a teenager discovering the kitchen in Sardinia to an international chef leading a restaurant kitchen in Dubai, his career has been shaped by movement, persistence, learning, and a willingness to take risks.

His story offers encouragement to young chefs who may be standing at the beginning of their own journey. Success in hospitality does not arrive overnight. It grows through repetition, difficult days, new environments, mistakes, mentorship, and the courage to start again.

Marco Deriu’s career proves that staying connected to your roots while remaining open to the world can create something powerful. His Sardinian beginnings remain part of his identity, while Dubai has given him a platform to share that identity with an international audience.

As Chef de Cuisine at CUCINA, Marco continues to develop his craft, lead his team, and explore new ways of presenting Italian cuisine. His journey from a school internship to the heart of Dubai’s culinary scene is a reminder that every great career can begin with one simple decision to follow what you love.

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