Support Chef Giovanni Pilu to feed people in need.

Giovanni Pilu grew up on the rugged, seasonally-governed island of Sardinia, a place culturally and linguistically distinct from mainland Italy, where entire villages still gather around local produce and patron saint festivals.

He arrived in Sydney in 1992 at 20, later training at Brookvale TAFE, and in 1997 opened his first restaurant, Cala Luna, at The Spit in Mosman, introducing Sydney diners to Sardinian specialities largely unknown outside the island. In 2004, Pilu and his wife and business partner Marilyn Annecchini opened Pilu at Freshwater inside a heritage weatherboard beach house — within a year it had earned Two Chef’s Hats, a rating it has maintained continuously ever since, alongside recognition for a wine list with a distinct Sardinian focus.

Pilu describes Marilyn, who runs front of house, as the engine room of the business, crediting their genuine business-and-life partnership for the restaurant’s longevity. The restaurant celebrated its 20th anniversary in August 2024, and the Pilu stable has since grown to include Pilu Baretto, Pilu Esclisivo, Pilu at Home, Bottarga and Aqua Fresca — a diversification born partly out of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pilu has authored A Sardinian Cookbook with Roberta Muir, remains one of only two chefs in Australia focused specifically on Sardinian cuisine, and continues to source key ingredients like botargo, fregola and myrtle directly from Italy.

At CEO CookOff Sydney, Pilu brings more than two decades of proof that a single, tightly-focused regional cuisine — treated with genuine respect and simplicity — can sustain a restaurant for a generation.

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