When Matteo Masciocchi arrived on Crete from his home in northern Italy, he took one look around and said: bello, bello, mi piace qui.

And, he had every reason to believe that he would like it here . . . even the Cretans say to Italians: una faccia, una razza (one face, one race).

But Matteo was no ordinary new arrival. Together with his luggage, he brought along his chef school degree and six years of experience in working in top restaurants, including a "2-Fork" Michelin restaurant near Lake Maggiore, and at La Palazzina, considered the finest restaurant in Ticino, the Italian region of Switzerland.

And he was here to put those impressive cooking credentials to good use, as head chef at Limoncello, the stylish new Italian restaurant in the Terra Maris Hotel in Hersonissos.

"This is my first time as a top chef, but I've worked under some masters so I'm very confident about my menu," Matteo, 26, told us. "What I'm attempting to bring to Limoncello is a combination of the finest tastes from some of the best Italian restaurants, together with some of my own creations, such as risotto with mushrooms, which is one of my specialties. During my time in school I worked for one summer in a restaurant where risottos were the specialties, and my city, Tradate, is near the rice district where the carnaroli rice comes from, the perfect rice for risotto."

In addition to his formal education and training, Matteo grew up working with good food.

"Northern Italy is famous for excellent food production, and my family has a shop and production company for Parma ham, fresh salami and other specialty pork products like that, which was started by my great-grandfather in 1914," he explained.  "We slaughter a pig every week in our plant behind the shop."

While Matteo cooks mainly northern Italian dishes, he has some southern Italian recipes in his repertoire. We asked him about the difference between the two cuisines.

"In the north we use much butter and some olive oil," he explained, "and south it's only olive oil and more spices, like oregano, saffron, thyme. For my risottos, I use only butter, but I use olive oil for my pastas, salads, fish and some meat dishes."

Speaking of pastas, Matteo's kitchen features a pasta-making machine with which he creates his own fusilli, penne, rigatoni, ravioli and spinach or potato gnocchi.

"I work with an international clientele but I cook with only authentic Italian products," he said. "Like buffalo mozzarella from Neapoli, Parma ham, mascarpone, ricotta, balsamico from Modena, because you go to Italian restaurant for the gastronomy and you must have authentic ingredients.  I'm responsible for restaurant purchasing and I'm particular about my ordering."

When Matteo has some free time he loves to explore local tavernas and sample authentic Cretan food.

"I like Greek and Cretan food, and love the meze plates that I discovered at the Avli Taverna here in Hersonissos," he said. "One of my favourites is the Cretan snails."

In its first year, Limoncello will only be open until the first week in November, due to the Terra Maris undergoing some renovations over the winter. However, the management is not ruling out the possibility of keeping the restaurant open all year in the future.

Since most Italian chefs first learn about cooking from their mothers, we asked if there was anything on his menu that he "borrowed" from mamma.  

"The tiramisu on my menu is my mom's recipe," he confessed. "She's a good cook, and her instincts and tastes are great. If she would have learned to cook in chef school she would have been superb."

Spoken like a good Italian – or Greek – son!