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Rishi Gukhool, Chef Paolo and the La Marinara revolution

Being born in one place and growing up in another means learning early that the word home can hold more than one meaning.

For Rishi Gukhool, Mauritius is the place of his origins, of his first memories, of the scents and colours that have remained intact in his memory. Italy is the place of growth, of the experiences and encounters through which his talent found space, form and direction.

Two different worlds, both deeply his own.

MauritiusItaly
I

THE ROOTS

Rishi was born in Mauritius and grew up in Italy, carrying the memory of the island with him.

With time, distance turns those memories into something deeper. Nostalgia keeps a light, a taste, a familiar language, the precise sense of belonging to a land even when life takes place elsewhere.

The pizzaiolo of La Marinara smiling behind the counter in Grand Baie (Mauritius)

Mauritius goes on living inside him.

RootsCraft
II

THE METAMORPHOSIS

In Italy, Rishi cultivates his talent and recognises his passion in cooking, and in pizza above all.

He deepens technique, discipline, timing and matter. Slow proving, few ingredients, attention to every step. Passion becomes skill, and skill is refined until it becomes a personal style.

Rishi becomes Chef Paolo, or Paul.

RishiPaoloPaul

Three names accompany the same person and tell of a life able to belong to more than one place without losing the thread of its own origins.

For La Marinara, the process counts as much as the result. From the earth to the plate, every step is respected and valued, because the quality of the experience is born before the first bite.

ItalyGrand Baie
III

THE REVOLUTION

In 2023 Paolo returns to Grand Baie and founds La Marinara.

Coming home, after growing up elsewhere, means finding your own roots again while bringing with you everything the journey has brought to maturity.

La Marinara is born from this meeting.

Mauritius holds the origin. Italy accompanies the growth of his talent. Pizza becomes the place where these two belongings finally speak to each other.

The rocket grows on the island, the tomato ripens in the sun, the dough is prepared by hand with flour selected by our chef and extra virgin olive oil.

Wild rocket picked by hand in La Marinara's own kitchen garden

Every pizza carries something of both lands.

La Marinara is the bridge Paolo has built between the two worlds of his life. A homecoming that keeps everything the journey allowed him to become.

THE JOURNEY

  1. THE ROOTS

    Rishi Gukhool

    Mauritius

    1

  2. THE METAMORPHOSIS

    Chef Paolo

    Italy

    2

  3. THE REVOLUTION

    La Marinara, Grand Baie

    Founded in 2023

    3
Contact us

Fresh and genuine

Few ingredients.
Chosen one by one.

Our standard

A good pizza hides nothing.

You can taste every single ingredient. Rocket from our own garden, ripe tomatoes, sauce kept at the right temperature, dough worked by hand with flour selected by our chef and finished with extra virgin olive oil.

  • Our own rocket

    Chef Paolo's hand picking fresh wild rocket in La Marinara's kitchen garden in Grand Baie (Mauritius)
    Rocket picked by hand in our own garden, a few steps from the oven.

    Grown by us, a few steps from the oven, and picked by hand the moment a pizza needs it. Peppery and alive, minutes after leaving the garden.

  • Tomatoes

    Neapolitan margherita topped with hand-crushed Italian tomato sauce, mozzarella and fresh basil
    Ripe Italian tomatoes, crushed by hand for a sauce that stays sweet.

    Ripe Italian tomatoes, crushed rather than cooked to death, so the sauce keeps its sweetness and its colour.

  • Sauce at the right temperature

    San Marzano tomato sauce being checked for the right temperature in the La Marinara pizza workshop
    The sauce is checked at every service, kept exactly where the dough likes it.

    Checked every service. Too cold and it steams the base, too hot and it burns — we keep it exactly where the dough likes it.

  • Dough made by hand

    Hand-folded pizza dough proving slowly on the floured marble bench at La Marinara
    Dough folded by hand and left to prove slowly before it meets the oven.

    Mixed, folded and shaped by hand, then left to prove slowly. Given time and handled with care — that is what makes it light and easy to digest.

  • Flour selected by our chef

    Slow-fermented rosemary focaccia baked with flour selected by the chef at La Marinara
    Focaccia made with flours the chef selects himself, from experience.

    Flours chosen one by one by the chef himself, from years spent with his hands in the dough. He keeps only the ones that prove well and bake light.

  • Extra virgin olive oil

    White pizza finished with raw Italian extra virgin olive oil at La Marinara
    Italian extra virgin olive oil, poured raw as the final touch.

    Italian extra virgin olive oil, added raw at the end. It is the last thing you taste, so it has to be the honest one.

Wooden tray of hand-breaded potato croquettes and Sicilian arancini prepared at La Marinara
Croquettes and arancini breaded by hand, ready for the fryer.