The Team

Emanuele Canuto

Head Chef

Hailing originally from Piedmont, Northern Italy, Chef Emanuele Canuto’s genuine passion for cuisine was sparked from a young age, influenced by his family and particularly his grandmother.

Chef Canuto began his international culinary career from the age of 17 and has spent over 15 years honing his craft across a number of Michelin starred restaurants in England, Italy, Australian and Switzerland before settling in Hangzhou, China as the Head Instructor of the Chefinary International Culinary School in 2017. With deep experience and a traditional philosophy of using the freshest market-ready ingredients, Emanuele now brings his Italian culinary passion to Pirata.

A keen traveler and action sports fan, when Emanuele is not cooking up Italian delights and leading the team in the kitchen, you can find him snowboarding, scuba diving or more likely just cruising around on his motorbike.

Ben Hatfield

Restaurant Manager

Meet Ben Hatfield, the Restaurant Manager of Pirata & The Optimist – a man who has dedicated his life to the art of hospitality. Born in England, Ben spent five years working in Australia and New Zealand, honing his skills and perfecting his craft. He then moved to Hong Kong, where he spent three years as the GM of Frantzens Kitchen, a fine-dining Swedish restaurant. After that, he spent two years as the GM of Bedu and Uma Nota, both under the umbrella of Meraki Hospitality. Ben is addicted to food, and his love for it shines through in everything he does.

Ben believes that the key to great hospitality is giving people memorable experiences and treating all guests as if they were in his own home. In August 2022, Ben joined Pirata Group, and he has continued to bring his passion for hospitality to the forefront. Despite his busy schedule, Ben always finds time for his hobbies, which include eating and drinking (in moderation, of course) and balancing it out by working off the calories. He is also an avid football fan, although he admits that supporting Charlton Athletic is more of a curse than a blessing.

Ben’s passion for hospitality began at a young age when he told his dad that he wanted to run his own pub. Now, years later, he is one step closer to fulfilling his seven-year-old self’s dream, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

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