When Daniela Maiorano shares her culture, background and family recipes with fans at AO Reserve during Australian Open 2027, it will mark the first time her celebrated culinary career has intersected with a tennis tournament.
“I have to admit that tennis was never really part of my life, but last year I came to the Australian Open and watched some of the matches, and I completely fell in love with it – especially the women’s tournament,” she told ausopen.com.
“There is such an incredible energy around the Australian Open, and I’m really excited to experience it from the inside this time. I love the idea of connecting with people coming from all over the world and being part of something on such a huge international scale.
“Most of all, I can’t wait to welcome people to The Gallery and make them happy through my food. For me, that’s always the most important part.”
Maiorano’s journey will be reflected in her offering at The Gallery, an atmospheric lounge-style space overlooking the lively AO precinct from the balcony bar.
Her cooking, with its strong focus on heritage, community and seasonality, has been shaped by her upbringing in Abruzzo, Italy, plus the fact she is a fourth-generation chef from a celebrated culinary family. Part of that family is her younger brother, Attilio Maiorano, who’ll work with Daniela at AO 2027.
Thrilled to be showcasing her family heritage and shared food traditions at Melbourne Park alongside her brother, Maiorano says fans coming to The Gallery can expect Italian fare of a kind they may not have experienced.
“I think there are still a lot of stereotypes around Italian food,” Maiorano explained. “When people think about Italian cuisine, they often think of the same few dishes, but the reality is that Italian food is incredibly regional… [with] its own ingredients, traditions, recipes and identity.
“What I’m bringing to The Gallery is a taste of Abruzzo – the region where I was born and where my family has been cooking for generations. It’s a cuisine that many people in Australia may not know very well, and that’s what makes this opportunity so exciting for me.
“I want diners to experience something simple, generous and authentic, but also something very different from what they might normally associate with Italian food."
“The Gallery itself will also tell that story. It has been inspired by my family restaurant, Ristorante Clemente in Sulmona, which opened in 1957, although my family’s history in hospitality goes back even further. The space will feature old photographs of my nonna and my family, along with details inspired by the restaurant and our history.
“So when people come to The Gallery, I hope they don’t just come to eat. I hope that, for a couple of hours, they feel like they’ve travelled somewhere else and experienced a little piece of my family and Abruzzo.”
Maiorano is not only excited to showcase the simplicity of Italian cooking through her regional lens; she’s also giving ausopen.com readers a little taste of it early.
As the days become longer in Melbourne and the city begins shifting out of winter mode into a warmer, sunnier period, her pasta recipe – shared below – reflects that.
“Pasta is a beautiful way to capture the feeling of The Gallery, the Australian summer and the energy of the AO,” said Maiorano, who is now based in Byron Bay.
“I’m incredibly excited to bring my cooking and my background to the Australian Open. I think the AO is one of the most incredible events in Australia, and really one of the great sporting events in the world, so having the opportunity to share my food, my heritage and my way of seeing the world through food on a stage like this is very special to me.
“My cooking is deeply connected to where I come from… but Australia has also become such an important part of my story.
“Being able to bring those two worlds together at the AO is something I’m really excited about.”
Cazzarielli e Fagioli
Fresh Cazzarielli with Borlotti Beans & Seasonal Greens
Serves 6
A simple dish that represents the heart of Abruzzese cooking. Legumes have sustained families in Abruzzo for centuries and were traditionally known as la carne dei poveri – “the meat of the poor”. This is the kind of food I love: humble, seasonal and comforting.
Cazzarielli ingredients
• 300 g semolina rimacinata
• 150 g hot water, approximately 60–70°C
Method
• Combine the semolina and hot water and knead until you have a smooth, soft and elastic dough. Keep covered with a damp cloth while working.
• Roll pieces of dough into thin logs and cut into approximately 2cm pieces. Shape each piece by dragging it with your fingers to create the characteristic hollow shape, or pass the dough through a manual cavatelli machine.
• Use immediately, refrigerate for later that day, or freeze in a single layer.
Cazzarielli e fagioli Ingredients
• 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
• soffritto
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 fresh chilli, sliced
• 1 kg cooked borlotti beans, drained, cooking liquid reserved
• 500 ml reserved bean cooking liquid, plus extra if needed
• seasonal greens or vegetables, such as chicory, broccoli or zucchini
• salt and black pepper
• fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• grated Parmigiano Reggiano, optional
Method
• Warm the olive oil in a large pot and gently cook the soffritto, garlic and chilli until soft and fragrant.
• Add the borlotti beans and cook for a few minutes, then add approximately 500 ml of the reserved bean cooking liquid. Blend one or two ladlefuls of the beans and liquid until smooth and return to the pot. This gives the dish its creamy consistency.
• Add your chosen seasonal vegetables, season with salt and pepper and simmer gently. Keep the mixture quite loose, as the pasta will absorb some of the liquid.
• Cook the fresh cazzarielli separately in salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes, then drain and add directly to the beans. Cook everything together for another couple of minutes.
• Finish with chopped parsley and rosemary, a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and, if you like, grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
AO Reserve at Australian Open 2027 is on sale now. Visit AO Reserve for more information.