Michelin-starred Italian chef is handed jail sentence and fined £18,000 after serving raw clam risotto infected with norovirus to dozens of wedding guests with some needing hospital treatment

An Italian Michelin-starred chef has been sentenced to almost three months in prison and slapped with a hefty £18,000 fine after serving norovirus-infected clams to over 50 wedding guests.

Nicknamed 'the freshwater chef', Marco Sacco, 59, cooked up a clam risotto at his famous Piccolo Lago di Verbania restaurant in 2021.

But soon after the celebrations were over, several guests were left complaining of nausea, vomitting, and stomach pain - with some even checking themselves into hospital as a result.

An Italian court has now accused Sacco, and the restaurant manager Raffaella Marchetti of culpable negligence and trading harmful foodstuffs. 

Both Sacco and Marchetti were slapped with £18,000 to pay in damages, including over £6,800 to the wedding couple, and over £200 each to each of the 53 guests.

Marco Sacco, 59, was given a two month and 20 day sentence after serving norovirus infected raw clam risotto to over 50 guests at a wedding in 2021

The incident took place at Sacco's luxury Picco Lago di Verbania restaurant located in Italy

The Michelin-starred chef was also slapped with an £18,000 fine following the contamination incident

They each also had over £8,500 to pay to cover their legal fees.

On top of the fines, Sacco and Marchetti were handed prison sentences of two months and 20 days with a conditional suspension, according to La Rebubblica.

Following the contaminated risotto incident, the Carabinieri concluded the imported clams from France had been infected with norovirus before Sacco unknowingly served them to the guests. 

Norovirus is often referred to as the 'winter vomiting bug'.

The clams were served raw as there were allegedly no indications on the sealed packaging that prohibited such use. 

The chef allegedly defended himself by claiming he had served 3,000 similar dishes before and that no issues had ever arisen.

Sacco told Il Gusto: 'The menu included a risotto with borage and raw clams. We bought clams that can be eaten raw, as the manufacturer's label shows and as shown in the product technical data sheet.

'They are clams that I have been using since 2015. Since I have had this supplier I will have served over three thousand dishes like that.'

After news of the infected dish made headlines in Italy, fears have arisen that many Italians may now be put off from ordering fresh fish meals including raw oysters, mussels, and clams.

Speaking to The Times, Igles Corelli, a chef who co-ordinates the Gambero Rosso Academy cooking school, called these foods 'problematic' and said consumers will now be wary of taking the risk by eating raw dishes.

He also said that Sacco should have kwown better by 'cooking them at 64C or 65C so that they are purified but the taste of the sea remains.'