11 might sound a small number of starred restaurants, but by ranking 4th in the 3-Michelin Stars restaurants in Europe, Italy culinary stardom is expanding. Indeed, accordingly to STATISTA, Italy was at the 6th place in the list of “countries by number of 3-Star restaurants” in November 2017.
2-Michelin Stars restaurants are even more: 35, from North to South of Italy.
Who are the starred chefs behind these awarded restaurants?
3-Michelin starred chefs are:
- Norbert Niederkofler, “St.Hubertus Rosa Alpina” in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
- Nadia Santini, “Al Pescatore” in Lombardy, she is the only Italian female chef awarded with 3 stars
- Massimo Bottura, “Osteria Francescana” in Emilia-Romagna
- Niko Romito, “Reale” in Abruzzo
- Enrico Crippa, “Piazza Duomo” in Piedmont
- Massimiliano Alajmo, “Le Calandre” in Veneto, the youngest chef awarded with 3 stars
- Enrico and Roberto Cerea, together they lead “Da Vittorio”, in Lombardy
- Enrico Bartolini, “Enrico Bartolini al Mudec”, in Milan
- Heinz Beck, “La Pergola”, in Rome. This chef is German but with an Italian heart, he leads the only 3-Michelin starred restaurant in Rome
- Mauro Uliassi, “Uliassi”, Apulia
- Annie Féolde, Italo Bassi, and Riccardo Monco, together they lead “Enoteca Pinchiorri” in Florence. Annie was the first female chef in Italy to get awarded by Michelin
The story of the Michelin stars
From tire manufacturers to travel guide publishers, to fine dining: here is how two French brothers created a long lasting empire and changed forever the restaurants ranking.
As per a game, the 2 Michelin brothers started to keep a journal with the aim of helping drivers to enjoy their ride and providing routes, maps, a list of petrol stations and a list of restaurant and hotels along the routes. The guide has been free for 20 years, and then in 1920 was launched as the “must have guide” for a price of 7 francs.
The Michelin guide began to award stars for fine dining in 1926, Initially with only 1 star and a few years later the criteria changed and became more specific:
1 star: “A very good restaurant in its category” (Une très bonne table dans sa catégorie)
2 stars : “Excellent cooking, worth a detour” (Table excellente, mérite un détour)
3 stars: “Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey” (Une des meilleures tables, vaut le voyage).
Michelin reviewers are anonymous and their meals and expenses are never paid by a restaurant being reviewed, this keeps the reviews real and trustful.
Michelin-awarded Italian VIP chefs
Antonino Cannavacciuolo and Carlo Cracco are Italian Michelin starred chefs and became famous thank to the popular TV show “MasterChef”, now at its 8th season.
Beside their TV career, those chefs own amazing restaurants in Italy, where they express their culinary art at its best.
