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PALAZZO DUCALE SHINES WITH A LIGURIAN CONSTELLATION OF NINE MICHELIN-STAR CHEFS
A spectacle of lights and reflections overlooking the intense blue of the sea provided a stunning backdrop, enveloping the marvellous Sala del Maggiore Consiglio in the Palazzo Ducale, where last night, 23rd September, the Mare Stellato Charity Gala was held in support of the Italian Cancer Research Foundation AIRC, organised as part of the 63rd Genoa International Boat Show. An evening also made possible thanks to the support of prominent sponsors such as Kartell and Eberhard & Co.
At this edition of the Genoa International Boat Show, the Italian Marine Industry Association and the Liguria Region decided to go beyond the concept of showcasing the best of the yachting industry and its supply chain, bringing the sea to the city and promoting an event that has a common denominator with the Genoa Boat Show: excellence. And at a time when the world spotlight is focused on the success of the Italian yachting industry and on the concept of beauty and fine craftsmanship, only a selection of renowned Michelin-star chefs, chosen from the best of Liguria, could be called upon to give their own interpretation of excellence for the evening’s culinary offering.For thefirst time ever, nine such chefs were asked to work together to benefit a truly unique event with an equally noble purpose and represent the uniqueness of a territory that by vocation and tradition is devoted to the sea.
Hosting the event was TV presenter and former Miss Italy, Roberta Capua, who presented the chefs and their creations, accompanying the guests on this journey of excellence.
At the start of the event, Roberta Capua called on stage Marina Stella, General Manager of Confindustria Nautica, Giovanni Toti, President of the Liguria Region, and Marco Bucci, Mayor of Genoa.
Marina Stella, as she thanked everyone for attending and for coming to the 63rd International Boat Show, commented: “Our sea expresses excellence, an element we also celebrated yesterday during the Design Innovation Award ceremony. Excellence that can also be seen through the creations of our chefs. It is important to support selected and extraordinarily useful projects such as those of the Italian Cancer Research Foundation. And we are proud to do so. Every year we try to associate the territory with an important message, because just as our companies play a social role for the employment chain and for the many families who work throughout our industry, in the same way we believe it is essential to be increasingly close to events that focus on research and social issues’.
President of the Liguria Region Giovanni Toti pointed out that this year “a great deal of stars are shining. Just walking around the city, the Genoa Boat Show is its heart, but it is a heart that no longer beats alone. It is a heart that beats together with the city, together with the many events organised like the one held this evening, which combines business – which has a social value in terms of jobs, employment, economic growth, and opportunities for many people – with people’s generosity to help the AIRC Foundation’s excellent cause. I would like to thank the Italian Marine Industry Association and the Stars who will be cooking for us tonight. This is yet another example of synergy that we build on every day”.
In his speech, Genoa’s first citizen Marco Bucci thanked the guests for being there. “Genoa owes you her thanks, because you are doing something important, not just for yourselves, but for the city. It is this very passion that drives your companies to work in this way. For us it has been a source of work, of sacrifice, of great economic and employment wealth. The sea is important, so it must be protected, we must not ruin what we have. We must, instead, keep moving forward in the right direction because the sea is the primary source around which we all come together. We thank you and the system that is our city as it becomes better and increasingly international day by day. A city we want to leave to our children and the next generations”.
Roberta Capua emphasised how much the AIRC Foundation does for research, the main source of investment for 6,000 researchers, after which she invited Saverio Cecchi, President of the Italian Marine Industry Association and organizing company I Saloni Nautici, and President Toti to take the stage and hand over the donation to the AIRC Foundation’s President Lorenzo Anselmi. It was an intense moment that underlined how important everyone’s contribution is in order to continue to support and sustain the extraordinary work of the 6,000 researchers working for the AIRC Foundation and build an increasingly cancer-free future.
An overview of the evening’s star chefs
Mauro Ricciardi – Locanda Tamerici (Fiumaretta di Ameglia, SP)
The son of farmers, Mauro lives and breathes in the heart of the countryside. At the side of his mother and grandmother, he began to savour and store the rarest scents, flavours and aromas that inebriate the senses and the mind. In 1990, the Locanda delle Tamerici was founded, and thus began his journey as a chef: scents awaken memories and feed the desire to know and discover. Thanks to his determination, it was only a matter of time before prizes, newspaper articles, guidebook mentions and, finally, the coveted Michelin Star began to arrive. In 2002, he became a lecturer at ALMA in Colorno, where he gave lessons on Ligurian cuisine. In May 2013, he left Locanda delle Tamerici for a new adventure with the opening of Locanda dell’Angelo. After a short time, he regained his Michelin Star and continued for seven years in his kitchen. He then founded a cooking school, where he imparts knowledge and ideas to enthusiasts and industry insiders. In 2021, a new project was born at Locanda Tamerici, for which the Michelin Star was once again awarded.
Alberto Moretti – Bishopric (Noli, SV)
After graduating from catering school, he studied at ALMA and then continued his training at Jason Atherton’s Michelin-star kitchen in London for a year. This was followed by three years in the kitchens of Giampiero Vivalda. He collaborated on the opening of Impronta d’acqua in Cavi di Lavagna and in 2017 arrived at Giuseppe Ricchebuono’s Vescovado, where he currently works as executive chef. Having received a Michelin star in 2009, the restaurant is headed by Ricchebuono, who is assisted in the kitchen by Moretti: his dishes have marked the history of catering in Liguria for over thirty years. The restaurant’s philosophy is to offer light cuisine, made with few ingredients linked to the territory. A vision shared and carried forward also by Alberto, who participates in this journey between generations.
Jorg Giubbani – Orto by Jorg Giubbani (Moneglia, GE)
Born in 1992, Jorg Giubbani was already a precocious talent as a teenager, in the kitchen at the age of 16. After important experiences in France and in particular the internship in Alicante with 3 Michelin Star chef Quique Dacosta, he returned to Italy, to the Excelsior Palace in Rapallo, in his native Liguria, the Belmond Splendido in Portofino and the historic Trattoria Angiolina in Sestri Levante. He spent five winters at the Stüa de Michil of the Hotel Perla in Corvara in Alta Badia with the esteemed Costa family, where he had the opportunity to work alongside the two great chefs Arturo Spicocchi first and Nicola Laera, significantly shaping his idea of cuisine.
In Giubbani’s work, these two natures coexist in perfect harmony: the maritime side, inherent in his Ligurian DNA and already developed from the teachings of his mother Nivres, and that of the mountains, due to the indelible mark that the Dolomites have left in his heart as well as in his hand. The stimulating Orto by Jorg Giubbani project at Villa Edera & La Torretta in Moneglia give the chef full freedom to combine the sea and the mountains, the vegetable garden and the memory of his own flavours, infusing them with new life and form into his dishes. His first Michelin star was awarded in November 2022.
Ivano Ricchebono – The Cook (Genoa, GE)
Born in 1972, Ivano Ricchebono has Genoese roots but his passion and curiosity have led him to work all over Italy. After finishing catering school, he worked his way up through the ranks before being spotted by Stefano Giorgi who saw his potential and brought him into his kitchen. In 1990 he made his debut in haute cuisine at the Hotel Atlantico in Forte dei Marmi, where he was head chef for five seasons. Back in Liguria, he held worled first at the Matahari as sous chef then at the Hotel Melograno, managing the kitchen. Another great encounter turned Ivano’s life around: in 1996, manager Adriano Lovati introduced him to the French hotel group Accor, making him station chef and then chef within the Hotel Novotel chain. He completed his training with two haute patisserie courses at the Etoile Institute in Venice. In 2004 he opened The Cook in Genoa Nervi. The Michelin star arrived in 2010 and has been maintained ever since. For years, he has been a regular guest on Antonella Clerici’s famous TV programme ‘È Sempre Mezzogiorno’. At the same time, he is Chef Consultant at the Diana Grand Hotel in Alassio, a historic tourist resort on the Riviera di Ponente.
Giorgio Servetto – Vignamare (Andora, SV)
Born in Savona in 1975, Giorgio Servetto discovered his passion for cooking at an early age, on the family farm in Palo. It was here that he was introduced to the authentic and genuine flavours of his land, a Ligurian strip contaminated by the gastronomic excellence of the nearby Piedmont region. He attended catering school and took his first steps into the world of catering from there. He opened his first restaurant, ‘U Sciarattü in Alassio, and was then at the helm of La locanda dell’Asino, where he gained recognition from the leading Italian guides. The modernist experience at the Devero together with Bartolini were essential in contributing to his development and his definitive affirmation in the restaurant world. From 2016 to 2021 he was executive chef at the Nove restaurant at Villa della Pergola in Alassio, where he was awarded a Michelin star in 2021. In 2022, he moved to Andora, where he began his collaboration with the PEQ Agri farm. Creativity, continuous research, sustainability and the enhancement of raw materials and gastronomic traditions are fundamental elements of his cuisine. In 2023, as a confirmation of the uniqueness and authenticity of the sustainability path undertaken, he was awarded the Michelin Green Star.
Ivan Maniago – Water Footprint (Cavi di Lavagna, GE)
Chef and pioneer of the Impronta d’acqua project, Ivan Maniago, from Friuli, approached the world of catering by chance, or rather, as he himself puts it, ‘out of boredom’ at the age of fourteen when he started working in his local pizzeria. His culinary skills were clear even at a young age, so much so that he found himself working in some of the most important kitchens such as those of Gualtiero Marchesi, Massimo Bottura, Massimiliano Alajmo and Philippe Léveillé. Fundamental to his training were his experiences at Miramonti l’Altro in Concesio bearing two Michelin stars, Le Calandre in Rubano bearing three Michelin stars, and Lord Nelson in Chiavari, where in 2015 he was awarded the coveted Cappello in Le Guide de L’Espresso. Then came Piedmont: he worked in a well-known historic two-starred restaurant, Antica Corona Reale, in the province of Cuneo. In 2017, he decided to give life to his personal project, Impronta d’acqua, returning to Liguria, to Cavi di Lavagna. In 2020 he was awarded his first Michelin star.
Samuele Di Murro – San Giorgio (Genoa, GE)
Samuele Di Murro is the young chef working at San Giorgio. In 2018 he challenged himself and abandoned his university studies and an already written future to chase a dream: that of becoming a chef. The choice was a leap of faith, the beginning of a difficult journey. Brimming with determination, Samuele entered the kitchens of San Giorgio as an intern. Danilo Scala, however, noticed something special in him and gave him all the support and encouragement he needed to climb the kitchen hierarchy. He walked alongside collaborators with whom he shares the values of commitment, sacrifice and passion that characterise work in a restaurant. Di Murro and his staff make up a perfectly balanced team: small, exceptional artists, coordinated and complementary, working towards a common goal: customer satisfaction.
Barbara Masieri – Paolo & Barbara (Sanremo, IM)
Barbara Masieri, together with her husband Paolo, runs the Paolo & Barbara restaurant in Sanremo with a tremendous amount of passion. The restaurant was opened in 1988 and received its first Michelin Star in 1990. Barbara is maître, sommelier and pastry chef in the restaurant. She taught herself the art of pastry making when she began studying French pastry making techniques in the 1980s and applied it to Italian flavours. In 1992 she was an intern in Iginio Massari’s workshop. Her source of inspiration is Gianluca Fusto. In line with Paolo’s cooking, Barbara selects natural wines from various parts of Italy and France, from producers who focus on the value of their territory. Parallel to their restaurant business, the couple run the San Sebastiano farm in Castelvittorio, in the Upper Nervia Valley. Here they cultivate products that are symbolic of the region such as the white Pigna beans, Genovese quarantine potatoes, syrup roses, as well as a taggiasca olive grove, vineyard and chestnut grove.
Antonio Buono – Casa Buono (Trucco, IM) Born at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, Antonio Buono has been working in restaurant kitchens since the age of fourteen, starting with a humble apprenticeship in a chefs’ kitchens. Later, he had the opportunity to gain experience in luxury hotels in northern Italy, before joining the Pappacarbone restaurant in Campania. His passion for haute cuisine restaurants was born in Buono: he worked in an internship at Mirazur, at the time a two-Michelin Star restaurant, and in one at Manresa in California, three Stars. In 2013 he returned to Mirazur and stayed in its kitchens for seven years, six of which he spent as head chef. In 2017, his talent allowed him to pass the French selection of S. Pellegrino Young Chef. In 2020, after the birth of his first child, he and his wife Valentina Florio decided to open their own business in Ventimiglia, to combine family life and work. Casa Buono was awarded a Michelin Star just two years after its opening.
