Cristiano Tomei

Cristiano Tomei uses every technique in the kitchen: from marinating egg yolks in tomato water to hanging pigeon over a hot plate for hours; from cooking roots under salt to cold infusing earth and water as a base for soup. And yet, he is a self-taught chef: a graduate of the Nautical Institute, he trained by helping out with family meals made of clams from the sands of Viareggio and wild asparagus from the hills between Lucca and the sea. He traveled with his surfer friends but would often leave them among the waves to explore markets, taverns, and gourmet restaurants in the Basque Country, Cuba, Peru, Madagascar, and India.

He opened his first restaurant at the age of 27, right on the beach. He later moved it to the center of Viareggio in a renovated carpentry shop, and eventually to Lucca, in the historic Palazzo Boccella, home to the contemporary art museum Lu.C.C.A., where he earned his first Michelin star in 2014. Recently, the Chef relocated the restaurant to the lemon house of Palazzo Pfanner, overlooking one of Italy’s most beautiful gardens and a filming location for movies such as Il Marchese del Grillo and Ritratto di signora.