Davide Di Fabio

Davide Di Fabio was born in 1985 in Rho (Milano) but can be considered in fact from Abruzzo, as he moved to Bellante (Teramo) at the age of 6. He then moved to San Benedetto del Tronto (Ascoli Piceno) in the nearby region to attend catering school. In 2005, only 20-year-old, he started his big adventure at Osteria Francescana. «I arrived in Modena because I fell in love with that restaurant simply by reading an interview with Massimo Bottura on a magazine I found in a desk at school. A sign of destiny I think». He remained in Via Stella for 16 years in a row, the latest ones as co-chef in pectore (with Takahiko Kondo).

In June 2021, the first “solo” adventure, in an old club, Dalla Gioconda in Gabicce Monte, a hamlet on the hills overlooking the sea between Emilia Romagna and Marche. «I guess», he said, «that after sixteen years this wasn't an easy choice, but I felt it was the right time to take a new road and this is to me the place I've always dreamt of, even closer to my family and my dear Abruzzo. Back to the origins».

He enjoys food with true and straightforward flavours, but with deep roots in the imagery. He shows a unique skill in his definition of sauce (Francescana is a crazy good school, in this respect), and a certain lightness and attention to detail in terms of cooking. Virtues that give life to delicious and playful dishes, the result of always recognisable ingredients. A detail not to forget, his restaurant was the first in Italy to receive the plastic free certificate: he abolished the use of single-use plastic and is working to make all his suppliers aware too (perhaps this is the hardest task). In terms of sustainability, another goal is to «grow with and make fishermen aware of the most important themes, creating controlled supply chains that respect the environment and the future of the sea». A real cook projected into the future.