GUIDED BY THE VISION OF CHEF, RESEARCHER AND ENTREPRENEUR NIKO ROMITO, THE NIKO ROMITO GROUP TODAY EMBODYS AN INTEGRATED MODEL WHERE AUTHORITY CUISINE IS IN CONSTANT DIALOGUE WITH EDUCATION, SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION AND FOOD PRODUCTION, REMAINING FAITHFUL TO THE PILLARS OF ETHICS, QUALITY, HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY.
The beating heart of this system is the Reale Restaurant, founded with his sister Cristiana in 2000 in Rivisondoli and moved in 2011 to Casadonna — an ancient 15th century monastery inCastel di Sangro — where since 2014 he has held three Michelin Stars. The structure, in addition to ten rooms, also houses the’Niko Romito Academy, a high-level training school and contemporary gastronomic research centre focused on the relationship between food and health, whose activity extends to the Niko Romito Laboratory: a hub
creative studio dedicated to excellent bread-making and leavened products. In 2017, the collaboration with Bvlgari Hotels & Resorts, for which the Chef has developed a new model of Italian cuisine for luxury hotels around the world. The Group also operates in original formats such as Spazio, an incubator for the Academy's talents, ALT Stazione del Gusto, dedicated to quality mobile catering, and BOMB, signature street food project.
IDENTITY AND VISION You've carved out a unique path in the international gastronomic scene. When did you realize that your cuisine wouldn't be just technical, but a personal language capable of expressing a vision of the world? It was never an end in itself, but a means of expression. I'm self-taught; I took over Reale—at the time, a simple trattoria my father had created—without experience or professional training. I learned on the job and from books. I studied a lot, from traditional recipes to the books of great chefs, and I experimented tirelessly, learning from my mistakes. My fascination with the idea of transforming raw materials is what made me decide to pursue this career: the idea that starting with an "ordinary" ingredient can lead to something extraordinary, new, exciting... Over the years, I've developed innovative techniques that have allowed me to define my own language, but above all, to convey my thoughts, my vision. In my dishes, technique is never an exercise in style; it always serves a specific purpose.
PHILOSOPHY OF SUBTRACTION Your cuisine is often described as essential, pure, almost radical in its subtraction. Is simplicity a goal or a starting point? And how much scientific research lies behind a seemingly minimal dish?
At Ristorante Reale, simplicity is both a starting point and a finishing line. It's a starting point because I love constructing my dishes with very few ingredients, favoring those often considered "common," like an onion or a broccoli. It's a finishing line because it represents the final synthesis of a long journey. Simplicity, in fact, doesn't mean ease, but rather synthesis, essence. It's a simplicity that's only apparent; it's the result of layering flavors and textures, of a quest to condense a complex meaning through technique, creativity, and precision. It's much harder to subtract than to add: eliminating the superfluous to enhance the quintessence of the ingredient.
I've always approached cooking with a scientific mind. Over the years, study and experience have led me to engage in constant dialogue with scientists, researchers, and nutritionists. Today, scientific research is a fundamental pillar of the Group's activities, allowing me to decode the material. It helps me technically understand the transformation processes and the ultimate flavor expression of a dish at Reale. But above all, in the various research projects I'm pursuing, it's the tool for defining a new paradigm of good, healthy, and accessible nutrition, where well-being never compromises the pleasure of taste.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE AND GLOBAL EXCELLENCE Leading the culinary offerings of Bulgari Hotels & Resorts means bringing Italian identity to diverse cultural contexts. How do you maintain an international star rating while adapting to markets like Tokyo, Dubai, or Paris without losing consistency and identity? The project we've created with Bvlgari is stimulating, ambitious, and innovative: we've codified a new model of traditional, authentic, and timeless Italian cuisine, recognizable around the world. Our menus incorporate local products and seasonality, but we never modify recipes to please regional palates. This isn't arrogance, it's consistency: we want to offer an authentic experience, not a "mediated version" of our culture.
It's a cultural as well as gastronomic project, with a strong identity, expressed through our recipes but also throughout the entire Il Ristorante – Niko Romito ecosystem—from the ceramics to the service—which exudes a natural elegance and pure Italian savoir-faire. This sophistication and obsessive attention to detail, for us, represent true contemporary luxury.
THE VALUE OF TRAINING With the Niko Romito Academy, you've chosen to invest structurally in young people. What are the key skills a young chef must develop today to aspire to international excellence? Certainly, a thirst for knowledge, curiosity, and the ability to constantly challenge oneself are essential drivers at any age. A young chef shouldn't work obsessed with recognition or visibility. They must give their all at all times, have the determination to face challenges, and the courage to deeply believe in their vision, daring to think outside the box rather than pursuing what they think will please the guides. International excellence is not an end in itself, but the consequence of work carried out with rigor, consistency, and passion. Today more than ever, we need concreteness, substance, and profound values to build a truly sustainable future for cuisine.
FUTURE AND LEGACY After achieving extraordinary goals, the challenge becomes to leave a lasting mark. What legacy do you wish to build: a recognizable style, a replicable method, a school of thought, or a new concept of Italian dining around the world? What I care about most for the future is education. I want to create new training programs, innovate education to train new professionals in the food industry, who can bring a new concept of taste, health, accessibility, and sustainability to all levels of the restaurant industry.
