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rowing up Colleferro, a village hour and a half from Rome. Marco’s comes from a simple family with solid in values- responsibility, honesty and self-sacrifice are values which his parents raised him with and, of course, his mum passed down to him her passion for cooking and the culinary traditional flavours of their hometown. As a rugby player with a great passion after food, Marco learnt the importance of respect, team spirit and competition, both in the rugby field and in life. He found his way into the culinary field firstly by necessity. When he was 16, he got a part-time job delivering pizza’s to have some extra pocket money. Soon he started working for Antonello Colonna in Labico, which was his first important experience. He was really fascinated by food and suddenly he realized that becoming a great chef in his own restaurant would be his future. And here he is - a result of determination, enthusiasm and experience. Marco was young, ambitious and determined. Colonna understood his talent and soon he wanted him to be the executive chef at the Open Colonna, the central restaurant at the top of Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome. He was only 24 and was given the responsibility, it was tough but a great source of satisfaction as it was the first Michelin star he received. After few years, he realized it was time to face new challenges, and one day he received a phone call from Heinz Beck. “I was talking on the phone with him and was trembling with emotion.” Working with Heinz Beck was an extraordinary experience as well as being a sous chef in Tom Aikens’ restaurant in London. After the UK experience, he went back to Rome and worked for Stazione di Posta where he received his second Michelin star. Finally in 2016, he achieved his dream to have his own restaurant. Marco Martini Restaurant in Viale Aventino is finally the place where he expresses his culinary philosophy. After a few months opening he was awarded with a Michelin star.
MARCO MARTINI MARCO MARTINI RESTAURANT ROME, ITALY
He learnt a lot from each and every experience and has the greatest regards for Antonello, Heinz and Tom as he could find his own personal style in cuisine. He wouldn’t say other chefs influenced his style, but rather says that his personal experiences, like a journey or everyday life, did it. Marco’s cuisine is “eyes, tummy and head”. It‘s a perfect balance mix of beauty, tastiness, instinct and technique. “My cuisine has been defined as evocative cuisine: each plate has its own story to tell, and it is made of emotions, memories, flavours of traditional cuisine - mainly Roman and regional Italian – but combined with innovation.”
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