A story that comes home
Cristiano
Cristiano Venturi was born in Fano – on the stairs, in fact, such was his hurry to come into the world. The ambulance then took him to Fossombrone, which, on paper at least, became his hometown. He grew up surrounded by the aromas of home cooking. His mother Marisa, his aunts and his grandmother Ersilia passed on to him, from early childhood, a love for the stove that would never leave him.
After studying hospitality in Senigallia and at the Bristol in Rome, he took his first steps at the Hôtel Hermitage in Monte-Carlo. From there began a journey that led him to more than twenty-five countries, running the kitchens of great hotels and international restaurants: from the Grand Hotel Europe in Saint Petersburg to BiCE in Tokyo, from the Grand Hyatt in San Diego to the Marriott in Hawaii, by way of Sofia and Novosibirsk.
In Italy he headed the kitchens of La Scogliera on La Maddalena and of Castello Ruffo, and oversaw the opening of the Hotel Elisabeth on the Conero coast. In his home region of Le Marche he worked with chef Maurizio Cecilioni at the Locanda Strada della Marina in Senigallia, and in several restaurants between Pesaro and Fano.
A path that earned him the title of ambassador of Italian cuisine in the world, conferred by the President of the Italian Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. Later came the presidency of the Associazione Professionale Cuochi Italiani and of the Italian Culinary Consortium in France, and the role of ambassador of the Italian Culinary Consortium for Le Marche.
As head of the Italian National Chefs’ Junior Team, he represented Italy at the Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg (2010, one silver and one bronze) and at the Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany (2008, two silvers and two bronzes). He also won gold and the team victory at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, and a silver and a bronze at the Chicago Cup (2007).
His work has also been recognised beyond competitions. He received the Auguste Escoffier Award, presented in Forlimpopoli at Casa Artusi, and twice the “Personality of the Year” award from the Associazione Lidia, for a cuisine attentive to the use of fats and to low-temperature cooking. He has also appeared on Italian television on Rai 1, on La vecchia fattoria, Linea Blu and La prova del cuoco.
Today Cristiano calls himself a “painter of palates”. He wants a dish to stir the same emotion as a work of art, and to have a soul made of the flavours and aromas that memory keeps bringing back to him from his childhood.
He also passes his experience on to others. He taught cookery at the hotel and catering school in Perugia, and today he trains restaurant professionals with the FOODCOACH® method, a programme on managing emotions in the kitchen and in the dining room.
Mirela
At his side is Elena Mirela Macovei, Miri to those who know her. Born in Romania, she came to Italy in 2000 and built her own path through study, sacrifice and many different kitchens, including working alongside Michelin-starred chef Marco Bistarelli. She then moved to Le Marche, where she continued to train in different styles of restaurant service. In 2022 she met Cristiano: they understood each other straight away, and the idea was born of a small restaurant in which to express their emotions through cooking.
Why “da Pep”
The name has a story that goes back a long way. In 1987 Giuseppe Durazzi, known to everyone as Peppe, founder of the da Pep restaurant, wanted the young Cristiano in his kitchen. But Cristiano had other plans, and their paths parted.
In 2023, after years spent travelling the world, Cristiano walked into that very same restaurant by chance. Gina, Peppe’s wife, recognised him and told him that Peppe had always wanted him there: if fate had brought him back to that door, it was meant to be.
And so, at the beginning of 2024, Cristiano and Mirela took over that little restaurant and named it Ristorantino da Pep, cum una volta – local dialect for “like in the old days”: just as in 1987, when Peppe wanted him by his side.