Nadia Santini is an Italian chef, best known for her restaurant Dal Pescatore, in

Canneto sull'Oglio Canneto is an Italian word referred to a reed bed. It may refer to several places in Italy: Municipalities (''comuni'') *Canneto Pavese, in the Province of Pavia, Lombardy * Canneto sull'Oglio, in the Province of Mantua, Lombardy Civil parishes ...

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

which has held three

Michelin stars The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

since 1996.

Biography

Santini was taught to cook at a young age by her future husband's great-grandmother, Teresa. She has a cooking philosophy around the idea of a small restaurant, saying "I think it is impossible for a woman to run a kitchen that serves 100 people. I can't give my heart to a dish if I am cooking for more than 30." Her restaurant Dal Pescatore is located in the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

, Italy. The restaurant is an extended

trattoria A ''trattoria'' (plural: ''trattorie'') is an Italian-style eating establishment that is generally much less formal than a '' ristorante'', but more formal than an ''osteria''. A ''trattoria'' rooted in tradition may typically provide no pri ...

, and was originally opened by Santini's husband's great-grandparents in the 1910s. Nadia took over the running of the restaurant alongside her husband in 1974. In 1996, the restaurant was awarded three

, with Santini becoming the first female chef in Italy to earn that level of accolade. In 2010, German filmmaker

Lutz Hachmeister Lutz Hachmeister (born 10 September 1959) is a German media historian, award-winning filmmaker and journalist. He particularly gained international attention for directing the 2005 film ''The Goebbels Experiment'', co-produced by the BBC and the ...

created a

television documentary Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. *Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

called ''Three Stars'', which Santini starred in amongst other chefs from Michelin starred restaurants. Her appearance in the documentary stood out, being described by critics as a "radiant personality and gentle, Old World approach to the nurturing of recipes, colleagues, and clientele provide the counterpoint to frenetic, confrontational kitchens run by scientist-chefs." Santini has been highly regarded by other chefs, including French chef

Anne-Sophie Pic Anne-Sophie Pic (, born 12 July 1969) is a French chef best known for regaining three Michelin stars for her restaurant, Maison Pic, in southeast France. She is the fourth female chef to win three Michelin stars, and was named the Best Female ...

who described her as "extraordinary" and an inspiration, and British chef

Angela Hartnett Angela Maria Hartnett (born September 1968) is an English Michelin-starred chef. A protégée of Gordon Ramsay who became well known by her appearances on British television, she was Chef-Patron at Angela Hartnett at The Connaught in London. Cu ...

has described Santini as one of her "heroes". 2013 saw Nadia being christened 2013 Veuve Clicquot World's Best Female chef from

The World's 50 Best Restaurants The World's Best 50 Restaurants is a list produced by UK media company William Reed, which originally appeared in the British magazine ''Restaurant'' in 2002. The list and awards however are no longer directly related to ''Restaurant'' magazine ...

by ''Restaurant'' magazine.

Personal life

Santini is married to her husband Antonio, who also works in Santini's restaurant but in reception rather than the kitchen. They met whilst at the

University of Milan The University of Milan ( it, Università degli Studi di Milano; la, Universitas Studiorum Mediolanensis), known colloquially as UniMi or Statale, is a public research university in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Europe ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santini, Nadia Living people Italian chefs Women chefs Head chefs of Michelin starred restaurants Year of birth missing (living people)