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Gualtiero Marchesi

The history and identity of ALMA are indissolubly linked to the figure of Gualtiero Marchesi, who held the position of Rector from 2004 to 2017. His role was decisive in defining the teaching parameters within the School: Marchesi introduced a method based on essentiality, the formal cleanliness of the plate, and the enhancement of the pure flavor of ingredients.

His teaching was not purely theoretical, but translated into a daily discipline that remains a reference point for our instructors today

Marchesi wanted ALMA to be a place where the student could learn harmony and precision, starting from the premise that "cuisine is science in itself; it is up to the chef to make it art." This transition from a trade to an educated profession remains the core of our educational proposal.

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"Dear students, dear teachers, dear friends, I can say, without exaggeration but with pride, that if ALMA exists, it is also thanks to myself.I do not know if it was more of a labor or a fatherhood. Perhaps both things together. I feel like a mother and also a father to this beautiful school.Here, people come to learn the basics of the trade, to master the techniques to work with in order to do justice to and make Italian cuisine great.You can only achieve something great if you study hard and relentlessly practice the craft."

For Gualtiero Marchesi, cuisine was a vocation.

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The spark was ignited through the example of his parents, who owned the hotel-restaurant Al Mercato, in via Bezzecca, Milan.
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A passion for drawing and music—opera in particular—and a daily workload approached with rigor and sensitivity distinguished that restaurant from other kitchens in the city. In 1977, Marchesi opened his first restaurant in via Bonvesin della Riva.
Twenty years later, Gualtiero Marchesi moved to Franciacorta, to L’Albereta in Erbusco, and in 2008 he opened the Restaurant Teatro Alla Scala ‘IL MARCHESINO’. The recognitions and awards earned over a career spanning more than sixty years are countless.
From 2003 to 2017, he assumed the role of Rector of ALMA, the International School of Italian Cuisine.