The Dieci Boutique Journal

From Milan to Bulgaria: Chef Gianfranco Chiarini is formally welcomed into the Associazione Italiana Ambasciatori del Gusto, alongside some of the most celebrated names in contemporary Italian cuisine.

Some distinctions recognize a restaurant.

Others recognize a dish, a season, or a particular moment in a career.

And then there are recognitions that come directly from one’s professional peers.

On 30 July 2026, in Milan, Chef Gianfranco Chiarini was formally welcomed into the Associazione Italiana Ambasciatori del Gusto — ADG, one of Italy’s most distinguished professional associations dedicated to representing and promoting Italian gastronomic culture, hospitality and agri-food excellence.

The official welcome letter was personally addressed to Chef Chiarini and signed by the Association’s President, Alessandro Gilmozzi.

Its concluding words leave little ambiguity about the significance of the appointment:

“È un piacere e un onore averti in squadra con noi…”

— “It is a pleasure and an honor to have you on our team…”

For Chef Gianfranco Chiarini—and for Dieci Boutique Restaurant in Bulgaria—the appointment represents considerably more than another professional title.

It represents entry into a formidable community of Italian gastronomic excellence.

WHAT IS AMBASCIATORI DEL GUSTO?

The Associazione Italiana Ambasciatori del Gusto is a non-profit organization established in 2016.

According to the Association itself, ADG was created around a strong ethical foundation and with the objective of representing the many disciplines that constitute Italian gastronomy: chefs, pastry chefs, bakers, pizza makers, gelato makers, restaurateurs, dining-room professionals, wine experts and entrepreneurs, together with academics, researchers, journalists, economists, writers and other figures connected to Italian food culture.

What unites them is not simply profession.

They are individuals who, through their work, have distinguished themselves in the promotion of Italian gastronomic culture and Italy’s agri-food heritage.

The Association describes its members as representatives of quality Italian gastronomy, hospitality and restaurant culture operating within an established professional network capable of building relationships throughout Italy and internationally.

Its objective is ambitious: to use professional expertise—il saper fare italiano—together with institutional cooperation where appropriate, to promote high-quality Italian cuisine and Italian products through a broad range of initiatives.

That makes the title Ambasciatore del Gusto particularly appropriate.

• An ambassador is not simply recognized.
• An ambassador is entrusted to represent.

MEMBERSHIP IS NOT SIMPLY A REGISTRATION

One of the most significant elements of ADG is its admissions procedure.

According to the Association’s official statute, an ordinary member is admitted following a proposal by two existing ordinary members who have held membership for at least one year, or by a Founder or Honorary Member.

The candidate then submits a formal application and supporting professional documentation, and the admission itself is subject to deliberation by the Consiglio Direttivo — the Board of Directors.

In other words, becoming an Ambasciatore del Gusto involves peer nomination and institutional approval.

That distinction matters.

Because the people doing the recognizing are themselves among the protagonists of Italian gastronomy.

THE COMPANY OF GREAT CHEFS

To understand the calibre of this professional community, one only has to look at several of the chefs represented among the Ambasciatori del Gusto.

The photographs accompanying this announcement include some extraordinary names.

Massimo Bottura

Massimo Bottura, chef of Osteria Francescana in Modena, stands among the most influential figures of contemporary Italian cuisine.

For the 2026 Michelin Guide, Osteria Francescana continues to hold Three Michelin Stars, Michelin’s highest distinction.

Bottura’s work has helped redefine how Italian culinary tradition can interact with art, memory, culture and contemporary creativity while remaining unmistakably rooted in Modena and Emilia-Romagna.

Antonino Cannavacciuolo

Antonino Cannavacciuolo leads Villa Crespi in Orta San Giulio, which retains Three Michelin Stars.

Michelin describes Villa Crespi as Cannavacciuolo’s flagship and refers to him as the chef at the head of an extensive group of starred restaurants.

His cuisine has become one of the most recognizable expressions of contemporary Mediterranean and Italian gastronomy.

Enrico Bartolini

Enrico Bartolini is another of Italy’s defining contemporary chefs.

His Milan flagship, Enrico Bartolini al Mudec, holds Three Michelin Stars, with Michelin describing the restaurant as the headquarters of Bartolini’s international gastronomic universe.

His name is associated not merely with restaurant success but with the development and mentoring of a generation of Italian culinary talent.

Niko Romito

At Reale in Castel di Sangro, Niko Romito has developed one of Italy’s most distinctive culinary languages.

Reale currently holds Three Michelin Stars, with Michelin emphasizing Romito’s minimalist philosophy, research-driven approach and continued exploration of products and recipes from his native Abruzzo.

Giancarlo Perbellini

Giancarlo Perbellini achieved one of Italian gastronomy’s most celebrated recent milestones when Casa Perbellini 12 Apostoli in Verona reached Three Michelin Stars.

Michelin describes the restaurant’s cuisine at its highest level and highlights Perbellini’s remarkable professional progression—from an earlier two-starred restaurant to the coveted third star in Verona.

Andrea Berton

Andrea Berton is one of the important protagonists of modern Milanese fine dining.

His restaurant Berton in Milan holds One Michelin Star, with Michelin highlighting a culinary approach built around precision, contemporary creativity and a disciplined focus on relatively few ingredients.

Carlo Cracco

Carlo Cracco is one of the most recognizable Italian chefs of his generation and a central figure in the international visibility of contemporary Italian gastronomy.

His career spans Michelin-level fine dining, television, publishing and entrepreneurship, making his influence extend well beyond the restaurant kitchen.

AND NOW, CHEF GIANFRANCO CHIARINI

It is within this professional environment that Chef Gianfranco Chiarini has now been officially welcomed.

The significance is not that every ADG member possesses the same career, number of Michelin distinctions or culinary philosophy.

Far from it.

The significance lies in belonging to a network whose members have been selected because their professional work contributes to the representation and advancement of Italian gastronomic culture.

And that makes this recognition particularly meaningful for a chef whose professional life has carried Italian cuisine far beyond the borders of Italy.

For Chef Chiarini, becoming an Ambasciatore del Gusto recognizes something that goes beyond cooking technique.

It recognizes the responsibility of representing a culture.

FROM MILAN TO DIECI BOUTIQUE RESTAURANT IN BULGARIA

The appointment also carries important meaning for Dieci Boutique Restaurant.

Dieci operates thousands of kilometers from the traditional gastronomic capitals of Milan, Modena, Florence or Rome.

Yet its Chef now formally belongs to an Italian professional association whose declared objective is precisely to establish relationships throughout Italy and abroad, promoting Italian culinary culture and quality Italian products internationally.

In this respect, Chef Chiarini’s appointment is entirely consistent with Dieci’s evolving identity.

The restaurant has increasingly become a meeting point between Italian culinary culture, Bulgarian terroir, fine dining, hospitality and international gastronomy.

The title of Ambasciatore del Gusto adds another institutional dimension to that identity.

It means that the Italian culinary philosophy expressed at Dieci is not simply an aesthetic influence or a matter of nationality.

Its Chef has now been formally welcomed into an association whose very purpose is the responsible representation of Italian gastronomic excellence.

AN HONOR THAT ALSO CARRIES A RESPONSIBILITY

The official letter from President Alessandro Gilmozzi repeatedly emphasizes collaboration.

• Different professions.
• Different experiences.
• Different territories.
• But one professional network.

The philosophy expressed in the letter is straightforward: ambitious objectives in gastronomy are achieved by combining knowledge, skills and professional strength.

That perhaps explains better than any trophy what becoming an Ambasciatore del Gusto actually means.

It is certainly an honor. But it is also an obligation to contribute.

• To protect quality.
• To transmit knowledge.
• To promote authentic Italian gastronomy.
• To respect its products and producers.
• To strengthen Italian hospitality internationally.

And to help ensure that the extraordinary culinary heritage inherited from previous generations continues evolving without losing its identity.

On 30 July 2026, the President of Ambasciatori del Gusto closed his letter to Chef Gianfranco Chiarini with three simple words:

“Grazie e ben arrivato.”

Thank you—and welcome.

From Milan, that welcome now reaches Dieci Boutique Restaurant in Bulgaria.

And with it comes both an extraordinary distinction and a new responsibility:

to carry Italian taste, culture and hospitality forward.

Chef Gianfranco Chiarini
Ambasciatore del Gusto — Italia
Dieci Boutique Restaurant | Bulgaria

#AmbasciatoriDelGusto, #ItalianCuisine, #CucinaItaliana, #MadeInItaly, #MichelinGuide, #MichelinStar, #FineDining, #FineDiningLovers, #Gastronomy, #ChefLife, #ChefsOfInstagram, #ItalianFood