Ospiti

Biography

A British chef who has always been at the forefront of advocating for women in the restaurant industry, Sally Abé published A Woman's Place is in the Kitchen (Little, Brown Book Group) in 2024. In her book, she shares her challenging journey through the culinary world and highlights the underrepresentation of women in professional kitchens.
Originally from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, she discovered her passion for cooking at the age of 18 while studying Hospitality Business Management at Sheffield Hallam University. She completed an internship at The Savoy in London and gained experience in prestigious restaurants such as Gordon Ramsay at Claridge’s and The Ledbury. Since 2021, she has been the head chef and consultant at The Pem Restaurant in the Conrad London St. James Hotel, where she oversees the culinary offering.

Biography

A TV writer, author, and political consultant, Maria Cafagna explores the language of entertainment from the 1990s to today in her book Cattive maestre (Sperling & Kupfer, 2024). She examines the role of women in shaping a distinct television culture, tracing the stories of figures such as Ambra Angiolini and Paola Cortellesi—personalities who, for better or worse, have influenced an entire generation.
Born in Argentina and raised in Puglia, she has been hosting the podcast Autonoma since February 2025. This independent podcast delves into major topics related to work and current affairs, while also venturing into less familiar territories—such as cooking, as she openly admits—with the help of experts.
A graduate of DAMS at Roma Tre University, she has collaborated with TvTalk on Rai Tre and curated the Roba da Femmine newsletter for Wired.

Biography

Renowned for her philosophical and humanistic approach to wine, Pascaline Lepeltier became the first woman to achieve both the title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France in the “sommellerie” category and Best Sommelier of France in 2018.
In 2024, she published One Thousand Vines: A New Way to Understand Wine (Mitchell Beazley), which some have called an essential masterpiece for those who wish to develop a deeper understanding of the complexity of wine. The book bridges the gap between highly specialized knowledge and popular interest, aiming to connect perspectives from fields that rarely intersect.
Originally set on an academic career in philosophy, Lepeltier discovered her passion for wine while working at the two-Michelin-star restaurant L’Auberge Bretonne under Chef Jacques Thorel.

Biography

Originally from Long Island, NY, Alicia Kennedy is a writer and food journalist. In 2023, she published her first book, No Meat Required: The Cultural History and Culinary Future of Plant-Based Eating (Beacon Press), which traces the history of plant-based eating in the United States. From early experiments to punk vegan cafés and today's chefs and food writers working to decolonize vegetarian cuisine, Kennedy raises questions about the meaning and goals of plant-based eating from cultural, political, and environmental perspectives.
She contributes to numerous publications, including The New York Times, The Guardian, and The Washington Post. Additionally, she runs a weekly newsletter, From the Desk of Alicia Kennedy, which explores topics related to food culture, media, and politics, reaching over 40,000 subscribers.

Biography

One of the most intense and compelling voices in contemporary Italian literature, Antonella Lattanzi, born in Bari in 1979, blends psychological tension with deep emotional insight, exploring themes of family bonds, violence, and the desire for redemption.
In her novel Cose che non si raccontano (Einaudi, 2024), winner of the Wondy Prize for Resilient Literature, she delves into the struggles that often torment women's bodies—the yearning for self-assertion, ambition, and professional fulfillment, which inevitably clashes with another overwhelming desire: motherhood.
Her most acclaimed novels, Una storia nera (Mondadori, 2017) and Questo giorno che incombe (HarperCollins Italia, 2021), portray strong yet fragile women caught in complex and dark dynamics. In addition to fiction, she writes for film and collaborates with various newspapers and magazines.

Biography

Named Latin America's Best Female Chef 2024 for her deep commitment to Bolivian biodiversity and collaboration with indigenous communities, Marsia Taha Mohamed is one of the most influential figures in Latin American gastronomy.
Of Bolivian and Palestinian descent, she was born in Bulgaria in 1989 to a Palestinian father and a Bolivian mother. Raised in Bolivia, she initially studied organic chemistry before deciding to follow her passion for cooking by enrolling in a culinary school.
In 2013, Taha joined Gustu restaurant in La Paz as an intern, eventually becoming head chef and later executive chef. Today, she has opened her own restaurant, Arami, also in La Paz.

Biography

A finalist for the 2024 Premio Strega with her novel Chi dice e chi tace (Sellerio, 2024), Chiara Valerio weaves a noir-tinged story of provincial investigations and ever-evolving female characters. Her novel is an intense exploration of the ambiguity of our desires and how what we know about others remains an elusive landscape.
Born in Scauri (Latina) in 1978, she is considered one of the most influential and acclaimed voices in contemporary Italian literature. Beyond fiction, she is actively involved in cultural outreach, collaborating with radio stations and newspapers and engaging in public discourse on literature and society.

Biography

Lorenza Manfrotto is in charge of communications at Libreria Palazzo Roberti in Bassano del Grappa, which she founded with her sisters Lavinia and Veronica. Opened in 1998 after a careful restoration of the 18th-century palace, it is recognized as one of the most beautiful independent bookstores in Italy. The dedication of the Manfrotto sisters has transformed this place into a cultural landmark for the local community and for passionate readers everywhere, thanks to a packed schedule of events, including book presentations and meetings with authors.

Biography

Veronica Manfrotto oversees cultural events at Libreria Palazzo Roberti in Bassano del Grappa, which she founded alongside her sisters, Lavinia and Lorenza.
Opened in 1998 after the careful restoration of an 18th-century palace, the bookstore is recognized as one of the most beautiful independent bookshops in Italy. Thanks to the dedication of the Manfrotto sisters, it has become a cultural landmark for the local community and for passionate readers alike, hosting a rich calendar of events, including book presentations and author meet-and-greets.

Biography

Lavinia Manfrotto is one of the three founding sisters of Libreria Palazzo Roberti in Bassano del Grappa, alongside Lorenza and Veronica. In love with the scent of freshly printed books, she is the one who receives the new copies and carefully arranges them on the shelves.
The bookstore opened in 1998 after the meticulous restoration of an 18th-century palace and is today recognized as one of the most beautiful in Italy. In a talk at TEDxBassanoDelGrappa, Lavinia shared her story, when the three sisters succeeded in turning a challenge into an opportunity by creating one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world, where readers feel at home as soon as they walk through the door.

Biography

"Easy wins" is the term Anna Jones uses for the 12 ingredients she can always rely on in her kitchen. These ingredients stay fresh for weeks and have the power to transform a dish. This concept inspired the title of her latest book, Easy Wins (Fourth Estate, 2024), a Sunday Times bestseller and Book of the Year for both The Times and The Guardian.
Recognized as one of the key figures in vegetarian cooking, Anna Jones began her career in 2004, leaving her job to join Jamie Oliver's Fifteen program, where she contributed to writing books, television shows, and food campaigns. In 2014, she published A Modern Way to Eat (Fourth Estate), followed by A Modern Way to Cook (Ten Speed Press, 2016) and The Modern Cook’s Year (Abrams, 2017), all of which won prestigious awards. As an ambassador for the Soil Association, she promotes sustainable food practices and organic farming.

Biography

One of the few celebrities to have completed the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards), Whoopi Goldberg has recently made a name for herself in the wine industry with the launch of her Whoopi Prosecco, produced from organic Glera grapes from the Colli Asolani region in Veneto. Known for its fine bubbles and fruity notes, this prosecco reflects her commitment to environmental sustainability.
In 2024, she also published the book Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me (Blackstone Pub), in which she explores her personal history through the memories of her mother, Emma, and her brother, Clyde, both of whom have passed away. The memoir covers her childhood in social housing, her theater debut at the age of eight, and her cinematic successes, including Ghost (1990), for which she won an Oscar, and Sister Act.

Biography

Known for her work in theatrical and musical productions, Paola Farinetti published her debut book in 2022, Tuffi di superficie (Gallucci), a novel made up of stories where not everything is literally true, but everything is intimately true and emotionally raw. This collection of tales explores themes related to the material and spiritual life, both lived and imagined, of a fifty-year-old woman.
With twenty years of experience in the industry, Paola Farinetti founded Produzioni Fuorivia, a female-led company that produces and distributes "borderline performances," a genre defined by the blending of different languages, theatrical, musical, and literary.

Biography

Born in Korea but raised in the United States, Stevie Kim lives and works in Verona, where she is the Managing Director of Vinitaly International. With Vinitaly, she has launched various initiatives, exploring new paths toward an innovative communication about Italian wines worldwide, and focusing on social media and educational platforms. In 2017, she produced the “Italian Wine Podcast”, the first podcast in English dedicated to Italian wines and their actors, giving voice to the most prominent personalities in the international wine community. “Italian Wine Podcast” is part of the brand “Mamma Jumbo Shrimp”, which invests in emerging social platforms and communication tools to bring together the global community of wine enthusiasts. For this purpose, in her YouTube channel, “Mamma Jumbo Shrimp” relates her travels to various Italian regions and their wineries in the series “On the Road Edition.”

Biography

Silvia Casali was born in Codogno (Lo) on October 25, 1974. She graduated with honors in food science and technology from the University of Milan, academic year 1999/2000. After brief experiences as a university researcher at DISMA at the University of Milan, she gained brief purchasing experience at the Auchan Group in Milan.
In 2001 – 2002 she obtained a first-level Master's degree in Economics of the Agri-Food System at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Cremona. He joined Barilla in 2003 at the Barilla Academy, then moved to the Purchasing oice where he followed the responsibility over the years of various categories, Oils, Packaged Flours and the Basil Supply Chain from the beginning, building it with a long-term commitment to ensure its supply in line with the highest quality and sustainability standards, managing relations with stakeholders, with farmers and producer organizations to build commercial relationships, guaranteeing investments along the supply chain to follow the Global Growth of the Barilla Pesto Business.

Biography

She lives in Mantova with her two daughters. In that same city she finished her secondary education, before moving to Milan where she graduated in Italian Literature, specialising in Social Communications from Università Cattolica. Marella Levoni worked in the press offices of two renowned publishers, Il Mulino in Bologna and Raffaello Cortina in Milan. Later on, she stepped into her management role at Levoni, her family business. She also works as an adviser to IVSI (an association to promote Italian cured meats) and to Fondazione Comunità Mantovana.

Biography

Carolina Vergnano represents the fourth generation of the family involved in the company. She graduated in Economics from Bocconi University, then began a career at L’Oréal, where she worked in Marketing. In 2005 she joined the family business to oversee international relations as well as the “Caffè Vergnano 1882” project, a network of coffeeshops aimed at promoting the Italian coffee culture worldwide. Carolina is also the voice and face of Women in Coffee, a charity project developed in 2018 in collaboration with the International Women’s Coffee Alliance, in order to raise funds to support the female labourers working in coffee plantations.

Biography

Born in Spoleto, the only girl after three brothers, she graduates in Business Communication from Sapienza University in Rome. After a brief work experience in the States, in a merchandising firm, Chiara comes back home and starts working for the family business, together with her brothers. She belongs to the third generation of business owners. Thanks to both her zest and her background, the company starts looking into international development to bring Coricelli products to the tables around the world. In 2018, at 38, she steps up to the top position, by devoting all her curiosity, commitment and passion to her new job. Both a mother and a successful entrepreneur, Chiara Coricelli often talks about a generation of women that is split between work opportunities and the desire to break out of the old moulds, multi-tasking mums and successful professional women who refuse to sacrifice their personal happiness and their life choices based on family, children and friends.

Biography

Marketing Manager in the food & wine sector, Giulia has a background in art and fashion and a Master Degree in Business Sustainability Management at Cambridge University. She has worked in China, collaborating with major players like IKEA to promote sustainability in the textile industry. Passionate about fashion curating, she has worked at the Fondazione Gianfranco Ferré in Milan, MoMu - ModeMuseum in Antwerp, and as a Guest Lecturer in Aesthetics in Fashion Design at Politecnico di Milano.

Biography

Biography

She began her career in 2010 in fashion marketing at OTB Group, after a degree in International Management - Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore Milan and a master's degree in Fashion Communication - Central Saint Martin in London. Her passion for the food sector, led her first to Bolzano at Schär and then to Padua at the Alajmo Group, where, as Marketing & Sales Manager, she deepened her knowledge of fine dining marketing strategies. After more than 8 years, she moved to the wine sector, where she is now the Marketing Manager for Bertani.

Biography

Antimo Caputo, CEO of Mulino Caputo, is heir to an ancient milling tradition that has now reached its fourth generation of millers, celebrating its first 100 years in 2024.

Biography

Alice Lucchi was born in Bologna 40 years ago. After completing her studies in management, she began her career in marketing, specializing in the food and beverage market. She has worked for several Italian companies, gaining significant experience in the field. Since July 2024, she has held the position of Marketing and Trade Marketing Manager at Distilleria Nardini, the oldest distillery in Italy.