Niko Romito

Niko Romito is a self-taught Italian chef born in Castel di Sangro, Abruzzo, who abandoned economics studies in Rome to take over the family restaurant Reale in Rivisondoli with his sister Cristiana in 2000 following their father's death. Reale earned its first Michelin star in 2007, a second in 2009, and a third in 2014, and relocated to Casadonna in Castel di Sangro in 2011, where Romito established a culinary hub including the Accademia Niko Romito cooking school, a boutique hotel, and experimental facilities. His cuisine emphasizes apparent simplicity with underlying complexity through endless research into raw materials, and Reale reached No. 15 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list.