Ovens and atmosphere begin to warm up in Lyon, where the final of the 2019 edition of the Bocuse d'Or, the prestigious international gastronomy competition founded in 1987 by French chef Paul Bocuse, will take place on 29 and 30 January. And so the Italian team, which last year managed to conquer its place among the 24 finalist teams, is ready to take the field – pardon – in the kitchen, with the aim of bringing the Italian flag high, very high. With all the taste and technique that will be the protagonists of the dishes prepared during the race, of course, but also with that elegance of which our nation is undisputed queen globally.

Yes, because Italy will remain a champion of style even far from the stove. To dress the team – starting with the chef Martino Ruggieri, our candidate for the trophy, to get to the coach François Poulain, the commis Curtis Clement Mulpas, the senior coach Luciano Tona, the chef consultant
Alessandro Bergamo and the president of the Academy Bocuse d'Or Italy, the chef tristellato Enrico Crippa – will in fact be the renowned Lanificio Cerruti of Biella, who in collaboration with the artisans of Filrus has designed and produced two special clothes designed specifically for the competition of Lyon.

"The final of the Bocuse d'Or will be a unique opportunity to show the world the most authentic and profound values ​​of Italianness – underlines Paolo Torello Viera, Cerruti's managing director. – We want to remember once again that Italy is not that stereotype made of pizza, mafia and mandolin. Today's Italy is above all haute cuisine, design, architecture, fashion and elegance. We are proud to have collaborated with Filrus to create the clothes for Martino and the other boys of the team, because we feel to share with them and with the Bocuse d'Or Academy the high quality objectives that have always accompanied our brand and the 'work of Mr. Nino Cerruti, the patron of the company ".

Here then is the first dress, the day dress, made with a Korean collar in iridescent Gentleman fabric, of a blue color that turns towards the shades of red. And then the tuxedo for the evening, in Jacquard fabric, embellished with refined damask decorations that stand out in shades of black: a tribute – a little more than a year after his death – to Maestro Gualtiero Marchesi and his concept of chef also protagonist in the dining room, ready to wear the most elegant dress to best accommodate its customers and give them an all-round experience.

"For our part, we will try to translate the uniqueness of Italian culture in the two dishes that the competition has requested, the calf carré and the chartreuse of vegetables with crustaceans, trying to avoid any kind of banality -, comments the candidate tricolore, the young chef from Puglia, Martino Ruggieri, today head chef at the Pavillon Ledoyen of Yannick Allenò, in Paris. – The taste will remain the main protagonist of what we will present, because it is in the spirit of our kitchen, but we wanted to include in our dishes also details that recall the art of Giorgio de Chirico and his studies on perspectives. What does "having style" mean in the kitchen? For me it means creating something immediately recognizable. When I create a strong identity in the dish that I create, which can be easily recognized by those who order it and see it arrive at the table, then I can be satisfied ".