From the OriginsA Journey in the name of Taste
Everything began on Lake Garda, a place that I still keep in my heart because this is where I was born and where I took my first steps. A journey that has led me to the discovery of scents and flavors which are typical of my land and which allowed me to cultivate my greatest passion: cuisine. It is here that I learned to use seasonal products, turning them into delicate and original menus. When I was twenty, it was the turn of my arrival in London where I grew up next to Giorgio Locatelli and Marco Pierre White from whom I learned the secrets of gourmet cuisine.
When I came back to Italy I continued my journey to discover the traditional Italian cuisine and the products of our colorful territory, to understand its origins and characteristics. I started at ‘Il luogo di Aimo e Nadia’, by Aimo e Nadia Moroni, as a second chef, and I got to master chef at ‘Cracco Peck’, by Carlo Cracco. At Aimo and Nadia I met Emanuela, my future wife, with whom in October 2004 I opened ‘Il Vicolo di Emanuela e Cristian’, a restaurant that in a few years has become a destination for gourmand palates.
In 2008, and for a year, I oversaw the relaunch of Milan’s Savini restaurant with the title of Executive Chef & Director.
In 2009 I created the ‘Dolceccetera’ project with the aim of making franchise of it and I opened the first shop in Settimo Milanese, presenting the new concept: coffee, pastry, ice cream and ‘easy restaurant’ all in one, where good food rhymes with simplicity, but not with banality. An easy and fresh dimension of the coffee shop concept and more friendly than the classic restaurant, which also offers a professional catering service for business lunches, lunches or dinners.
In December 2011, still in Settimo, I opened the restaurant ‘Cristian Magri’: a place for gourmet palates where I propose a modern, serious and concrete cuisine, with creative menus that wink at tradition and which are aimed at enhancing the raw materials of the local area and the season. An idea of high level restaurant, but available to everyone. The structure of the restaurant is spread over a large area, including a café and a pastry shop.