Chiara Pavan

«What do I do in my spare time? I'm enjoying reading the essays of Michel de Montaigne. His vision of society is brilliant, and worryingly current. As a student, I was passionate about epistemology. I graduated in Philosophy from Pisa, specialising in Science Philosophy: B.A. on Georges Canguilhem of Foucault's school and master on Ian Hacking, a Canadian philosopher of the mind. I cooked and worked: I felt privileged».

The co-chef from Venissa, on the mini island of Mazzorbo, in the Venetian lagoon, has a special profile: «After working and studying in Pisa, Paris, Maremma at Da Caino, Alto Adige at Zum Löwen», she sums up, «I read Francesco Brutto's job post [he's now her partner and co-chef]. I wanted to make my skills more current, so I applied. He hired me. In 2017, he put me here, and then we got together. People often who created the dishes at Venissa. We both did. He's more instinctive, he breaks the rules, produces fertility out of mistakes. I'm reflexive, I study».

Rather than being unorthodox, Chiara loves cooking: «Creativity is good, but not mandatory. This is why I worked for a long time in trattorias. I think now it's hard to find good cooks who can give a new take on tradition, and it's a pity». She's crazy about pastry making: «I love inventing and preparing desserts. When I was an intern at Osteria Francescana, I shadowed Robin Girard. At the time he was the head pastry-chef in Modena and is now at Plaza Athenée in Paris, with Jessica Préalpato».

An assertive hand that is at ease with lagoon fish but also with anatre germanate, hybrid ducks discovered by a man from Mogliano Veneto, crazy about breeds under extinction. A clear style, especially in her choice of always resisting the temptation of trying to please everyone. The reason why we gave her the award of "2020 Best chef" in the Guida ai Ristoranti di Identità Golose.