Juri Chiotti

«I want to show it’s possible to have a model based on total self-sufficiency, with zero-impact on the environment, an organic place where you only eat self-produced food». While developing his project, young chef Juri Chiotti, born in 1985, has already acquired popularity with his Reis - Cibo libero di montagna (reis, that is to say "roots" in the Occitan language), in a mountain hut in Frassino, in the Varaita valley where he was born and raised, 40 km from the French border.

Chiotti was 25 when he conquered the first Michelin star at Antiche Contrade in Cuneo, together with Diego Rossi, of the same age. At that age, most chefs can only dream of that sparkle. Instead, he quickly realised that was not the road he’d take: his steps were leading him elsewhere, in the mountains. And there, in 2016, he opened Reis.

The praise is for the food, of excellent quality. But it’s also for all that lies behind the food: there are 30 sheep of the sambucana breed grazing around the farm; nearby, rabbits live free, next to the 25 hens that supply the daily need of fresh eggs; then there’s the chicken destined to be eaten... And the vegetable garden: only a few steps from the kitchen, there’s a small plot with courgettes, cabbages, and tomatoes. The rest comes from Costigliole Saluzzo, where Juri’s father, Claudio, owns a farm where he grows red fruits (blueberries, currants, strawberries) and a greenhouse dedicated to Reis.

But this is an ongoing project, as we mentioned at the beginning. Chiotti never stops. In fact he bets more and more on his mountains and his ideas: in 2021 Reis will move even higher up, to 1,000 metres above the sea level, some 10 km away from the current location. A place called Chiot Martin, (chiot means upland in the local language), «a hamlet of Valmala where my dad was born, and my grandparents, and so on» as hinted also by Chiotti’s surname.