Carlo Cracco • 2 Stelle Michelin

He is the most famous of the great chefs to emerge from Gualtiero Marchesi’s prolific school. Carlo Cracco, born in Vicenza in 1965, owes his fame among the general public to the fact that he has also become a TV personality—the kind sought after by selfie hunters (and especially female selfie hunters, given the growing appeal he has acquired with age). But foodies aren’t drawn to MasterChef so much as to his cuisine, perhaps the most creative among those celebrated in Milan.

After graduating from culinary school, Carlo Cracco joined the Maestro’s team at the legendary restaurant on Via Bonvesin della Riva in Milan: it was 1986. A Venetian of the type who works tirelessly all day—just ask his longtime sous chef Matteo Baronetto, “it was incredibly difficult to keep up with his pace”—he quickly made a name for himself, acquiring a solid foundation in French cuisine through training stints with Ducasse in Monte Carlo and Senderens in Paris.

At that point, he was ready for a leap forward: Annie Féolde demonstrated her usual keen instinct when, in 1991, she called him to Florence, to Enoteca Pinchiorri, where two years later the three stars shone, the first time at Via Ghibellina 87. Cracco, however, left shortly thereafter, returning for two years under Marchesi’s wing—this time at L’Albereta—before striking out on his own to open his first restaurant, Le Clivie in Piobesi d’Alba (Cuneo), which earned one Michelin star the following year.

His definitive breakthrough, however, came in Milan, where he returned in 2001: he lent his name to the Cracco-Peck restaurant, in partnership with the most famous name in Milanese gastronomy. In July 2007, he took over full management of the restaurant, which from that moment on would be known simply as Cracco. Here he created dishes that have become classics of haute cuisine, starting with the Caramelized Russian Salad. Since 2013, he has managed the Carlo e Camilla in Segheria line in Milan, while in late October 2016 he opened his Ovo in Moscow.

From Via Hugo, the restaurant found a new home in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, in a prestigious and elegant five-story venue, which opened on February 21, 2018.

In November 2025, the Michelin Guide also awarded a star to his eponymous restaurant in Portofino.