When she was offered the job of running the Michelin-starred Oro restaurant at the luxury Cipriani hotel in Venice, sharing the role of culinary creative director with Massimo Bottura, chef Vania Ghedini admits she “got shivers down my spine” given his prestige and reputation in the industry.
The opportunity came completely unexpectedly, but she knew it: “It was one of those trains that goes by quickly and you don’t want to miss it. Plus, Massimo is charming, it’s hard to say no to him, and I liked what he had in mind for Oro.”
Although she is modest and approachable, Ghedini has made a name for herself and is considered an influential and experienced chef, which led her to the Belmond restaurant in April.
Bottura and Ghedini’s shared idea was to “create a place that offers a unique experience, offering locally sourced food but also reflecting our roots,” she says, pointing to the fact that she is from Ferrara and Bottura is from Modena, both in the Emilia Romagna region. “There are many important restaurants in Venice that follow different concepts, but we felt we could make the difference.”
Ghedini describes herself as “very direct” and “no frills,” traits she says she shares with Bottura and that have helped her build “a great feeling and understanding” with the renowned chef behind Osteria Francescana, Ferrari’s Cavallino and Gucci Osteria restaurants.
“I was fascinated by the idea of returning to Venice. It is such a unique place in the world and living here is a privilege,” says Ghedini, who previously opened the Sesamo restaurant at the Royal Mansour Marrakech with the Alajmo family, moved to the country in December 2018 and left again at the end of 2023. She had joined the Gruppo Alajmo in early 2016 at the renowned Le Calandre restaurant near Padua, Italy.
Tortelli pasta with seafood.
Her resume also includes stints at the Grancaffé Quadri di Venezia in the famous St. Mark’s Square and the opening of the Amo restaurant in the Fondaco dei Tedeschi in the Italian city. She was a student and later a teacher at ALMA, the Italian school of culinary arts. She began her training at Rigoletto di Reggiolo and became sous-chef at Peck in the Palazzo Italia during Expo 2015 in Milan.
She describes the Cipriani as “a temple of Italian hospitality, a magical place with a unique history that cannot be found anywhere else, offering experiences that can only be had here and that keeps guests coming back over the years.”
Founded in 1958 on the island of Giudecca, the hotel is a five-minute boat ride from St. Mark’s Square and surrounded by Casanova’s gardens. Guests have included Yves Saint Laurent, Sophia Loren, George Clooney and Madonna, to name a few.
The Oro restaurant in the Cipriani Hotel.
Ghedini cannot pinpoint the exact moment when she realised she wanted to be a chef, as she came into the profession quite naturally. Her grandparents were bakers and she “grew up with the smell of freshly baked bread”, which is still “intoxicating” today.
“I’ve always been in contact with food, as my other grandmother made pasta, gnocchi (potato dumplings) and tortellini by hand at home. I don’t know exactly when it all started, but I remember there was a newsstand next to the bakery. I went there after school and there was a row of cookbooks next to the comics. I think I grew up in that direction after Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck,” she says with a giggle.
Ghedini brought Cipriani some “techniques that I had collected over the years, inspired both by my origins and by my travels abroad.” For example, she mentions the Moroccan grill method, the mechoui, or the fried potatoes “in tecia”, a historic recipe from Trieste with onions and bacon that preserves and transmits traditional cuisine.
Seafood from the Adriatic is a central element at Oro, which overlooks the lagoon. Guinea fowl with vegetables, a macaroni timbale from Ferrara or sweet and sour fish with onions and raisins are just some of the recipes that Ghedini offers.
Vania Ghedini
In addition, she and Bottura share the same goal: avoiding waste, recovering all vegetable parts and even Parmesan cheese crusts.
Constant education, “passing on our knowledge,” is fundamental, she says, as is “empathy, listening to people,” which is one of the most important lessons she learned from chef Massimiliano Alajmo. She recognizes the media hype surrounding chefs these days, but doesn’t really understand it. What she does feels natural to her, she says, and “I don’t think it should be made into a spectacle or a show at any cost. Some things shouldn’t be experienced through a screen, but directly and personally.”
Being a woman “is not a problem” because she says she has never been questioned or forced to assert herself because of her gender. “Experience is what counts,” she believes, admitting that the way women are treated has changed compared to the past. “There are many more women thriving in the industry,” she says with a smile.
