CHRISTIAN F. PUGLISI

CHEF, COPenhagen

Christian Francesco Puglisi was born in Messina in Italy in 1982. Arriving in Denmark as an immigrant in 1990 he later attended the Danish Hospitality College and graduated with honours in 2004. Amongst other experiences as a learning cook, he was a short stint at le Taillevent, Paris in '05 and El Bulli in '06. Shortly after Christian became the sous-chef at Noma in Copenhagen and remained so for 2 1/2 year until he ventured out to open his own restaurant, Relæ in 2010.

Relæ was opened with partner Kim Rossen and soon the smaller eatery Manfreds was opened just across the street from the original restaurant thus benefitting from the synergy between the two kitchens.

Relæ was in 2011 awarded a Bib Gourmand by the Michelin guide and that the year after was swapped for a Michelin star. Relæ was also shortlisted amongst the top 100 of the San Pellegrino 50 Best Restaurants three years in a row, and entered the list as #45 in 2015. Simultaneously, Relæ was honoured with the Sustainable Restaurant Award.

In 2014 two other members were added to the restaurant family, the bakery-cum-eatery Mirabelle and the critically acclaimed Bæst, a low-key restaurant showcasing the best local produce by using the most traditional Italian crafts. The house cured salamis, house made mozzarella made on local organic milk, and the sourdough fermented pizzas have from the very beginning reaped awards on the Danish gastronomic scene, including Bistro of the Year in 2015 by the Danish Food Critics.

In 2013 Relæ obtained the highest Danish organic certification making it the only Michelin starred restaurant with such a certification in the world. All the restaurants have since followed.

Christian has been participating in numerous chef-conferences world wide and was most notably a speaker at MAD in 2013 alongside some of the greatest names in gastronomy.

In 2014 Christian F. Puglisi published the critically acclaimed Relæ: A Book of Ideas with Ten Speed Press, an American publisher. The book was a shortlist nominee for The Art of Eating, Cookbook of the year, won the IACP Design award and was nominated for a James Beard Award.
Besides authoring this book Christian has also written a number of recipes, essays and short stories for Danish newspapers.

Christian’s focus on integrating gastronomy and sustainable agricultural practices has also acquired him a
nomination as the Citizen of the Year by the Danish newspaper Politiken.