i. Biography
The defining address in Christian Costardi’s work is Christian & Manuel: the restaurant is both starting point and working base, the place he describes as their “home,” where they were “born so that we could go beyond it, while remaining anchored to it.” That is the operative condition here: a house that functions as lineage, reference point, and point of departure at once. In practice, it reads as a kitchen identity built through continuity, not spectacle.
Coming Up
Since 2007, Christian Costardi has been chef of Christian & Manuel. The date marks more than tenure; it indicates repetition inside a house whose meaning is tied to its own continuity. The role has required staying with a place long enough for its language to settle, then pushing that language forward without breaking contact with its origins.
Where They Are Now
At Christian & Manuel, the kitchen remains part of a larger family structure, and that structure shapes how the work is organized. Christian Costardi says, “Today, inside this restaurant, the kitchen is almost entirely in Manuel's hands.” The point is not a transfer of identity but a division of labor inside a long-running house, where responsibilities can shift while the restaurant’s core address stays fixed.
Signature
Christian's signature dishes include Tomato rice, Risotto al Grana Padano, Risotto al cioccolato, and Ostrica intempesta. The throughline is rice, handled as both local register and open structure. As Christian Costardi puts it: “We wanted to tell our Piedmont through its principal ingredient: rice, Carnaroli variety.” That gives the menu its frame: a regional subject expressed through a single product, with the dishes moving between directness and variation.
In Their Words “We wanted to tell our Piedmont through its principal ingredient: rice, Carnaroli variety.” “Today, inside this restaurant, the kitchen is almost entirely in Manuel's hands.”
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Christian
What is Christian Costardi's craft?
Chef — Christian & Manuel (Vercelli).
