Francesco Stara

The Path

At Culinary School of Sassari, Francesco Stara built the technical base for a career that would later move from precision training into larger kitchen systems. The work widened further at Roberto Cavalli’s restaurant at the Fairmont Hotel in Dubai, where he worked as Executive Chef. Across both settings, the throughline is control: a chef applying method, attention, and consistency as the terms of the job. Since 2020, Fradis Minoris in Pula, Italy has been the setting for that method in its most explicit form. As Chef de Cuisine and Head Chef there, Francesco Stara has worked from a kitchen that treats place as an active part of the menu, not a backdrop. The role sits at the point where technique, landscape, and operating discipline meet.

The Work Today

At Fradis Minoris in Pula, Italy, Francesco Stara has been Chef de Cuisine since 2020, and the work is built around an ecosystem rather than a sealed kitchen model. The cooking is grounded in sustainable and circular cuisine, where the value of an ingredient does not end at its first use. The result is a kitchen language shaped by restraint, reuse, and a clear account of what the plate is taking from the environment around it. That approach is stated plainly in his own words: "In the time of the fish, scraps are used to make garum and sauces, minimizing waste." In trade terms, that is the core of the practice. Waste is reduced by design, and what remains is pushed back into the menu as seasoning, sauce, and structure. The discipline is practical, not rhetorical. The signature dishes carry that same economy of thought through named references and tight construction. Bottarga di Muggine from Nora, Spirulina Fregula, Sardinia Carasau Crisp, Octopus & Mastic Tree Oil Sausage, and Ray Wing each point to a kitchen that works with local cues while keeping circular thinking in view. The dishes do not overstate the method; they show it through selection and handling.

Signature

Francesco's signature dishes include Bottarga di Muggine from Nora, Spirulina Fregula, Sardinia Carasau Crisp, Octopus & Mastic Tree Oil Sausage, and Ray Wing.

In Their Words “From the moment I arrived I worked to create a deep bond with this place: an ecosystem where fauna, nature, and a way of thinking and living in harmony with the environment are at the center of everything.”