i. Biography
Ingredient-led cooking sets the working order: market first, season second, menu after that. In Luca Natalini’s practice, the dish is not treated as a fixed composition to be reproduced unchanged, but as a response to what has arrived in usable condition and what needs either restraint or a stronger hand. The identity of the kitchen comes from movement: raw material sets the terms, the cook adjusts, and the dining room sees the result of that exchange.
Coming Up
Restaurant supervision at scale builds a different kind of craft discipline from station work alone. Early in his career, Luca Natalini worked as general supervisor at a restaurant company operating throughout Russia, where the job required systems, teams, service, timing, and consistency across a demanding landscape. That role gave him a foundation beyond the stove: coordination, flow, and the knowledge that a meal depends on many parts holding together under service pressure. The chef-patron role joins food direction to restaurant identity. At Autem, Luca Natalini works from that position, connecting the plate to the structure around it: sourcing, menu rhythm, service language, and the experience built around the cooking.
Where They Are Now
Farm-to-table and modern cuisine at Autem are organized around seasonality rather than a fixed idea imposed in advance. The menu functions as a working calendar of availability, changing as produce, seafood, meat, dairy, and herbs reach their best condition. The method is stated plainly by Natalini: "I don't choose the menu, the ingredients do." At Autem, the cooking begins with the seasonal ingredients on hand, with dishes built in harmony with what the market offers at that moment. The kitchen’s task is to read the raw material and find the route that suits it, rather than force it into a pre-set form. A constantly re-crafted menu changes the labor rhythm of the restaurant. Day to day and week to week, the kitchen responds to what nature can offer, making service less about repetition and more about adjustment. The meal is tied to a particular delivery, a particular market moment, and a particular turn in the season. Named dishes mark how contrast enters the work. *Horse and Oyster* is identified as a daring signature dish, pointing to the tension Natalini uses when instinct and ingredient meet. *Smoked Eel Salad* also belongs to the chef’s named body of work, carrying smoke, depth, and clarity within the menu language. Cheese selection extends the same sourcing discipline past the main sequence of the meal. The food offering is complemented by an exclusive cheese selection, personally chosen by Natalini from around twenty Italian and French dairies. Beyond dinner service, he created *Take Me to the Market*, an immersive market-to-kitchen format that educates participants on quality shopping and the enhancement of raw materials, bringing guests closer to the decisions that begin before a dish reaches the table.
Honors
Luca's honors include Top Chef: bronze medal (2017), Barilla competition: ranked among the top ten chefs (2016), and Young Chef title in Russia (2016).
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Luca
What is Luca Natalini's current role?
Luca Natalini is chef-patron of Autem.
What recognition has Luca Natalini received?
Top Chef: bronze medal (2017).
