i. Biography
Before Manuel Costardi became chef of Christian & Manuel in Vercelli, his training took place inside the working logic of a hotel restaurant founded by his grandparents. That setting established the terms of the craft early: family dining room, professional kitchen, and a discipline built around rice, risotto, and the patience those preparations demand. The result is a career shaped less by reinvention than by sustained attention to a single inheritance, returning to the same materials until their range becomes legible.
The Climb
Manuel Costardi is chef of Christian & Manuel, a role he has held since 2005. That date marks the point when a family operation became his professional ground, with hospitality, continuity, and repetition turned into a working identity. The practice is plain in its demands: keep the standards steady, refine what is already there, and build a cuisine from close familiarity rather than constant change.
Today
The work remains tied to the same line that shaped the beginning: family-rooted hospitality, a stable kitchen, and a precise commitment to rice. That focus gives the career its structure. It also shows how much can be done within a narrow frame when the craft is handled with care, patience, and control. That continuity is the point. In a trade that often rewards movement, Manuel Costardi’s path stays with one place and one subject long enough to develop depth. The cooking reflects that decision: disciplined, specific, and clearly formed by the family and the restaurant that first taught the work.
Signature
Manuel's signature dishes include Pi...risotto, Risotto Carbonara, and White Chocolate Risotto. Each one shows how far risotto can be pushed while staying within its own structure. The dish remains the base, but the handling gives it different registers of memory, surprise, and finish. In that sense, rice is not only the ingredient at the center of the menu; it is the medium through which the kitchen speaks.
Recognition
Manuel's honors include Michelin star for their risotteria at Hotel Cinzia. The award points to the level of precision required to make a highly focused cuisine carry weight beyond the family setting. For Manuel Costardi, it sits alongside a career built on consistency, technical attention, and loyalty to rice as a working subject.
Profile updated August 2026
FAQ
Asked of Manuel
What recognition has Manuel Costardi received?
Michelin star for their risotteria at Hotel Cinzia (2009).
What is Manuel Costardi known for?
Risotto.
