Portrait of Mattias Demaio
i. Biography
Mattias Demaio is the chef of Demaio in Bilbao, Spain, a role that anchors his work to a city known for appetite, energy, and a certain easy confidence around the table. His name also sits behind Pizzeria Demaio as partner, extending that presence into a second identity and a second way of speaking to the city. Across both titles, his cooking gathers around a small group of signature pieces—La Edizione Limitada, Regina and Trentina—each one part of the language that defines his name. Of that work, he has said, “Our "boom" has been the confirmation that we are doing good work.”
At a Glance - Role: chef of Demaio. - City: Bilbao, Spain. - Partnership: Pizzeria Demaio. - Signature work: La Edizione Limitada, Regina and Trentina. - Voice: "I am vegan 6 days out of 7, because there is no good pizza without mozzarella."
Signature
Mattias’s signature dishes sketch out the range and rhythm of his kitchen: La Costa Vasca, La Edizione Limitada, Regina, and Trentina. Taken together, they read less like a simple list than a portrait in slices and flour-dusted touches, the sort of repertoire that suggests both focus and repetition refined into style. La Costa Vasca sits alongside the others as part of that core vocabulary, while La Edizione Limitada, Regina, and Trentina remain central to the identity attached to Demaio and Pizzeria Demaio. It is this concentration—fewer names, carefully carried—that gives his work its recognizability. The public response, he says, has mattered not as noise but as a measure of confirmation: “Our "boom" has been the confirmation that we are doing good work.”
In Their Words “I am vegan 6 days out of 7, because there is no good pizza without mozzarella.” The line is characteristically direct, wryly precise, and completely tied to the world he inhabits. It hints at discipline, but also at a clear-eyed devotion to what makes pizza feel complete in his hands. “Our "boom" has been the confirmation that we are doing good work.” Here, the emphasis is on recognition, but in a grounded way: not as spectacle for its own sake, but as proof that the work has landed, and landed well. Together, the two quotes frame Mattias Demaio as someone who speaks plainly about craft, conviction, and the particular pleasures of doing one thing with care. In Bilbao, Spain, that clarity seems to be part of the appeal: a chef of Demaio, a partner in Pizzeria Demaio, and a figure whose signature dishes—La Costa Vasca, La Edizione Limitada, Regina and Trentina—carry the story forward with understatement and intent.
FAQ Who is Mattias Demaio? He is the chef of Demaio in Bilbao, Spain. What is Mattias Demaio known for? He is known for La Edizione Limitada, Regina and Trentina. Where does Mattias Demaio work? He works at Demaio in Bilbao, Spain.
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