i. Biography
Max Colombo’s work in Barcelona is built on continuity: Venetian cuisine carried into a new city without losing its register. Born in Venice, Italy, he brought a disciplined, tradition-bound approach that still reads through the two Barcelona kitchens most associated with him. Since 2007, he has served as co-chef and co-founder of Xemei in Barcelona, and in 2013 he took on the role of chef at Can Cisa - Bar Brutal in Barcelona, Spain. Across both posts, Max Colombo’s cooking stays tied to Venice while remaining fully embedded in Barcelona.
The Path
The shape of Max Colombo’s career is one of accumulation rather than rupture. He is co-chef and co-founder of Xemei, a role that began in 2007, and chef of Can Cisa - Bar Brutal, a position he has held since 2013. Those two appointments define the structure of his working life in Barcelona: one tied to authorship and founding, the other to ongoing kitchen leadership. Read together, they show a career organized around steadiness, repetition, and a clear culinary line.
The Work Today
At Can Cisa - Bar Brutal, Max Colombo has led the kitchen since 2013 with a focus that keeps Venetian sensibility in daily practice. At Xemei, his role as co-chef and co-founder links his name to the restaurant’s identity as well as its foundation. The work across both addresses is connected by the same priorities: continuity, place, and a cuisine that remains legible to its source. In Barcelona, Max Colombo’s professional life is not built on reinvention, but on maintaining a coherent line across two kitchens.
Signature
Brodetto vastese and Pasta caprese are the named dishes attached to Max Colombo’s cooking. Together, they point to a kitchen rooted in regional memory rather than broad effects. Pasta caprese is the signature work most closely associated with Colombo, giving his name a fixed culinary reference. In that sense, the signature is not about range but about clarity: dishes that hold to origin and remain precise in their associations.
Acclaim
The recognition around Max Colombo rests on the consistency of his Venetian cuisine in Barcelona. Pasta caprese stands as the signature work most closely tied to him, while his birth in Venice gives that association added weight without changing the terms of the cooking. The distance between Venice and Barcelona matters here only as context: it frames a practice that keeps its source visible across two long-running roles.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Max
What is Max Colombo's current role?
As of 2026, Max Colombo is Chef.
What is Max Colombo known for?
Venetian cuisine.
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