i. Biography
From a Diploma Alberghiero at IPSSAR F.Martini between 1997 and 2002 to the executive-chef post he took in 2020 across the Cibrèo group restaurants in Florence, Oscar Severini’s arc moves through training, technical discipline and a kitchen keyed to the seasons. At Cibrèo, the work has narrowed into a clear brief: Italian classics reconsidered, Florence-inspired dishes given room, and service formats broad enough to include fine dining and banquets.
Beginnings
The foundation came first in school: Severini studied at IPSSAR F.Martini, completing a Diploma Alberghiero from 1997 to 2002. That hospitality education sits at the start of the career now associated with Florence, where his cooking is described through the practical language of fine dining, banquets, HACCP and recipes. Those four terms matter because they point to a chef formed not only by finished plates, but by systems. Fine dining asks for detail; banquets ask for scale; HACCP asks for control; recipes ask for repeatable clarity. In Severini’s case, the progression from diploma training to group executive chef is built from those working disciplines rather than from a public mythology.
The Rise
The decisive turn came in 2020, when Severini became executive chef of the Cibrèo group restaurants in Florence, Italy. The title placed him over a set of kitchens tied to one of the city’s most specific restaurant names, with a remit that now includes Cibrèo Ristorante & Cocktail Bar and the group’s Helvetia & Bristol location. At the restaurant, his menu combines reinterpretations of Italian classics with dishes more directly inspired by Florence. The cooking is also seasonal: the menu changes with the natural rhythm of the seasons, a phrase that gives the kitchen a calendar rather than a fixed script. The Helvetia & Bristol work adds another layer to that brief. There, Severini defines and implements culinary offerings on a seasonal menu of artfully prepared Italian specialties, extending the same seasonal logic into a different setting within the group.
Today
Since 2020, Severini has led the Cibrèo group restaurants as executive chef in Florence. His current work is best read through the menu itself: Italian reference points, local inspiration, and seasonal movement, with a professional range that includes fine dining, banquets, HACCP and recipe development. One dish makes the method especially concrete. His Club Sandwich is built with three toasted slices of Pane Santo, Dijon mustard, finely sliced roast beef dressed with Picchi’s Salsa Elegante, romaine lettuce, french fries, mayonnaise and Cibrèo’s Ikkeciappe. The Mall included it in a selection titled *The Best Club Sandwich in Florence*, a specific nod to a dish that translates the kitchen’s Italian materials into a recognizable format. That sandwich also shows the distance between a familiar name and a chef’s construction of it. Pane Santo, Picchi’s Salsa Elegante and Ikkeciappe make the dish particular to this kitchen, while roast beef, lettuce, fries, mustard and mayonnaise keep the architecture legible. It is a compact example of Severini’s broader position: working from established forms, then giving them a Florence-facing expression inside the restaurants he has overseen since 2020.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Oscar
What roles has Oscar Severini held?
Oscar Severini has held the executive chef role for the Cibrèo group restaurants in Florence, Italy, a post he took in 2020.
What is Oscar Severini doing now?
He has led the Cibrèo group restaurants as executive chef since 2020, with menus shaped by Italian classics, Florence-inspired dishes and the seasons.
Where else has Oscar Severini worked?
His work is identified at Cibrèo Ristorante & Cocktail Bar and at the group’s Helvetia & Bristol location, both in Florence.
