i. Biography
She frames the work as a practice of identity as much as output: “I really am, it’s not just a job.” For Sarah Cicolini, that line is less slogan than operating principle, and it sits close to the center of a kitchen built on care, discipline, and continuity with the work around it. The brief she sets for herself is equally direct — “good raw materials, zero waste, retrieving and updating the amazing traditional recipes of the center of Italy” — and in her hands that brief reads as kitchen structure, not branding. It is a way of cooking that treats memory, use, and restraint as working tools.
Coming Up
Those early roles map the training of a cook learning range, pace, and adaptation across different kinds of service. Sarah Cicolini moved from chef at a tapas bar to private chef, then into Metamorfosi and later into the second chef role at Trapizzino in Rome. By the time she opened SantoPalato in 2017, the sequence had already established the terms of her work: technique tested in different settings, then condensed into a clear point of view. At SantoPalato, she has been chef and owner since 2017.
Where They Are Now
At SantoPalato, the method is described as “pure and holistic,” and that language fits a kitchen organized around use, care, and precision. Sarah Cicolini keeps the focus on raw materials, zero waste, and the traditional recipes of central Italy, but the work is not presented as preservation for its own sake. The plate is used to keep the lineage active, not frozen: updated where needed, exact where it should be, and built to carry the weight of its source without imitating it. The restaurant’s force comes from that discipline.
Signature
Carbonara and Marinara del Futuro sit at the center of Sarah Cicolini’s signature. One relies on the authority of a classic handled with confidence; the other shows how a dish can point forward while staying in conversation with tradition. Taken together, they describe a kitchen that is grounded in central Italian memory but not limited by it.
In Their Words “My approach to food is pure and holistic: good raw materials, zero waste, retrieving and updating the amazing traditional recipes of the center of Italy.”
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Sarah
What is Sarah Cicolini's current role?
Sarah Cicolini is Chef and Owner.
Where did Sarah Cicolini work before?
Earlier in their career, Sarah Cicolini worked at a tapas bar, Metamorfosi, and Trapizzino.
