Share your coffee stories with us by writing to info@comunicaffe.com.
TRIESTE, Italy – illycaffè, a global leader in sustainable, high-quality coffee, has brought together, for the first time, all members of its Chef Ambassador program in Turin to mark The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025 – the prestigious international ranking that honors global culinary excellence. illycaffè proudly serves as the event’s exclusive coffee partner.
To celebrate this milestone, illycaffè hosted “Breakfast of the stars”, an immersive, multisensory event at the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, honoring its Chef Ambassadors through an artistic experience that united 40 Michelin Stars – including 7 Green Stars for sustainability, and welcoming Italian and international journalists, culinary experts, stakeholders, and content creators, offering them a unique opportunity to witness the values embodied by the illy Chef Ambassador program, a long-standing dialogue between the company and the world of haute cuisine.
Conceived as a bridge between the world of taste and the world of coffee, the illy Chef Ambassador program currently includes 23 chefs from around the globe. These chefs champion the values that have long distinguished illycaffè: a relentless pursuit of quality, a commitment to sustainability, meticulous attention to detail, and a passion for innovation. The program includes a curated group of acclaimed chefs: the illy Masters of Excellence (Michelin-starred chefs), Sustainable Chefs (recipients of the Michelin Green Star), and renowned Pastry Chefs, masters of contemporary haute pâtisserie.
The centerpiece of the evening was an immersive installation dedicated to each Ambassador’s personal blend – a unique coffee creation developed by each chef over the years by combining the nine components of illy’s 100% Arabica blend in custom proportions to reflect their individual style, and sensorial preferences. These exclusive blends are still served in each chef’s restaurant today.
Visitors explored 23 backlit plexiglass columns – each representing a unique blend – through touch, aroma, and taste, discovering the personality and inspiration behind each creation. The journey culminated at a stunning designer table featuring 23 handcrafted ceramic plates, painted by Italian artisans as visual interpretations of each chef’s blend.
“With The World’s 50 Best Restaurants we share the vision of haute cuisine that is not only technical, but culture, emotion and storytelling. For this reason, it seemed to us the ideal setting to celebrate the talent of our Chef Ambassadors, who represent the best of contemporary gastronomic creativity and with whom we wanted to transform coffee into an art form to be tasted, observed and experienced. It is in this dialogue between innovation, beauty and identity that the most authentic essence of illy can be found,” said Cristina Scocchia, CEO of illycaffè.
More information about the illy Chef Ambassador program and a complete list of participating chefs can be found at: https://www.illy.com/chefambassador
