Chef, Duomo Restaurant - Ragusa

For more than 20 years, Ciccio Sultano has made the Ristorante Duomo in Ragusa Ibla the benchmark of Sicilian haute cuisine and one of the most popular restaurants in Italy, with its first star won in 2004 and 2 Michelin stars pinned on its jacket as early as 2006.

Study, passion, research, composition are the keys to his gastronomic vision that draws on the centuries-old evolution of Sicily and the historical and cultural influences that have succeeded it, recomposing them with contemporary dynamism, capturing and enhancing their essence without falling into decorativism.

Of his vision, Ciccio says: 'Sicily is the concentration of a thousand-year-old culture, of both geological and gastronomic diversity that has grown in splendour, contradiction and suffering. It conveys its history in the dishes so much so that, what for many cultures is strange, for us is everyday; like sweet and sour or bitter, sweet, salty all together, a mixture of flavours, cultures, interesting moments of great complexity'.

Ciccio Sultano's cuisine is always on the move between land and sea, between memories of home and travel, between high culture and street culture, between a monumental past and a present to be conquered, between feeling and reasoning, but always using a delicate touch. He who loves, respects things, wants them for himself but lives. 'We are not afraid of change,' Sultano emphasises, 'because our roots run deep.

The young Sultan began his experience in the culinary world at the tender age of thirteen, when he accepted a part-time job at a pastry shop in Vittoria. Endowed with a natural curiosity and boundless enthusiasm, he immediately attracted the attention of the owners, and the job turned from occasional employment into a seven-year apprenticeship.

Having become a member of staff at a local spaghetteria, which was consequently a huge success, Ciccio was appreciated for his culinary interpretations. Encouraged by these early accolades, the desire to open his own restaurant in Sicily began to grow within him.

First, however, he realised that he needed to specialise more abroad. In 1995 he moved for a period to Germany, and then, in 1997, to New York, joining the kitchens of restaurateur, author and TV host Lidia Bastianich. But he missed Sicily - the abundance and quality of the island's produce, the generosity of spirit of its inhabitants - like he missed the air. Back in his hometown of Ragusa, in 2000 he realised his dream of opening his first restaurant, Duomo. In 2004, the first Michelin star arrived, followed two years later by the second.
Inspired by the simple, traditional stalls set up by small producers for bread, cheese, salami, pastries and wine, a new concept took shape. In 2015, Ciccio Sultano opened I Banchi, a contemporary take on a traditional trattoria.

In 2018, Ciccio opened for the first time beyond the borders of his beloved Sicily: Pastamara inside the Ritz Carlton on Vienna's iconic Ringstrasse, a few steps away from the famous Staatsoper. With a name derived from the 'pasta amara' made from cocoa beans, the restaurant offers a taste of Sicily throughout the day, from breakfast service to dinner.

The year 2019 saw the inauguration of Cantieri Sultano, a multifunctional space right next to the Duomo: a laboratory for experiments and masterclasses, a lounge for aperitifs and after dinner drinks, creativity and conviviality are at home at Cantieri. While autumn 2021 opened with the arrival of Ciccio's Cucina Educata in Rome. The Giano restaurant, inside the first W Hotel (part of Marriott International) in Italy, offers country, monastic, aristocratic and bourgeois cuisine, combining traditional ingredients with contemporary influences. In July 2023, I Banchi di Ciccio Sultano landed at Palermo Airport.