Christian Francesco Puglisi was born in Messina in Italy in 1982. Arriving in Denmark as an immigrant in1990 he later attended the Danish Hospitality College and graduated with honours in 2004.Amongst other experiences as a learning cook, he was a short stint at le Taillevent, Paris in ’05 and El Bulliin ’06. Shortly after Christian became the sous-chef at Noma in Copenhagen and remained so for 2 1/2 yearuntil he ventured out to open his own restaurant, Relæ in 2010.
Relæ was opened with partner Kim Rossen and soon the smaller eatery Manfreds was opened just acrossthe street from the original restaurant thus benefitting from the synergy between the two kitchens.Relæ was in 2011 awarded a Bib Gourmand by the Michelin guide and that the year after was swapped for aMichelin star. Relæ was also shortlisted amongst the top 100 of the San Pellegrino 50 Best Restaurantsthree years in a row, and entered the list as #45 in 2015. Simultaneously, Relæ was honoured with theSustainable Restaurant Award.
In 2014 two other members were added to the restaurant family, the bakery-cum-eatery Mirabelle and thecritically acclaimed Bæst, a low-key restaurant showcasing the best local produce by using the mosttraditional Italian crafts. The house cured salamis, house made mozzarella made on local organic milk, andthe sourdough fermented pizzas have from the very beginning reaped awards on the Danish gastronomicscene, including Bistro of the Year in 2015 by the Danish Food Critics.
In 2013 Relæ obtained the highest Danish organic certification making it the only Michelin starred restaurantwith such a certification in the world. All the restaurants have since followed.Christian has been participating in numerous chef-conferences world wide and was most notably a speakerat MAD in 2013 alongside some of the greatest names in gastronomy.
In 2014 Christian F. Puglisi published the critically acclaimed Relæ: A Book of Ideas with Ten Speed Press,an American publisher. The book was a shortlist nominee for The Art of Eating, Cookbook of the year, wonthe IACP Design award and was nominated for a James Beard Award.
Besides authoring this book Christian has also written a number of recipes, essays and short stories forDanish newspapers.Christian’s focus on integrating gastronomy and sustainable agricultural practices has also acquired him anomination as the Citizen of the Year by the Danish newspaper Politiken.
- 1 Michelin star
- No. 56, The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, 2013