NIKO ROMITO

A self-taught chef deeply connected to his Abruzzo region, Niko Romito first entered the kitchen without yet imagining that it would become his life. In fact, he was about to graduate with a degree in economics in Rome, dreaming of a career as a financial broker, when his father, who had recently turned Reale – the family bakery- into a trattoria, fell ill.

Cristiana and him return to Abruzzo to take care of the restaurant in order to find a buyer. But the two siblings became passionate about the business, and when their father passed away, they decided to take over the Reale.

Despite having no experience in the industry, Niko quickly developed his own cooking philosophy and in just 7 years Reale won its first Michelin star.

In 2011, the restaurant moves to Casadonna, a former 16th-century monastery in Castel di Sangro, which Niko and Cristiana renovate and decorate by choosing materials and works of art that follow a very precise idea of elegance, purity and beauty, in continuity with the cuisine of the Reale.

Here, in addition to the restaurant and rooms, the Accademia, a school of high training and professional specialization in cooking, was born.

In November 2014 the third Michelin star arrived and Niko began to develop new and varied formats.

Today, through incessant study, research and experimentation, combined with a marked entrepreneurial approach, he has managed to consolidate an innovative, highly identifiable and highly incisive gastronomic language while developing a complex system in which haute cuisine, restaurant formats, training and products for home consumption coexist.