Cristina, the only female chef with 1 Michelin star in Rome, was born in Cerignola, in Puglia, Italy. After starting her career in Law, she moved to San Francisco to continue her studies. While there, in order to learn “American like an American” she worked in a number of different positions and her first contact with the kitchen happened in a place called Higher Grounds.

After 10 years working within graphic design, she changed career obtaining a degree in Culinary arts with the Le Cordon Bleu program. Her first experience with high-end cuisine took place under James Beard award winner and well-renowned chef, David Bull.

She later decided to create her own personal style and that is why she moved to Rome. She wanted to discover more about her roots. Her intention was to gain experience at the the Convivio Troiani, a Michelin star restaurant in Rome, and later open her own restaurant in Austin.
In the short period of time she was in Rome, she was offered many opportunities and Glass Hostaria in Trastevere was where she fell in love. Glass is a contemporary and innovative space both in terms of philosophy and its gastronomic proposal.

Cristina's cuisine is a cultural crossing that tells us about taste through the constant dialogue between traditions, cultures, memory and places.

With a Michelin star since 2010, and “Tre forchette - Gambero Rosso” since 2020, she is a case study of Bocconi University. She wrote her first book in 2014, “Da Cerignola a San Francisco e ritorno la mia vita di chef contro corrente”, published by Mondadori and her second one in 2019 “The Chef meets the Artist” published by Maretti Editore.

Cristina is one of the founding members and President for 6 years (two terms) of the Italian Association “Ambasciatori del Gusto”, one of the most renowned associations representing the restaurant business in Italy.

She is a member of Chefs’ Manifesto, the initiative launched by Paul Newnham, which aims to end hunger, achieve food security and promote sustainable agriculture by 2030 in collaboration with the UN.

Cristina has always tried to represent a role model for women in the professional world which privileges male representation, undervaluing female skills and professionality.
This role gained her the position of speaker at TEDxMilano Women and then again at TedXaubg. Her role in promoting and defending the role of females in society gained her several awards and recognitions, including Ambassador by the Telefono Rosa Association, Aila Award, "Woman Chef of the Year" by Identità Golose, "Best Female Italian Chef in Europe" by Love Italian Life, “Galvanina Award for Best Chef”, her recent “FIC award for excellence” and many others.

She is among the few founders of the Fiorano For Kids ONLUS.


She took part in the agenda at the World Economic Forum in a talk by "La Stampa" in which she stressed the importance of food sustainability, the enhancement of local producers and product logistics.

Cristina’s creativity in the kitchen, her commitments in various areas and her capability of speaking in three different languages gives her the opportunity to travel around the world, to hold workshops and talks, and to cook constantly enriching her “cucina contaminata”, that is influenced by other food cultures. Because like she says “if we could overlap all food cultures of the world like sheets of paper, we would see that one small corner always overlaps. That is the point of connection and continuity and that is the corner I always look for.”