Francesco Sposito was born in Naples, where good food was woven into the fabric of life: ‘The smell of tomato sauce in the hall of the buildings, the smell of the embers on the balconies that were used to roast the artichokes…’ His father Armando, formerly a teacher, had left the academic world behind to follow his passion for cooking, purchasing Taverna Estia in the town of Brusciano, near Mount Vesuvius. Francesco was in his teens when he first entered his father’s kitchen. He told us: ‘This job wasn't in my plans, it wasn't what I wanted to do when I was little. I started doing it to spend time with my family. If we wanted to spend some time together we had to come here to the restaurant. But when I realised what it was about, I completely fell in love with it.’

He studied classics, but after completing his studies turned his attention fully to cooking. His desire to grow as a chef, to keep learning, took him abroad. First came Paris, at Arpège with Alain Passard, which held three Michelin stars. Here he was schooled in modernist cooking technique and like Passard, developed an appreciation for the enormous variety of spices and seasonings the world has to offer. In 2002 he moved on to work with Igles Corelli, long-time head chef of the legendary two-star Trigabolo restaurant. Working together on Corelli’s new venture, Locanda della Tamerice, in the wetland nature reserve of Ostellato in northeast Italy, in this great chef he found a second father, crediting him with unlocking his talent and passion for cookery.

By 2005, Francesco was making a name for himself, both in Italy and beyond. He spent some time in Japan, further honing his culinary skills, but ideas for his own restaurant, his own cuisine, were at the forefront of his mind. He returned to head the kitchen of his father’s restaurant in 2006, winning his first Michelin star that year at the age of only twenty-four. He told us: ‘At the restaurant we used to make dishes in the traditional way, making traditional Neapolitan cuisine. When I came back I brought with me the desire, the determination, to create a different kind of restaurant. My whole family allowed me to do that, they supported my will to do this job at a higher level. Today when I look over my shoulder I believe I have been very lucky, I think we are on the right track. When I decided to take on the responsibility of the kitchen, I found myself managing something bigger than myself, bigger than my experience. There have been tough times, there still are, but I am convinced that, for any kind of job, with tenacity, passion and love you can succeed.’ Together with his brother Mario, the sommelier and restaurant manager, they have built the traditional taverna into a remarkable restaurant over the past ten years, with their second Michelin star being awarded in 2014; aged thirty-one Francesco became the youngest two-star chef in Italy. The restaurant also holds three hats in L’Espresso and three forks in Gambero Rosso – Italy’s other highly regarded guides.