To gain a Michelin star is something many chefs strive for throughout their professional lives; Lorenzo Cogo managed it by the time he was twenty-five. His ability to rethink traditional recipes and play around with them by drawing on influences from around the world helped cement his place among the Italian culinary elite.

Born in 1986 in Thiene, Vicenza, Lorenzo already had cooking in his blood – his father owned a traditional trattoria and before that, his grandfather was a chef. From his first taste of fresh milk he knew he would follow in his family’s footsteps, and after completing his studies, Lorenzo set his sights on travelling the world to learn as much about food as he possibly could.

His first international job took him to the other side of the world, where Lorenzo worked in Melbourne, Australia, with acclaimed chef Shannon Bennett at Vue de Monde. A short move to Sydney meant he had the chance to work with Mark Best at the famous Marque Restaurant, before the opportunity of a lifetime to work with Heston Blumenthal at The Fat Duck meant packing his bags for London.

Lorenzo still wasn’t finished with his quest to study international cuisine. After working at The Fat Duck, he travelled to Tokyo to work with three Michelin-starred chef Seiji Yamamoto at his legendary restaurant Nihon Ryori Ryugin. This was an important milestone in Lorenzo’s development, as Seiji taught him how to properly handle raw ingredients, the art of resourceful cooking and how to properly respect tradition, which had a profound effect on his cooking style. He then went to work with the godfather of European barbecue Victor Arguinzoniz at Asador Etxebarri in Spain. Victor’s love of cooking over open flames inspired Lorenzo, and he fell in love with cooking on traditional grills. ‘Working with Victor Arguinzoniz was a dream job,’ he tells us. ‘There was so much energy in the kitchen, so much passion with fire.’