As is often the case in Italy, cooking was a family affair for Denny Imbroisi. For Denny, it began at the age of 14 in the kitchen of his father, who introduced him to traditional recipes in Mantua. His first preparation was candied tomatoes made of beautiful fruit ripened in the sun, olive oil from Italian terroirs, simple motions, and an ancestral recipe.

Denny then continued his journey in the first Italian restaurant to obtain two Michelin stars, San Domenico in Imola, where he learned the art of creating fresh pasta with rigor and precision. He then discovered modern cuisine at Corrado Fasolato in Venice before leaving Italy for France.

Denny perfected his skills for two years in the southern French town of Menton with chef Mauro Colagreco (now a three-Michelin-star chef and winner of the first World’s Best Restaurant award), while accompanying Chef Colagreco on his travels and discovering different herbs and flowers that they picked together every morning in the restaurant’s garden. Denny then met William Ledeuil (a one-Michelin-star chef in Paris) and worked in his restaurant Ze Kitchen Galerie for two years. There he discovered new textures, combinations of flavors, and cooking methods. This rich learning experience allowed Denny to join the French edition of Top Chef, a culinary marathon where his inventiveness and technique made him a formidable competitor.

At the end of the competition, Denny was 24 years old and joined the famous Jules Verne restaurant at the Eiffel Tower as a sous chef under the famed French Chef Alain Ducasse. In addition to learning the classic fundamentals of French gastronomy, Denny also joined a large team of 30 people and gained business acumen, including in cost management.

As a culmination to his previous restaurant experience, Denny embarked on a new adventure in 2015 by opening of his signature restaurant, IDA, located in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, where he offers gourmet cuisine based on the seasonality of products and a perfect combination of Italian flavors and French techniques. Eager to share Italian cuisine and promote traditional recipes from different regions, Denny then opened his second restaurant, EPOCA, in October 2017, and his third, MALRO, in 2019.

In his restaurants, Denny offers authentic, generous cuisine with unique and comforting flavors in spaces that promote community and true joie de vivre.

Language spoken: French, Italian

Photo credit: Alban Couturier