Founder of the Culinary Institute of Bologna (CIBO) in 2012, chef Stefano Corvucci focuses on teaching new skills, being intuitive and spontaneous in the kitchen, and getting the best of each day’s market. He doesn’t believe in concentrating on prescribed recipes but in creating links between the food being worked with and lifestyle, culture, music, history, and the arts. In Corvucci’s world, food is at the center of everything, and he loves experiencing it with his students from around the world, beginner to expert, who share his love for cooking.

Corvucci grew up about 50 kilometers from Bologna, in a town called Forlì, with a father who adored food and cooking, and who gave his son a sense of the history and culture behind them. It was infectious. So although he set out initially to study the law, Corvucci turned his attention back to his true love, the kitchen, and opened his own restaurant. After six years at his first place, which was quite upscale, Corvucci decided to downsize and go less formal, putting himself back in the kitchen, where he wanted to be. He bought and renovated a 19th-century space in Bologna’s university quarter that had once been the restaurant Il Rosso. He renamed it Trattoria Il Rosso and filled the menu with homey classics such as tagliatelle with Bolognese sauce, tortellini en brodo (in broth), and cotoletta alla Bolognese (Bolognese cutlet, a pork or veal cutlet coated in egg and parmigiano, then fried, topped with prosciutto and parmigiano, and served in a stock-based cream sauce).

CIBO is located adjacent to the Trattoria, so Corvucci is always only steps away from either of his great loves, cooking and teaching.