Anna Ciccarone was born in Putignano on 7 June 1979. In partnership with her sisters, Rosa and Mariangela, she currently serves as Executive Chef in the family business, which has been thriving for over 60 years.
After graduating in Business Economics and Law at Cattolica University in Milan, driven by her characteristic passion and determination she decided to attend ALMA – The International School of Italian Cuisine. During the internship stage, she had the opportunity to work at the 3 Michelin star restaurant of our Rector, Gualtiero Marchesi, in Erbusco. After completing her training, she moved to Liguria, where she worked alongside Chef Mauro Ricciardi, a disciple of the great Angelo Paracucchi. In 2010, she returned to Colorno and became the first female chef instructor at the academy, initially of pastry and later of cuisine.
In 2013, she became an Alma Chef Ambassador, representing our school and Italian cuisine in Seoul, South Korea. At the end of this experience, she decided to leave Colorno and venture into French cuisine. In 2014 she moved to Paris and soon after joined the 3 Michelin star George Blanc restaurant. Here, she worked as Chef de Partie for a year, once again holding the distinction of being the first and only woman in that role. In 2015, she decided to return home and proudly work alongside her parents and her sister, who have been running the family business for 20 years. After a time, however, her desire never to stop learning led her to seek gastronomic experiences abroad that could enrich her culinary and cultural knowledge. Therefore she travelled to Peru, where she spent a month exploring and experiencing as much as possible: discovering the biggest names such as Gaston Acurio and Virgilio Martinez, as well as Oropesa, the city of bread, and Machu Picchu. Her gastronomic journey ended in Colombia, where she decided to stay for 5 months to obtain a better understanding of the traditional production of cane sugar, panela and coffee plantations.