Davide Guidara is one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Italian gastronomy. Executive Chef of I Tenerumi at the Therasia Resort in Vulcano, he has developed a radical and rigorous vegetable-driven cuisine, awarded two MICHELIN Stars in 2025, redefining the role of plants in fine dining.
Davide Guidara’s career has been marked by exceptional precocity and a clearly defined vision from the very beginning. At just 24 years old, he became Head Chef at the Eolian Milazzo Hotel, where his work immediately stood out on the national gastronomic scene. It was here that Carlo Passera, writing for Identità Golose, described the phenomenon as “Martians in Milazzo,” anticipating the arrival of something entirely new. This intuition was soon confirmed by the Best in Sicily award from Cronache di Gusto.
His path of maturation continued at SUM in Catania, a true creative laboratory where Guidara refined the pillars of his culinary philosophy: minimalism, essentiality and umami. These years were crucial in shaping his identity and were accompanied by major recognitions, including Best Under 30 from Gambero Rosso, Chef of the Future from S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, and the Vent’Anni Award from Identità Golose.
Today, Guidara leads I Tenerumi at the Therasia Resort on the island of Vulcano, where he also serves as Executive Chef of the entire property, acting in particular as Culinary Director of Il Cappero, the resort’s other MICHELIN-starred restaurant. At I Tenerumi—defined by the chef himself as a “vegetable restaurant”—he pursues a coherent and rigorous research project focused on the plant world, a body of work that earned him the Identità Golose Award for Culinary Experimentation.
From this vision emerges Cook More Plants, not merely a brand but a true cultural manifesto of the new vegetable-centred cuisine. An ambitious project aimed at redefining the role of vegetables, elevating them both within avant-garde authorial cooking and in contemporary food culture at large.
In 2022, the opening year of I Tenerumi, the restaurant received the MICHELIN Red Star, the MICHELIN Green Star, and the MICHELIN Young Chef Award. In 2024, it entered the Gambero Rosso Restaurant Guide with Three Forks, the guide’s highest distinction, accompanied by the rocket symbol certifying its avant-garde approach. The same year, Le Guide de L’Espresso awarded it four hats and a score of 18/20, while La Liste included I Tenerumi among the 500 best restaurants in the world. Also in 2024, Guidara received the Forbes Under 30 – Art & Culture award and the Fortune 40 Under 40 – Food Industries recognition, as well as the MICHELIN Passion Dessert Award and the title of Best Restaurant in a Luxury Hotel from Best Luxury Hotel.
The year 2025 marked full international recognition with the award of two MICHELIN Stars, making I Tenerumi the first two-MICHELIN-star vegetarian restaurant in the Western world according to the MICHELIN Guide. In the same year, the restaurant was also honoured with Two Knives at The Best Chef Awards, further confirming the global relevance of Guidara’s vision.
