Cristina Bowerman, balancing her life between Austin, Texas and Rome, has received numerous accolades throughout her career, including a MICHELIN Star in 2010. In addition to her profession as a chef, she is actively involved in promoting education in the restaurant industry, sustainable food production, and gender equality in professional kitchens.
Cristina Bowerman was born in 1966 in Cerignola, near Foggia, Puglia, under the name Cristina Vitulli. Following her marriage to her American husband, she adopted the surname Bowerman.
She studied foreign languages in Italy and law in San Francisco, United States, while working on weekends at the coffee house "Higher Grounds." Later, she pursued the culinary arts and studied for two years at the "Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts" in Austin, Texas.
Cristina gained experience, particularly at David Bull's restaurant "5 Diamonds," and by collaborating with chef Egil Valentin, whom she describes as "my most significant mentor who taught me about passion, study, and curiosity."
In 2005, she moved to Rome and, after an experience at "Convivio Troiani," found her path at "Glass Hostaria," a newly opened restaurant in Trastevere. During the first three years, the restaurant faced various challenges. However, in 2010, it was awarded a MICHELIN Star, making Cristina the only woman to receive such recognition that year.
Subsequently, she opened "Romeo Chef & Baker" in a former warehouse in Testaccio, followed by "Giulietta Pizzeria" in the vicinity.
Throughout her career Cristina has received numerous awards, including the "Chef Donna dell'Anno" (Chef Woman of the Year) award at Identità Golose in 2013. The following year, she published her book "Da Cerignola a San Francisco e ritorno - La mia vita di chef controcorrente" (From Cerignola to San Francisco and Back - My Life as a Nonconformist Chef).
2015 was an eventful year for Cristina as she was appointed "Chef Ambassador" at Expo Milano and became the face of the largest campaign by the "ActionAid" association, which provides food, resources, and education to over 5 million people. Cristina is also one of the ten founders of the organization "Fiorano For Kids," which promotes research on the therapeutic role of specific diets in the treatment of childhood epilepsy. She is also a founding member and president of the Italian Association of Taste Ambassadors.
Bowerman is also committed to teaching and training. One of the projects close to her heart is "Adopt a Hospitality Institute" within the "#fareformazione" initiative, part of a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at improving and expanding educational offerings in Hospitality Institutes.
In 2017, she was among the twenty selected chefs to cook at the 32nd "Chef's Tribute to Citymeals," and the following year, she served as a judge in the final of the S.Pellegrino "Young Italian Chef" competition.
In 2018, she was part of the technical coordination committee for the Year of Italian Food, won the "Best Female Italian Chef in Europe" award by Love Italian Life, the Galvanina award for "Best Chef" during the XVIII edition of the Festival della Cucina Italiana, and the "Excellence Award" from the Italian Federation of Chefs.
Furthermore, in February 2018, she was appointed Ambassador by the Telefono Rosa Association, thanks to her commitment as a role model for women in the restaurant industry. This value has also been recognized on occasions such as TEDxMilano Women and TEDxAUBG, where she had the opportunity to share and promote her ideals.
In January 2021, she participated in the debate "Food, sustainable and irresistible" during the World Economic Forum in Davos, in collaboration with the newspaper La Stampa.
Cristina has also joined the "Chef Manifesto," an initiative launched for the Green Initiative by the MICHELIN Guide, which aims to end hunger, achieve food security, and promote sustainable agriculture by 2030.
