Daniel Zeilinga, originally from Merano, embarked on a path of growth in the world of haute cuisine at only 18. After training in starred restaurants such as the Schoneck and the Hotel Louis C. Jacob, he returned to Italy to work alongside renowned chefs such as Maurilio Garola and Enrico Crippa. It was under the latter's guidance that he developed a special focus on vegetable raw materials. Since 2022, he has been the executive chef at Fàula located within the Casa di Langa resort, where he manages the entire culinary offer, under the banner of sustainability.
Daniel Zeilinga was born in Merano in 1989, in the province of Bolzano. Barely eighteen, he began his experience in haute cuisine, working alongside chef Karl Baumgartner at the Schoneck restaurant in Falzes, and abroad at the Hotel Louis C. Jacob in Hamburg, Germany, in the year he received his second Michelin star, 2011.
The following year he returned to Italy, and landed at La Ciau del Tornavento in Treiso (CN), 1 Michelin star with chef Maurilio Garola, where he began his acquaintance with the piedmontese territory. After a brief stop at the Guido restaurant in Fontanafredda, he received the call from Enrico Crippa at the Piazza Duomo restaurant in Alba, 3 Michelin stars, where Daniel spent almost four years: "a highly formative experience both on a human and professional level". Chef Zeilinga looks up to Crippa with respect and, thanks to him, develops an important focus on vegetable raw materials, which leads him to create a green tasting menu and build a vegetable garden and greenhouse for the winter.
In March 2017, he began a new adventure alongside Andrea Ribaldone at the Osteria Arborina, where he was awarded a Michelin star in November of the same year. In March 2019, he returned to work at La Ciau Del Tornavento, and in the meantime became part of the Casa Di Langa project. From the spring of 2022, he is the executive chef at Fàula in the piedmontese hotel, and also oversees and coordinates the entire offer of the resort, from breakfast to lunch and dinner.
