Born in Brescia in 1980, Alberto Gipponi opened Dina in Gussago in 2017. Listed in the Michelin Guide and on 50 Best Discovery, the restaurant offers emotion-driven menus that mix Lombard roots, punk-rock impulses and the classical techniques he absorbed from mentors such as Massimo Bottura.
Cover Photo: Lido Vannucchi
Gipponi holds a degree in Sociology, once played guitar in punk bands and managed university social projects. At 35 he switched careers: first an internship at Orsone (Joe Bastianich) in Friuli, then a stint at Da Nadia in Castrezzato. An eye-opening dinner at Osteria Francescana in April 2016 led him to leave Bottura a jar of “pumpkin-peel cream”; the gesture earned him a stage that introduced him to haute cuisine.
He opened Dina—named after his grandmother—on 14 July 2017 in a stone house among Franciacorta vineyards. The 1950s décor frames concept dishes such as the “Casoncello di faccia”, the empty-yet-full Cannellone manifesto, and the “Vertified Pasta” experiment, all designed to spark conversation about waste, memory and imagination.
The Michelin Guide Italy has recommended Dina since 2019 (“creative cooking, top-quality produce”), and Gambero Rosso awarded Three Cocotte 2024 for its narrative strength. Dina also appears on 50 Best Discovery as an experience that is “retro yet contemporary, elegant yet rustic.”
Gipponi describes his style as “cuisine of head and gut”: classical jus reductions and hand-rolled pasta meet forgotten ingredients such as fig leaves or heritage-apple vinegars to “make the diner’s heart vibrate.” According to an Identità Golose profile, a kitchen-hood flare-up on opening night left him with third-degree burns on both hands, a trial he calls “my real baptism of fire.”
Today he leads a 12-strong brigade, steers a 700-label cellar and runs Dina’s performance-style dinners, masterclasses and talks at events like Identità Golose 2025 and FoodExp Lecce, continuing his quest to “move walls and borders” through food.
