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A cook carrying a crate of vegetables among shelves of fruit, vegetables and preserves

Fabrizio Mantovani

“Nostalgia plays an enormous part in my personal happiness, because I often try to recreate a time I have lost. The market is a place where, even today, people bump into one another, chat and discuss the goods with those selling them. It remains a point of reference for everything I create.”

— Fabrizio Mantovani

FM — Sintonizzati con Gusto.

The market stalls of Lugo

Born in Lugo in 1968. Into a family of greengrocers.

Markets aren't just the backdrop of his childhood. They are his first real school.

Here he develops his eye for raw ingredients. His respect for the seasons. He understands immediately that food is a living thing.

Then comes culinary school. But his path takes a different turn.

Rhythm before the stove

Before returning to the kitchen, there was music. He is a professional bass player.

Not as a hobby, but as a career. He plays with Alex Baroni, Funky Company, Jenny B, Marcello Pieri.

He learns rhythm. He understands how to be part of a band without drowning out the others.

It's a lesson he brings to the kitchen, right in the middle of the brigade. This is where the name of his first project comes from: FM — Sintonizzati con Gusto.

FM, like radio frequencies.

"Food has always been many things to me: images, faces, sounds, colors, art, design."

The album tracklist

  1. 1999-2001

    French Riviera: the return to the kitchen starts in France.

  2. 2001

    Liguria: at Club Essaouira in Albenga.

  3. 2002-2005

    Turin: head chef at the Tipinifini restaurant.

  4. 2004

    FM — Sintonizzati con Gusto: the creative agency for consulting and menus on the Romagna Riviera is born.

A laid table seen from above: fried fish with lemon, a salad of spinach and flowers, glasses of wine and beer
  1. 2006-2010

    Riccione: head chef at Hotel Belvedere.

  2. 2009-2010

    La Prova del Cuoco: part of the chef team on the Rai TV show.

  3. The companies: consulting for the food industry. Melandri Gaudenzio, Manuzzi. Surgital, for the launch of Ca' Pelletti. Gruppo Eurovo, for La Locanda dell'Uovo inside FICO.

  4. 2011-2013

    The sea: private chef on a 70-meter yacht.

A dish of roasted meat with dark shavings, purple flowers and amber sauce on an irregular white plate

  1. Denmark: the journey also includes the North.

  2. FM con Gusto, Hotel Vittoria, Faenza: his first very own restaurant. Chef patron. He earns two forks in the Michelin Guide, one hat in the Espresso Guide. And then Touring, Gambero Rosso, Identità Golose.

  3. 2015

    Milan: with the CheftoChef association, a day at the Refettorio Ambrosiano.

  4. 2015

    Fmarket Café: the spot in Piazza della Libertà.

Three views of FM in Faenza: an aperitivo at sunset on a table in the square, the counter with pastries, bread and shelves of products, and a laid table in front of a yellow painting
  1. 2017

    Identità Golose: speaker at the congress.

  2. 2019

    Saint-Tropez: takes part in the launch of chef Alain Ducasse's Byblos Beach, joining his brigade.

  3. 2020

    Reggio Emilia: the launch of Macramè.

  4. Limoges: represents Italy at Toques & Porcelaine.

  5. 2025

    FmLAB and Fernet: coming full circle.

Octopus with pink cream, cherries and red leaves in a white deep plate

Form follows taste

In Faenza, the city of ceramics, the plate matters as much as the food.

This is the Form Follows Food code. "Eating is living. Testing is evolving."

The container is part of the dish. It's the thought process behind design projects like Il Leccadito with Pasagioielli and NEEDO with DILATO.

In the kitchen, Fabrizio Mantovani uses color as an ingredient.

"I have a color scale that I put into practice when I cook, because orange has its own power."

This is how Cucina NewStalgica is born. Nostalgic in its references. Contemporary in its execution.

"Form has always followed taste."

Three views of FM in Faenza: an aperitivo at sunset on a table in the square, the counter with pastries, bread and shelves of products, and a laid table in front of a yellow painting

Three places, a single hand

Everything starts at Hotel Vittoria. In 2017, Enzo Vizzari writes in la Repubblica calling it "a small kingdom of taste similar to those in big metropolises." Born in a city "much less inclined towards the avant-garde."

In 2015, Fmarket Café opens. An urban market in Piazza della Libertà. Coffee shop, cicchetteria, and market, seen through the eyes of a chef.

In 2025 comes FmLAB. Deli and Bistrot. As Lisa says: "when the restaurant closed, the market was missing a half to be complete."

And inside the Lab, Fernet is born. Saturday dinner, for twelve guests.

Fmarket CaféFmLABFernet
The FmLAB kitchen: the brigade at work at the counter, among dishes being prepared

The brigade and the travel companions

FM is a school. A team of young people learning a trade.

Fabrizio Mantovani trains and guides them.

His work doesn't stop at the restaurants. He consults for companies, designs new kitchens, hosts show cooking events.

But a project like this isn't built alone.

Beside him is Lisa Lelli. His wife and co-founder, the mind that turns the dream into a functioning company.

There is Andrea Camporesi. A partner from the events world, who believed in the Lab.

And there is Tania Zoffoli. Partner and guardian of the visual identity of all the brands.

Written about us

"A construction defined by precise and meticulous points, a tonal yet multifaceted result."

— Andrea Grignaffini

From history to the table

Now you know who is behind it all.

Come visit us in Faenza, for a coffee in the square or a cooked dinner.

Contact us