“As a child, during summers at the seaside in Sicily, I loved to lose myself in the genuine flavors of my grandmother’s recipes.
Every day she would carefully prepare what my grandfather, a fisherman, would punctually leave in the refrigerator at dawn. I would taste in silence, and when I finished, she would look at me and just ask, “Is it good?”
Over time I understood the meaning of that question. Preparing a dish is much more than cooking: it is an act of love toward those you love, a gesture of care toward the raw materials that nature offers, a way to pass on knowledge and build a shared memory.In a word: beauty.”
– Massimo De Maria, director of the Maestro Martino Food Academy
WELCOME TO THE
MAESTRO MARTINO
FOOD ACADEMY
WHERE THE FUTURE OF CATERING IS BORN
“As a child, during summers at the seaside in Sicily, I loved to lose myself in the genuine flavors of my grandmother’s recipes.
Every day she would carefully prepare what my grandfather, a fisherman, would punctually leave in the refrigerator at dawn. I would taste in silence, and when I finished, she would look at me and just ask, “Is it good?”
Over time I understood the meaning of that question. Preparing a dish is much more than cooking: it is an act of love toward those you love, a gesture of care toward the raw materials that nature offers, a way to pass on knowledge and build a shared memory.In a word: beauty.”
– Massimo de Maria, director of the Maestro Martino Food Academy
100+
Students each year
5.000+
Customers served each year
20+
Masterclasses with chefs
and professionals each year
100+
New recipes developed each year
100+
Students each year
5.000+
Customers served each year
100+
New recipes developed each year
20+
Masterclasses with chefs
and professionals each year
WHO WE ARE.
Founded and chaired by chef Carlo Cracco, the Association has been promoting the next generation of Italian catering since 2011 through training and awarding deserving students with scholarships.
The name recalls the greatest European chef of the 15th century, Maestro Martino, who lived in Milan at the Sforza court and wrote the famous De Arte Coquinaria-a cornerstone of gastronomic culture that marks the transition from medieval to Renaissance cuisine.
In support of its mission, the Association promotes the Maestro Martino Food Academy (MMFA), a reality dedicated to the training and development of innovative projects for the revitalization of catering and hospitality, celebrating Italian beauty in all its expressions.
THE ACADEMY.
The MMFA networks skills and knowledge from different sectors: from cooking to baking, from agriculture to artistic and technological crafts. These experiences converge and take shape within two teaching restaurants, as well as in workshops and research and production projects.
The teaching restaurant is a real restaurant open to the public, run by professionals, where students actively participate in all operational functions. It is also a place where the beauty of Italian craftsmanship in all its forms is celebrated every day through art exhibitions, events, charity auctions, meetings and concerts.
THE CAMPUS
The MMFA is a space where every day we celebrate the beauty of artisan productions-that is, of those who create with their own hands: the cooks, bakers, pastry chefs, winemakers and farmers. Each of them, with their work, celebrates a territory that over the centuries has been able to express art, culture and beauty in all its forms: Italy.
MMFA’s headquarters is in Villa Terzaghi, an 18th-century residence in Robecco sul Naviglio, on the outskirts of Milan, equipped with ample space for catering, education and art, set in a centuries-old park in the heart of the Ticino Park, a Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site.
CONTACT US
Are you a 3rd, 4th, or 5th year student and dream of specializing in high-level catering? Are you an industry professional and also want to become a Mentor for future generations? Are you a company, institution or private individual and want to help support the dreams and aspirations of young talent?
