The first star chef in history came from Ticino

Once upon a time there was a boy who could cook incredibly well. In his village in a deserted mountain valley, no one was interested. The people were poor and had other concerns. Therefore, the boy decided to leave. On his journey he came to a big city and looked for work there. Soon the ruler of the place noticed him. And so the poor boy became the prince’s personal chef.

For example, the story of Maestro Martino would sound like a fairy tale. Only that it’s not a fairy tale, it’s a true story…

Martino de Rubeis, as the Ticino boy was called, was born about 1410/20 in Weiler Grumo, in the Blenio Valley of Ticino. He started cooking in the hospice of the oratory «Santa Maria del Monastero». There, travelers between north and south were offered shelter and various meals. In this guest house, the boy from Ticino developed his passion for cooking pots and perfected his dishes, which were often influenced by guests – pilgrims, merchants, nobles.

In the mid-15th century, Martino moved to Milan. The chance of a better life was greater in the city than in a deserted mountain valley. Much bigger, as it soon turned out. De Tessin found work in the court kitchen of the Sforza ducal family, who ruled over Milan. The Sforzas quickly took a liking to Martino’s dishes and made him their chef. But the talents of the Ticino restaurateur did not go unnoticed by others. Cardinal Ludovico Trevisan was particularly impressed. The papal adviser was one of the most powerful men in the Vatican and took Martino to Rome.

Not only Trevisan, but also Pope Paul II and Sixtus IV enjoyed the culinary arts of Maestro Martino. The services to the Holy See were unofficial, but had far-reaching consequences. In the corridors of the Vatican, the Ticino chef met a man named Bartholomeus Sacchi, known as Platinà. This Sacchi was the papal librarian and a scholar of many interests. Platinà was enthusiastic about Martino and his recipes and included about 240 of them in his work «The honesta voluptate et valetudine» On. The world’s first printed cookbook appeared in 1468 and made Maestro Martino famous throughout Europe.

With his own cookbook “Libro de arte coquinaria”, which was written in the same period, he might also have become well known. But not to that extent, because his work is not written in Latin, but in the ‘follower’ colloquial language. Platinà and Martino therefore complemented each other perfectly. One a theoretically minded scholar, the other a practical thinking and acting top chef.

After working for many years in the kitchens of Rome, Martino returned to Milan in the autumn of his life. His last job was with Gian Giacomo Trivulzio, a powerful Italian military commander. Not much is known about Martino’s death. Exactly when he died and whether he returned to the Blenio Valley cannot be said with certainty.

However, it is certain that Maestro Martino is not from Como, as is sometimes claimed to this day. This mistake was probably written by his friend Platinà. He had him as «Comens», referred to as a person from Como. Perhaps so as not to overwhelm his readership, which barely knew Blenio Valley. Perhaps also because he himself had confused Grumo and Como. Once in the world, this “fairy tale” was almost impossible to get rid of.

Still: the first European top chef came from Ticino. From Grumo in the Blenio Valley!