Cristina BOWERMAN
Chef
Cristina Bowerman, one amongst the few Italian lady-chefs to have earned a Michelin star and several other illustrious recognition, was born in Cerignola, in Apulia region. After graduating in Law in Italy, in 1992 she moved to the USA, San Francisco. Here she completed her Jurisprudence studies and than also studied as a graphic designer. She also worked at Higher Ground, a coffee house in San Francisco, where she becomes fully aware of her passion for cooking, which she inherited from her mother and grandmother. In 1998 si moved to Austin, where she earned the degree in Culinary Arts at the Texas Culinary University. Mainly thanks to the working experience at the Driskill Grill with chef David Bull, she developed and sharpened both techniques and discipline, focusing on the ingredients' taste cleanliness and concentration.
In 2005 Bowerman decides to go back to Italy, to broaden her knowledge of classic Italian cuisine. Settled in Rome, she firstly works at the famous Convivio restaurant run by the Troiani brothers, and then at Glass Hostaria, a recently-opened restaurant in the very heart Trastevere, one of Rome's most picturesque and busiest boroughs. Fabio Spada, the owner and manager, knows what he wants: he aims to break up the folkloristic image of Trastevere and of the cuisine commonly offered by the local restaurants, with a contemporary venue, both in decor and in philosophy and cooking. Cristina is the most fitting choice for Glass kitchen, and for him as well: today, they are partners both in business and in private life.
She has earned several national awards: among them, the Michelin star in 2010. Her history and the one of Glass were chosen as a case study at the illustrious Bocconi University. In the last years she has been teacher for the professional cooking courses at the “Italian Chef Academy” and at the University of Illinois' classes in Rome. The several awards and recognitions she earned didn't quench her willingness to study and to experiment, with a special focus on the intersection between science and cooking.
In 2014, Mondadori released her first book, mid-way between a cookbook and a biopic: Da Cerignola a San Francisco e ritorno – La mia vita di chef controcorrente.
Cristina Bowerman has been designated as an Expo Milano 2015 Chef Ambassador to represent and promote Expo's themes and mission.
In recent years the chef has appeared in many Tv shows, both food-related and not, such as: Kilimangiaro, MasterChef Italia 2014, Elisir, Porta a Porta 2015. She was also repeatedly invited as a guest chef at other shows at RAI, Italy's national public broadcasting company, such as Geo&Geo, A Conti Fatti and Uno Mattina and at the food channel AliceTv.
2010: 1 Michelin star
2013: lady-chef of the year for Identità Golose Guide and Congress
2013: Sandwich of the year award for the Gambero Rosso Street Food Guide
2014: Da Cerignola a San Francisco e ritorno – La mia vita di chef controcorrente, published by Mondadori
2015: Expo Milano 2015 Chef Ambassador
