THIS IS HOW SANTO PALATO IN RESIDENCE SESSIONS BY RIOJA 2025 CAME TO A CLOSE, THE GASTRONOMIC POP-UP THAT TRANSFORMS MADRID INTO AN INTERNATIONAL CULINARY HUB
Chef Sarah Cicolini’s Italian proposal captivated people from Madrid, with the support of the Rioja Qualified Designation of Origin (DOCa)
Madrid, September 22, 2025 – Led by chef Sarah Cicolini from Santo Palato, who brought her proposal from Rome, a new presentation of the In Residence Sessions by Rioja came to an end yesterday as part of the eighth edition of the annual pop-up, organized by the gastronomic consultancy Mateo&Co and promoted by the Rioja Qualified Designation of Origin (DOCa) as the main partner. The sessions were held at Semilla Food Studio in Madrid, offering lunches and dinners paired with a careful selection of wines from the Denomination, which, thanks to their quality and diversity, can be combined with sophisticated and diverse culinary creations.
Cicolini presented her interpretation of the contemporary trattoria, a tribute to the flavors of Roman and Abruzzese cuisine, making them shine. All the dishes were accompanied by DOCa Rioja wines, which enhanced the gastronomic experience. The menu included lamb ham, rosemary oil, horseradish, white melon, basil, and pimenton (accompanied by the 2022 Reserva white wine from Bodega Remírez de Ganuza); anolini stuffed with roasted eggplant and ricotta, tarragon oil, and tomato water (1890 Manzanos Rosé, Bodegas Manzanos); his famous carbonara (paired with Maceración Carbónica Artuke, Bodega Artuke); fried brains with red mullet and a mixture of raw aromatic leaves (Pago de Valcaliente Reserva 2019, Viñedos Ruiz Jiménez). The desserts, fruit salad with Abruzzo nougat and a Santo Palato-style maritozzo, were accompanied by a Vivanco Cuvée Inédita Rosado 2021 (Bodega Vivanco). Born in 1988 in Abruzzo, the chef—recognized with the Women in Food 2025 award in Italy—is one of the key figures in the reinvention of Italian cuisine. Her restaurant Santo Palato, opened eight years ago in Rome, has established itself as a benchmark for contemporary trattorias and is listed in the 50 Best Discovery list. Her expressive cuisine, based on raw ingredients, origins, and a zero-waste philosophy, took center stage in Madrid.
The New York Times had already highlighted her: “Cicolini does not force the evolution of the classics from her small kitchen. Rather, her menu is quite traditional, and she knows how to extract intense flavors from the best local ingredients using simple techniques, a rarity among young chefs in Rome.”
Before opening her own restaurant, the chef trained through experience and work in leading restaurants in Rome, such as Metamorfosi, where she met her current sous chef, Mattia Bazzurri, a yeast specialist who was also part of this Madrid experience.
With this event, Rioja continues to make Madrid an international gastronomic destination in 2025, bringing together chefs from different corners of Europe whose cuisines pair well with wines from the Denomination, showcasing its diversity.
Santo Palato In Residence by Rioja thus joined a season that began in May with chef James Henry and his proposal from Le Doyenné (Saint-Vrain, France). In 2024, the cycle had already featured restaurants such as Osip (Somerset, UK), Kasama (Chicago), and Kadeau (Copenhagen). Madrid also welcomed names such as Jakob Zeller and Ethel Hoon, former chefs at Fäviken (Sweden), and renowned ramen master Ivan Orkin.
Santo Palato’s In Residence Sessions 2025 will soon give way to Paz In Residence by Rioja, by chef Poul Andrias Ziska (Faroe Islands), whose menu and wine pairings from the Rioja Qualified Designation of Origin will be announced in due course.
Next In Residence Sessions 2025
PAZ
Faroe Islands
October 15 – 19
Chef Poul Andrias Ziska
Schedules, prices, and reservations
Confirm the number of services and the price of the menu on the website in each case.
Location
Semilla Food Studio
Calle José Ortega y Gasset, 67
About IN Residence
After eight editions, #InResidence returns to turn Madrid into a meeting point for lovers of haute cuisine. Below, we share the previous editions and the participating chefs:
2024
#KadeauInResidenecbyRioja, Nicolai Nørregaard, owner and co-founder of Kadeau restaurant, with two locations in Denmark.
#OsipInResidencebyRioja, Merlin Labron-Johnson, chef at Osip in Somerset.
#KasamaInResidencebyRioja, chefs at Kasama in Chicago, first Filipino restaurant in the world to earn a Michelin star.
#IvanRamenInResidence, chef and owner of Ivan Ramen, best ramen bar in New York.
2023
#Jakob&EthelInResidence, head chefs at the legendary restaurant Faviken (Sweden) until its closure and Klosterle (Austria).
2022
#BoragóInResidence, Most Sustainable Restaurant in the World in 2021, Most Sustainable Restaurant in Latin America in 2018, #4 in Latin America in 2018 and #29 in the World in 2023 for The World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
2019
#HisaFrankoInResidence, 2 Michelin stars, World’s Best Female Chef in 2017 by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and #21 on this year’s absolute list.
2018
#MirazurInResidence, 3 Michelin stars, by chef Mauro Colagreco, currently ranked #1 Best Restaurant in the World by The World’s 50 Best.
#CasaMarcialInResidence, with 2 Michelin-starred Spanish chef Nacho Manzano.
2017
#ColombiaInResidence, with the 4 best Colombian chefs of the 50 Best Latin America 2017 list.
2016
#AlineaMadrid, with 3 Michelin stars, by American chef Grant Achatz.
About the QDO Rioja
This 2025 marks the Centenary of the QDO Rioja, the oldest Qualified Designation of Origin in Spain, dating back to 1925, and the first to receive Qualified certification in 1991. With its recently launched campaign #VíveteUnRioja, it is positioned as one of the Designations of Origin in the world that offers the greatest guarantees regarding the quality and authenticity of its wines, thanks to the demanding regulations and self-monitoring carried out by its Control Board. This, together with its pioneering character, its commitment to innovation and sustainability, have been decisive in achieving the leading position that Rioja wines occupy in the market, both nationally and internationally. Rioja represents more than 40% of the value of wines with Designation of Origin in Spain and is present in 136 countries.
With more than 66,000 hectares, the QDO Rioja is made up of three areas with different winegrowing characteristics – Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental – covering 144 municipalities, with 600 wineries and more than 13,000 winegrowers; a plurality that guarantees different types of wines, which value the singular origin and diversity, always with a guaranteed high quality.
Organized by Mateo&co
Founded in 2000, Mateo&co is an agency specialized in strategic marketing and communication that develops brand and communication strategies for some of the best known companies in the world of gastronomy, food and beverages. As a promoter of new chefs and premium gastronomic projects, it has established itself as the first strategic branding, marketing and gastronomic communication consultancy in Spain.
Working with chefs, their personal brand development, their internationalization, their restaurant businesses or their concepts. Working with restaurants, from the concept to the branding, the optimization of their resources, their client portfolio or their public relations or working with big brands that want to position themselves within gastronomy and explore this territory.
Mateo&co creates brands for food, from branding to packaging or channel activation. And represents and organizes major national and international gastronomic events collaborating with prestigious brands such as Michelin Spain, Institute of Masters of Wine, The World’s 50 Best Restaurant or International Wine Challenge. Among his own projects are MadrEAT, the first streetfood market in Spain, and the #InResidence project.
Since October 2020, Mateo&Co has been part of Vocento, the leading communication group in Spain, which also includes Vocento Gastronomía, which brings together the main food-related events companies in Spain (GSR) and some of the most recognized brands in the gastronomic conferences/events scene (Madrid Fusión, San Sebastián Gastronomika, among others).
>>IMAGES IN THIS LINK<<
More information HERE
PRESS CONTACT
Vanessa Kroop – vanessak@mateoandco.es – M: +34 608 849 809
