Andrea Berton and illycaffè, the global leader in high-quality sustainable coffee, announce the addition of the Michelin-starred chef to the roster of the illy Chef Ambassador project, the initiative dedicated to lovers of coffee and fine dining for which Berton will become an international ambassador starting in May 2023.

Thanks to the invention of the Personal Blender (the machine patented by illy whose prototype was introduced at the 2015 Milan Exposition’s Coffee Pavilion) and the support of the University of Coffee, Chef Berton will have the opportunity to combine the ingredients that make up the illy blend – 9 of the best single-origin Arabica variety – to create his own personal brew, a unique blend that reflects illy’s values of sustainability and the utmost quality.

Each one of the Michelin-starred chefs involved in the project will create their own “custom-made” coffee. Following in the footsteps of Niko Romito, Viki Geunes, Antonia Klugmann, Ciccio Sultano, Rupert Blease, Massimo Bottura and other leading lights of international fine dining, Andrea Berton will take his turn at combining these ingredients in different quantities and proportions, achieving a balance that best reflects his own style and personal sensorial, taste, and aroma preferences.

If every great Chef has a great menu, thanks to illy they also now have their own bespoke coffee best adapted to their personal style of cooking: the final product will be made available as a unique experience closing out the tasting menu for patrons of “Ristorante Berton”, in Milan’s futuristic Porta Nuova Varesine district.

A double thread unites Andrea Berton’s cuisine and illycaffè: their regional origins on one hand, and their search for excellence, starting with ingredients, on the other. These values are part of the DNA of the Trieste-based coffee company, whose mission of delighting lovers of the good and the beautiful with the best sustainable coffee nature can offer begins with a deep knowledge and respect for raw materials.

“We are thrilled to announce our collaboration with Andrea Berton, an innovative chef that has brought new perspectives and intuitions to the forefront, and with whom we share a constant search for perfection” commented Cristina Scocchia, CEO of illycaffè. “This partnership is born out of our shared values of excellence, which we aim to offer to our customers, both when they are enjoying a great coffee and when they sit down at the table, for a flawless experience that strives for absolute quality”.

“I am honored to start this important collaboration with illycaffè” says Chef Andrea Berton “as a company that is an ambassador of coffee quality in the world and with a great attention paid to the sustainability of the production chain. To make me even more enthusiastic is then the possibility to create my own coffee blend building it with the tastes and flavors in line with my idea of cuisine.”

The illy Chef Ambassador project, launched in 2017, has recently undergone a strategic overhaul. It aims to involve fine dining professionals with whom illycaffè shares the values of sustainability and the utmost quality: sustainable chefs, awarded with the Green Star by the Michelin Guide, and illy’s Masters of Excellence, the great Michelin-starred chefs.

For more information on the illy Chef Ambassador project, see: https://www.illy.com/chefambassador

illycaffè is an Italian family-owned company, founded in Trieste in 1933 which has always set itself the mission of offering the best coffee to the world. It produces a unique 100% Arabica blend composed of 9 different ingredients. The company selects only 1% of the best Arabica beans in the world. Every day 8 million cups of illy coffee are served in over 140 countries around the globe, in the cafés, restaurants and hotels, in single-brand cafés and shops, at home and in the office, in which the company is present through subsidiaries and distributors.

Since its foundation, illycaffè has oriented its strategies towards a sustainable business model, commitment that it strengthened in 2019 by adopting the status of Benefit Company and in 2021 becoming the first Italian coffee company to obtain the international B Corp certification. Since 2013 the company is also one of the World Most Ethical Companies. Everything that is “made in illy” is about beauty and art, the founding principles of the brand, starting from its logo, designed by artist James Rosenquist, up to illy Art Collection cups, decorated by over 125 international artists, or coffee machines designed by internationally renowned designers. With the aim of spreading the culture of quality to growers, baristas and coffee lovers, the company has developed its Università del Caffè which today holds courses in 25 countries around the world. In 2021, Rhône Capital became a minority shareholder of illycaffè with the aim of contributing to the company’s international growth plans.

In 2022, the company had 1230 employees and a turnover of €567,7 million. The illy single-brand network has 190 points of sale in 34 countries.