Davide Oldani

Davide Oldani, the creator of cucina POP – high quality and accessibility – opened his restaurant il D'O, in 2003, in his hometown of Cornaredo in the province of Milan. One year after opening, the world's most authoritative food guides counted him amongst the greatest chefs of contemporary Italian cuisine.

Prior to opening D'O, he worked with Gualtiero Marchesi, Albert Roux, Alain Ducasse and Pierre Hermé. In December 2008, Oldani was awarded the Ambrogino d'Oro by the City of Milan. In November 2013 he was invited to Harvard Business School to share his experience as an entrepreneur following a case history about his restaurant which was published in the Harvard Business School Review: the economics professors at the university defined his approach and his organization applicable to many different sectors, not only to restaurants. 

March 2015 held a lesson at the University of Business in Paris HEC. May 2014 saw the opening of Davide Oldani Cafè – in the new luxury Piazza at Malpensa Airport, Milan. From September to November 2013 he conducted the first season of the program, The Chef, on channel La5. From September to December 2014 he conducted the second season of the program, The Chef, on channel La5.

He has been named Ambassador Expo 2015 and in the same year he took part as speaker at the World Business Forum in Milan. His publications include: Cuoco andata e ritorno (2008), La mia cucina pop. L'arte di caramellare i sogni (2009), POP, La nuova grande cucina italiana (2010), Il giusto e il gusto (2012), Storie di sport e cucina (2013), CheFacile (2013), POP FOO’D – La cucina NON regionale italiana (2015), Le D’Onne lo sanno, Mangia come parli Good morning Italia (July 2020), Mangia come parli POP Rhapsody (November 2020).

For the past 14 years, Oldani has collaborated with the authoritative culinary magazine, La cucina italiana, and writes a weekly column about sport and cucina POP for the magazine Sport Week, and also wrote on the blog Chiacchierando con gusto, the weekly journal IoDonna – Corriere della Sera.

In 2016 he opened his new D’O at Cornaredo*, an evolution of the previous one, where he will be able to create “greater” cuisine, able to be measured against the other cuisines of our country and not only.

In 2017 he started a new radio adventure in paired with Pier Luigi Pardo on Radio24 station with the program “Mangia Come Parli”. In November 2020 Chef Oldani awarded by Michelin Guide the second Star and the Green Star for sustainability, and in May 2021 by L’Espresso Guide.

His activity as a designer is born from keen observation of his guests and their habits. Tables, chairs, dishes, tableware and glassware are inspired by the POP cuisine philosophy: simple, functional, elegant.

The brands created for his designs are: “IDish” – "assiette D’O” – “H2D’O" – “XFETTA”. The formats are: “FOO’D” – “Davide Oldani Cafè” – “CucinaPOP”

Cucina POP by Davide Oldani

"My cucina POP was born from the desire to combine simplicity with well-made, delicious with accessible and innovation with tradition. I am convinced that great Italian cuisine is great – not only for its variety and flavours – but because it is open to infinite reinterpretation: I do it with simplicity, with an emphasis on each individual ingredient. Seasonal ingredients and exceptional quality are the two cornerstones of my cuisine. To these two principles I have added a third, that guides me in the preparation of every dish: the search for harmony and the equilibrium of contrasts, that for me is not only the promise of sweetness in something savory or an idea of saltiness in something sweet, but it is also the harmonious coexistence of everything that stimulates the palate in every dish: soft, crunchy, hot, cold, sweet, bitter..." All these elements, for Davide Oldani, come together to create a cuisine that is light but full of flavour, healthy but varied, simple yet surprising.

The idea of cucina POP is not limited to cuisine: it can be found in his passion and constant research, the incredible teamwork and in the attention to his guests. Simple yet elegant, everything should be not only beautiful but also functional, as are all the objects Oldani has created for his guests.