The story of Luca Zvaleni, the winner of Chefi la Cuțite 2025. What the chef who works in a restaurant with 3 Michelin stars says about Romania
The winner of the 2025 edition of the Chefi la cuțite competition/ Photo: Facebook – Chefi la cuțite
Luca Zvaleni, the “golden knife” from chef Richard Abou Zaki's team, won, on Wednesday evening, the Chefi la Cuțite 2025 final. 25 years old, Luca Zvaleni was born in the capital of Italy, his parents being from Satu Mare. So far, he has cooked in Michelin-starred kitchens.
Luca Zvakeni is 25 years old and was born in Italy. Later, he moved to the Cote d'Azur because, he told the auditions of the cooking show, “France is a stage that must be done if you want to grow in this field, especially fine dining and high-level cuisine.”
At 16, he entered a kitchen with a Michelin star. “I did a public school on the gastronomic side. I knew that this is my path. When I cook, I enter my world. I enter a different state, especially when I cook for loved ones, then love really enters the food. I am looking for perfection. I will never reach it, but I am looking to do the best I can”, he also said at the Chefi la Cuțite auditions.
In front of the chefs, Luca Zvakeni told that he has been working for three years in Monaco, at the restaurant of Alain Ducasse, one of the greatest French chefs.
“There are 20 of us in the kitchen, and in order to evolve, you have to be a little better than your colleague. I always liked to do the job right. Even to do more. I always gave 110%. I used to come to work a little earlier, I was the last to leave. Now I have the biggest responsibility that can be obtained: as head of department”, he also said.
Romania is “more than three stars”
Although he was born in Italy, Luca Zvaleni has his roots in Romania, his parents being Romanian, originally from Satu Mare.
“I thought of returning to Romania and opening something in the country, where I could have my own garden, my own animals. Because, on this side, Romania is more than three stars. The quality of the product and ingredients we have here is very high. That's what I dream of,” said the young man at the beginning of the competition.
He received three golden knives from the chefs and his choice was to be part of Richard Abou Zaki's team. In the final, he managed to impress the judges and win the prize worth 30,000 euros.
“I don't think so. I was the happiest at that moment, I managed to reach my goal: to show on the plate who Luca Zvaleni is,” said the winner.
