Antonella Ricci, the first female Michelin-starred chef from Puglia, was born in Ceglie Messapica in 1968. After graduating from the University of Lecce with a degree in Economics and Banking, she quickly decided that banking was not her calling.
She then attended the Paul Bocuse School in Lyon and went on to undertake a placement at a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Normandy.
In 1998 she joined Jeunes Restaurateurs d'Europe, the association representing Europe's finest chefs under the age of 35, and in 2004 became a lecturer at ALMA, Gualtiero Marchesi's prestigious culinary school.
As Director of the Mediterranean Cooking School in Ceglie Messapica, she fulfilled the dream of her father, Angelo. In 2000, together with her husband Vinod Sookar, she transformed the historic Al Fornello da Ricci into Antonella Ricci Vinod Sookar, which has retained its Michelin star for thirty consecutive years.
Since autumn 2023 she and Vinod Sookar have presented Mangia Puglia Ama on Food Network Italy and are regular guests on È Sempre Mezzogiorno, Antonella Clerici's popular daytime television programme.