At "Breakfast with the Stars" illycaffè brings together its Chef Ambassadors with an immersive event at the Re Rebaudengo Foundation

On the occasion of The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025, of which it is the exclusive coffee partner, the company celebrates 40 Michelin Stars

TRIESTE, Italy, June 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- illycaffè, a global leader in sustainable, high-quality coffee, has brought together, for the first time, all members of its Chef Ambassador program in Turin to mark The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 - the prestigious international ranking that honors global culinary excellence. illycaffè proudly serves as the event's exclusive coffee partner.

To celebrate this milestone, illycaffè hosted "Breakfast of the stars", an immersive, multisensory event at the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, honoring its Chef Ambassadors through an artistic experience that united 40 Michelin Stars - including 7 Green Stars for sustainability, and welcoming Italian and international journalists, culinary experts, stakeholders, and content creators, offering them a unique opportunity to witness the values embodied by the illy Chef Ambassador program, a long-standing dialogue between the company and the world of haute cuisine.

Conceived as a bridge between the world of taste and the world of coffee, the illy Chef Ambassador program currently includes 23 chefs from around the globe. These chefs champion the values that have long distinguished illycaffè: a relentless pursuit of quality, a commitment to sustainability, meticulous attention to detail, and a passion for innovation. The program includes a curated group of acclaimed chefs: the illy Masters of Excellence (Michelin-starred chefs), Sustainable Chefs (recipients of the Michelin Green Star), and renowned Pastry Chefs, masters of contemporary haute pâtisserie.

The centerpiece of the evening was an immersive installation dedicated to each Ambassador's personal blend - a unique coffee creation developed by each chef over the years by combining the nine components of illy's 100% Arabica blend in custom proportions to reflect their individual style, and sensorial preferences. These exclusive blends are still served in each chef's restaurant today.

Visitors explored 23 backlit plexiglass columns - each representing a unique blend - through touch, aroma, and taste, discovering the personality and inspiration behind each creation. The journey culminated at a stunning designer table featuring 23 handcrafted ceramic plates, painted by Italian artisans as visual interpretations of each chef's blend.

"With The World's 50 Best Restaurants we share the vision of haute cuisine that is not only technical, but culture, emotion and storytelling. For this reason, it seemed to us the ideal setting to celebrate the talent of our Chef Ambassadors, who represent the best of contemporary gastronomic creativity and with whom we wanted to transform coffee into an art form to be tasted, observed and experienced. It is in this dialogue between innovation, beauty and identity that the most authentic essence of illy can be found," said Cristina Scocchia, CEO of illycaffè.

More information about the illy Chef Ambassador program and a complete list of participating chefs can be found at: https://www.illy.com/chefambassador

illycaffè
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. Every day more than 10 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. 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 135 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 24 countries around the world. In 2024, the company had a turnover of €630 million. The illy single-brand network has 157 points of sale in 28 countries.

SOURCE illycaffè