Matias, who is Uruguayan, has worked in kitchens since he was 14, and four years later he started honing his skills in the kitchens of an Italian restaurant in Montevideo, from which he took off directly for Milan to give his friend and fellow Uruguayan chef Juan Lema, who was already working at the Pont de Ferr, a hand. His boundless creativity meant that it wasn’t long before Matias took up the reins in the kitchen, instituting a veritable revolution in terms of recipes, preparations and presentations. Armed with an insatiable curiosity about the new techniques arriving from Spain (crucially spending fundamental periods with the Roca brothers in Girona), Matias laid down a challenge to Milan, serving up some of the most creative dishes in the city. His adventure at the Pont De Ferr ended in 2014 when he and his friends and partners Simon Press and Thomas Piras set up the Contraste restaurant, where the cuisine is cutting edge, never predictable, constantly surprising its diners. This was followed by Exit, urban gastronomy, and the more recent Empanadas del Flaco, Roc and Exit Pastificio Urbano, a successful format very well-regarded by the general public.
Contraste, Milan
Website: www.contrastemilano.it, Instagram: @mpchef @contrastemilano_
