FIRE 2026: Over 50 chefs light up the great fire festival in Loreto

This, after all, is the idea that started it all. An end-of-season celebration among chefs and friends that has grown significantly over the years, without turning into a stuffy gastronomic showcase. Starting at 7:30 pm, the garden of Errico Recanati's restaurant will become a vast open-air experience amidst smoke, embers, and dishes to sample, with Michelin-starred chefs, young talents, producers, and winemakers free to interpret the fire in their own unique way.

FIRE, Errico Recanati's party born among friends

FUOCO was invented by Errico Recanati, chef and owner of Andreina, and Francesco Quercetti, a leading figure in the Slow Wine movement in the Marche region. It was 2013, and the idea was decidedly less complicated than the event's numbers might suggest today: get together at the end of summer, light the embers, and cook together.

Thirteen editions later, the spirit has remained more or less the same, but what has changed most is the size of the company. FUOCO has become an event capable of attracting chefs from all over Italy and bringing together established names, new generations of restaurant professionals, and those who work behind the scenes of gastronomy, from producers to artisans.

"Fire is a serious thing: it requires respect, technique, and listening. But it also has an extraordinary power, that of making people feel close," says Recanati. And that's precisely the point of the evening: the embers matter, of course, but what happens around them matters just as much.

For chef FUOCO, it's a moment when, after months of intense work, "we feel the need to pause and reconnect. To celebrate together what has happened, before starting over." A celebration, then, even more than a gastronomic event, where for one night the uniforms and hierarchies of the restaurant industry can be left aside.

Over 50 protagonists around the grill

The 2026 lineup will be quite large. Among the announced Michelin-starred chefs are Riccardo D'Agostino of La Pergola, Marco Visciola of Il Marin, Cristiano Tomei of L'Imbuto, Andrea Leali of Casa Leali, Riccardo Agostini of Il Piastrino, Nino Rossi of Qafiz, Andrea Bertini of Casa Bertini, and Gianpaolo Raschi of Ristorante Guido.

Alongside them, there will be space for a younger generation of chefs and interpreters of contemporary gastronomy, with Alessandro Rapisarda of Casa Rapisarda, Daniele Di Russo of Osteria del Mare, Michele Pizzalunga of Castello di Reschio, Francesco Pompetti of Impastatori Pompetti, and Simone Marconi of Attico sul Mare.

Andreina's garden, among artichokes and tomatoes from the garden, will be dotted with stations, each with its own interpretation of the theme. Guests can explore local ingredients or more experimental techniques, from meat to vegetables, from haute cuisine to more straightforward preparations. With one unwritten rule: somewhere there must be a flame, embers, smoke, or at least the idea of ​​a cuisine that starts with fire.

It's precisely this freedom that has made the evening particularly intriguing over the years. A grill, after all, doesn't necessarily mean steak: it can become a tool for preparing fish, vegetables, fruit, and ingredients we wouldn't normally expect to see near the embers.

This year, something new will appear in the garden: an Oyster & Champagne Bar, a lounge area dedicated to oysters and bubbles that will further expand the tasting experience. A small marine counterpoint amidst smoke and embers, designed to add another stop to the evening without turning it into a predetermined itinerary.

FIRE also tells the story of the Marche region

Amidst the many chefs arriving from outside the region, a significant portion of the evening will remain firmly rooted in the Marche region. Producers such as Molino Mariani, Cau & Spada, and Olio Agostini will be present, while the region will also be reflected in the glass through its wines, with Umani Ronchi among the participating wineries.

Verdicchio and Rosso Conero will accompany the tastings, while the spirits and liqueurs will feature names from the Marche region like Varnelli, Liquori Rosati, and Nricca. Not just a side dish, then, but another way to showcase the festival's host region.

FUOCO continues to thrive precisely because, despite its growth, it still starts with a very simple image. "Around the fire, people meet who know each other, respect each other, and often love each other," says Recanati. On September 13th, more than fifty people will be cooking around it, plus all those who will come to sample. After thirteen editions, the company has simply grown significantly larger.