Claudio Sadler celebrates 40 years of career: the chef's story of Michelin stars, catering, and innovation

Forty, thirty-five, and thirty. Three numbers that encapsulate a professional history built over time, in an industry where change is constant and endurance is one of the most challenging challenges. For Claudio Sadler, born in Sesto San Giovanni on June 4, 1956, these numbers mark as many milestones in a journey that began in Milan with the opening of his restaurant in 1986, continued with thirty-five consecutive years of Michelin stars, and developed through thirty years of Sadler Catering and Banqueting.

At the Chiostri dei Pesci of the Società Umanitaria, in the heart of Milan, the people who accompanied Claudio Sadler on his journey gathered on June 16th. Longtime collaborators, partners, suppliers, associates, entrepreneurs, colleagues, and friends shared an evening that gave pride of place to those who, day after day, built this story: the kitchen and dining room staff, the food and beverage professionals, and all those who, with expertise, reliability, and dedication, contributed to the project's growth.

Forty years of experience speak to a combination of shared skills, relationships, and responsibilities. In Claudio Sadler's career, continuity stems from the ability to renew his methods while maintaining certain fundamental principles: the quality of the ingredients, professional discipline, technical research, organization, and attention to guests. These elements have accompanied a restaurant industry that has profoundly changed over the decades, driven by new consumer habits, new markets, and an increasingly complex relationship between cuisine and communication.

When Claudio Sadler arrived in Milan in 1986, the city was undergoing a period of significant economic and cultural transformation—the years of "Milano da bere" (Milan to drink). Italian restaurants were also preparing for a period in which technique, research, and gastronomic memory began to interact more intensely. It was in this context that a distinctive cuisine took shape, rooted in Italian tradition and Lombard culture, yet developed with a contemporary sensibility.

His career is built on a constant balance between knowledge of tradition and research, a stylistic signature that over the years has brought the Sadler name recognition among Italian and international audiences. His cuisine is elegant and technical, yet always accessible, capable of engaging with contemporary hospitality through precision and restraint.

Ristorante Sadler earned its first Michelin star in 1991 and has held the distinction for thirty-five consecutive years, fifteen of which with a double star. This continuity places the restaurant among the longest-running establishments in Italian fine dining. Today, inside the Hotel Casa Baglioni in Milan's Brera district, Claudio Sadler's cuisine renews Italy's gastronomic heritage through technique, rigor, and balance, maintaining the recognizability that has characterized the restaurant since its inception.

In 2021, this journey finds a new expression in Sardinia with Gusto by Sadler, inside the Baglioni Resort Sardegna in Puntaldia (San Teodoro, SS). Just four months after opening, the restaurant earned a Michelin star, bringing the same rigor developed over the years in Milan to a different region.

Sadler Catering and Banqueting was founded in 1996 by Marco Primerano, Paola Bianchi, and Michele Blasi, with the vision of extending the dedication to Michelin-starred cuisine outside the restaurant. Milan, with its international vocation in fashion, design, business, and major events, offered the ideal environment for the development of a specialized organization that has grown over the years, working for companies, institutions, and private clients in Italy and abroad.

Institutional galas, corporate events, Fashion Week, Design Week, trade fairs, and private ceremonies have contributed to building an experience where gastronomy and organization thrive side by side. 2007 also saw the opening of the Sadler restaurant at Rho Fiera Milano, offering a dual offering designed for an international hub: a fine dining kitchen dedicated to prestigious events and a contemporary bistro designed for the more dynamic pace of trade fairs.

Alongside restaurants, international catering, and the Incontri by Sadler format, over the years, consultancy and collaborations in the hospitality sector have taken shape, broadening the scope of a project born in the kitchen and developed through multiple skills.

The brand's international reach began in the early 2000s. Between 2003 and 2008, Claudio Sadler opened a restaurant in Tokyo, and then, between 2008 and 2012, he brought his own restaurant to Beijing. This experience has been gained in far-flung contexts, where Italian cuisine meets diverse gastronomic cultures and the method developed in Milan finds new expression. Among the most recent projects is Riviera Restaurant by Sadler, opened on the seventh floor of the Campione d'Italia Casino, along with activities dedicated to professional training and collaborations with food and beverage companies.

Forty years after his arrival in Milan, Claudio Sadler continues to hold a prominent place in Italian restaurants. A chef and entrepreneur, he has forged a path in which cuisine, organization, and business have found a rare balance, transforming his experience gained in the field into a recognizable and enduring method. The three numbers accompanying this anniversary tell a story of perseverance, expertise, and reliability shared with the people who helped make it possible. A story that places Claudio Sadler among the most enduring, authoritative, and original names in Italian food and wine.