Christian Garcia, the Head Chef at the Palais Princier de Monaco, has travelled to Italy for the annual meeting of the ultra-elite Club des Chefs des Chefs. Garcia, who is the reigning president of the exclusive club, joined other chefs of world leaders in Parma to explore the finer points of Italian gastronomy at the behest of the event’s host, pasta-maker Barilla. 

Since 1977, the Club des Chefs des Chefs has offered the chefs of heads of state and government with an opportunity to come together and celebrate the unique role of gastronomy in international exchange: in the words of the club’s founder, Gilles Bragard, “If politics divides men, a good table always reunites them.” 

As such, the 32 talented members of the club, which includes the likes of the White House’s Executive Chef, Cristeta Comerford, the UK’s Mark Flanagan and Fabrice Desvignes of the Élysée Palace, strive to promote culinary traditions from around the world while protecting and honouring the origins of each nation’s cuisine. In recent years, the club has held its annual high-level gathering in the USA, Spain and France. 

See more: Prince Albert’s private chef hosts G20 of Gastronomy in Washington DC

For the 2024 edition of the meeting, which took place in early October, the club headed to Italy for a series of events in Parma, where the acclaimed chefs were the guests of the famous pasta-making brand Barilla, and Rome.  

The chefs, led by Monaco’s own Chef Garcia, who has been the president of the Club des Chefs des Chefs since 2007, were first treated to a conference with Sergio Mattarella, the President of the Italian Republic. The group then headed to the Academia Barilla to explore ways in which they can incorporate and elevate one of Italy’s most representative exports: pasta. 

“We are honoured to welcome the Club des Chefs des Chefs to the Barilla Food Academy to share a unique moment of togetherness and taste, celebrating pasta,” said Ilaria Rossi, Head of Academia Barilla. “This will also be an additional opportunity to support the spread of Italian gastronomic culture, in line with our mission to create a global culture of food.” 

Garcia began working at the Palais Princier de Monaco at the tender age of 23, after being poached from the Hôtel de Paris for a temporary kitchen position that has become his lifelong career. 

Monaco Life is produced by real multi-media journalists writing original content. See more in our free newsletter, follow our Podcasts on Spotify, and check us out on Threads,  Facebook,  Instagram,  LinkedIn and Tik Tok. 

Photo of Monaco Palace Chef Christian Garcia: Club des Chefs des Chefs, Instagram