Bernardo Costantino is an Italo-Venezuelan chef whose career has taken him from the hills of Umbria to the vibrant Copenhagen food scene, and now, to La Cavalerie in the Luberon. Born in Caracas in 1989, Bernardo’s culinary journey began at 16, when his family transformed a crumbling farmhouse near Orvieto into a boutique hotel surrounded by lavender, rosemary, and olive trees—a landscape strikingly similar to that of La Cavalerie. It was there, in a spacious kitchen with marble countertops and a handful of guests, that he discovered cooking. Decades later it remains his ideal: a deeply personal setting that allows for a creative approach to hospitality rooted in intimacy, seasonality, and care.

After graduating from ALMA, Italy’s premier culinary school, Bernardo honed his craft in Michelin-starred kitchens across Europe—before landing in Copenhagen at NOMA’s test kitchen. After years of navigating the demanding rhythms of fine dining, a journey to Tanzania prompted him, upon his return, to go in search of something more human.

He found it in the cafés of Atelier September in Copenhagen, where he helped define a style of cooking that is simple, expressive, and deeply attuned to place. His whipped butter became an international calling card, but it was the quiet ritual of cooking for a small community—at breakfast, lunch, and dinner—that brought him back to the essence of why he cooks.

A constant traveler, Bernardo embraces cooking as a way to explore the world. He has held culinary residencies in a wide range of settings, always adapting to local ingredients while maintaining his signature style. At Monk in Kyoto, he prepared two seatings of 14 guests using a wood-fired Neapolitan pizza oven, sourcing the best fish and vegetables in just a week. At Wildduck Canteen in Korea, he brought his approach to a natural wine bar setting. At Carmen in Amsterdam, he cooked along the canals in an intimate, open format. And at Masseria Moroseta in Puglia, he immersed himself in the agricultural rhythms of Southern Italy. Each residency is a conversation—with place, ingredients, and people—and a continuation of his belief that food is an excuse to travel, connect, and create.

SERVICES

Curated dinners in private homes, gardens, and wild landscapes. 
Weddings, forest picnics, and heartfelt celebrations.

Creative consulting for cafés, restaurants, and boutique hotels — from concept development to menu curation, design, and storytelling.

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