Orto San Frediano · Florence
Emmanuel RiveiraThe Chef of Orto San Frediano
Two cultures, one kitchen. From Argentina to Tuscany, the path of a chef who puts ingredients, the seasons and the pleasure of sharing a table first.
Orto San Frediano · Florence
His story
Argentine by birth and Tuscan by adoption, he learned to cook at home long before he joined a professional kitchen.
Mendoza
Emmanuel Riveira was born in Mendoza, Argentina's wine capital, at the foot of the Andes. He carries two worlds with him: South American warmth at the table and, later, the spare discipline of Tuscan cooking.
“Mendoza is famous for wine because it has the mountains behind it. There's a perfect microclimate where grapes like Malbec and Cabernet found their ideal home.”
Valdarno
He came to Italy at six and grew up in the Valdarno, in a family where food was a daily ritual and never a performance. His first teacher was his mother. Sundays meant homemade Argentine empanadas.
“I still remember the smell of onions filling the entire house for hours, maybe even the next day.”
Elba Island
For a while he thought he might become a surveyor, then an archaeologist. At fourteen, his family took over a restaurant on Elba and Emmanuel stepped into a professional kitchen for the first time.
“Out of four siblings, I was the only one who immediately threw myself into the kitchen. That's when I understood this would be my path.”
Florence
After culinary school he moved to Florence to get to know Tuscan food traditions up close. He now counts them among the most intelligent and profound in Italy. Here he has also worked as a private chef and taught at the Desinare cooking school.
“Tuscan cuisine is essentially a poor cuisine. Pappa al pomodoro, ribollita, panzanella… these dishes come from respecting what you have and wasting nothing.”
Orto San Frediano
Today he leads the kitchen at Orto San Frediano, a historic garden of more than 3,500 square metres hidden between Via Pisana and Via della Fonderia in the Oltrarno.
“The first time I saw Orto San Frediano I thought: how is it possible to be in the center of Florence and feel completely somewhere else?”
The philosophy
Ingredients. Seasons. Simplicity.
Good cooking doesn't come from complication. It comes from choosing excellent ingredients, understanding them and letting them speak.
Ingredients
Few on the plate, chosen well. Each one should remain recognisable.
Seasons
Menus move with the seasons, the harvest and the day's inspiration.
Simplicity
Technique in the service of flavour, with nothing added for effect.
“In my dishes I want few ingredients, but good ones. Seasonality, respect, and quality are the foundation of everything.”
From Tuscan tradition Emmanuel takes a practical lesson: use everything, waste as little as possible, respect what you have.
From garden to table
For Emmanuel, the garden isn't a backdrop. It's a living part of the kitchen.
“The garden inspires me every day. Right now, in front of me, there are zucchini flowers, and from those alone ten different dishes can be born.”
Many ingredients come directly from the garden or from carefully selected local producers. Vegetables grow a few steps from the kitchen, watered from the garden's historic well.
- Seasonal harvests and menus that follow them
- Food experiences shaped around each guest
- Cooking classes where you pick, cook and sit down together
Experiences with the chef
Four ways to bring Emmanuel's cooking to your table, organised by Orto San Frediano and its team. Every proposal is built on request, for private guests, concierges, planners and DMCs alike.
Private Chef | Chef at Home
Private dining in villas, residences, apartments and exclusive venues. Bespoke menus, by reservation.
Book a private chef
Catering and private events
Weddings, corporate events, showrooms and receptions, including at outside venues. Organised by Orto San Frediano and its team, with Emmanuel as culinary lead.
Plan your catering
Cooking Classes
Fresh pasta, traditional Tuscan cooking, pizza and gelato, seasonal dishes. Also for team building and private groups of international guests.
Book a cooking class
Private Dining at Orto San Frediano
Private lunches and dinners in the garden and the venue's exclusive spaces, with menus built around the occasion.
Plan a private dinnerProfessional path
- Culinary school
- After his first years in the family restaurant on Elba.
- Teacher at Desinare
- Cooking courses in Florence, including Dal mare alla padella.
- Private chef
- In and around Florence, cooking private dinners at home.
- Chef of Orto San Frediano
- Leads the culinary side of the project: cooking classes, private dinners and events.
Press
La Nazione · 20 May 2026
In cucina con Sara Funaro
Show cooking at Orto San Frediano with chef Emmanuel Riveira (in Italian).
Destination Florence · DF Mag
Beyond the gate of San Frediano
The garden, the cooking classes and the chef's cuisine.
Gallery
A dining experience, built around you.
Tell us the occasion, the date and the number of guests. The Orto San Frediano team will reply.
Write to info@ortosanfrediano.com · +39 333 322 23 77