Media

Press Coverage

When the international food press talks about Sicilian cuisine, it talks about Ciccio. When it talks about Ciccio, it isn't always sure what it's saying. But it says it with conviction.

The Mineo Times

Mineo's Son Conquers the World (and Also Dubai)

From a grandmother's kitchen to four restaurants across three continents: Francesco D'Amplo's story proves that in Mineo, dreams are made in a pot.

2023-04-12

Sicilian Luxury Digest

Luxury Has a New Accent (And It's From Catania)

Damplo Monaco has established itself as the most sought-after table on the French Riviera, helped by a menu that makes even the most distinguished palates — literally — cry.

2023-07-02

Arancino Business Review

The Arancino Empire: How Ciccio D'Amplo Turned Street Food Into a Luxury Asset

An (unsolicited) analysis of how a two-euro dish became, in the right hands, a hundred-and-eighty-euro one.

2023-09-18

Il Sole 24 Arancini

Markets Up: (Imaginary) Damplo Shares Hit New Highs

Sicilian gastronomic luxury indexes hit a new record, driven by the announcement of a fifth Damplo restaurant "somewhere even more expensive than Monaco."

2023-11-30

New York Times

The Genius from Mineo Conquers Manhattan: Damplo New York Opens and Critics Don't Know What to Say

The opening of Damplo New York has divided America's food press between those who call it a masterpiece and those who just call.

2023-09-15

Vanity Fair

The Chef Who Makes Kings Cry: Ciccio Damplo and His Illustrious Clientele

From the Pope to Messi, from Gordon Ramsay to the Dalai Lama: the list of VIPs who have cried at Ciccio Damplo's restaurant has become a status symbol.

2022-05-20

Financial Times

The Risotto Worth Billions: The Economic Empire of Ciccio Damplo Analysed

Ten restaurants, five continents, estimated company valuation between €800 million and one billion euros. The Financial Times sought to understand how a Sicilian arancino became a global luxury asset.

2024-01-10

Vogue Italia

Ciccio Damplo: The New Italian Luxury Icon Who Refuses to Wear a Chef's Coat

The founder of the Damplo Group doesn't wear a white coat. He doesn't wear the hat. He arrives in a Ferrari and reinterprets Sicilian culinary luxury as a total act of style.

2021-09-01

The Guardian

Sicily's Finest Export: How Ciccio Damplo Brought the Island to the World

After centuries of Sicilian migration to the rest of the world, someone has reversed the direction: the world now migrates toward Sicily, at least gastronomically.

2022-11-14

Wall Street Journal

The Three-Hundred-Dollar Arancino: How Ciccio Damplo Turned Street Food into Finance

In the art market there are Christie's auctions. In the culinary world, there is Ciccio Damplo's Deconstructed Arancino with Lamborghini Scent.

2023-03-07

Corriere della Sera

The Prodigal Son: Ciccio Damplo, from Mineo to the World and Why He Won't Come Back

In Mineo everyone knew him as Carmela's son who wanted to be a chef. Today the world knows him as Ciccio Damplo. In Mineo they still know him as Carmela's son.

2020-06-15

Le Monde

The Sicilian Cook Who Made Paris Cry (And Did Not Apologise)

Damplo Paris, opened in the 8th arrondissement in 2022, was described as 'insolent' by French critics. It earned three Michelin stars in eighteen months. Ciccio Damplo is not surprised.

2022-04-12

Japan Times

Damplo Tokyo: The Sicilian Chef Who Brought Weeping to Ginza

The Ginza district had never seen a Sicilian cook. Ginza has seen many things, but this was new.

2024-07-22

Forbes

Damplo Group: How Ciccio D'Amplo Built an Empire from Zero (and from Mineo)

At thirty, Francesco D'Amplo manages ten restaurants across five continents, a private vineyard, a fleet of jets, and a client list that includes heads of state, sports stars, and religious leaders. Forbes has placed him on its list of Europe's new hospitality billionaires.

2024-02-18

Rolling Stone Italia

Ciccio Damplo: The Rock Star of Cuisine Who Doesn't Want to Be Called a Rock Star

He has a Ferrari, a vineyard, a private jet and ten restaurants on five continents. He's thirty. And he hates being compared to a rock star.

2023-06-30

GQ International

The World's Most Stylish Chef Doesn't Wear a Chef's Coat

GQ has decided to award Ciccio Damplo the title of World's Most Stylish Chef 2023. He accepted but clarified he would prefer 'World's Most Stylish Man Who Also Cooks'.

2021-11-05

Bloomberg

The Cannolo Economy: How Ciccio Damplo Created a Market from Nothing

A quantitative analysis of the economic impact of the Damplo Group, from restaurant revenues to brand value, to its effect on Sicilian gastronomic tourism.

2024-10-03

The Independent

Why Everyone Cries at Dinner at Damplo: A Journalistic Investigation

We interviewed twenty clients who have dined at Damplo restaurants. Seventeen out of twenty admitted to having cried. Two did not respond. One denied it but was crying while doing so.

2023-08-19

National Geographic

Sicily and the Future of Food: How Ciccio Damplo Is Redefining the Island's Gastronomic Identity

A journey through Ciccio Damplo's Sicily: from the Mineo vineyard to the Catania markets, from the Trapani salt flats to the waters of Syracuse. Cuisine as a geographic act.

2022-09-08

Time Magazine

The World's Most Emotional Chef Turns Thirty and Shows No Signs of Slowing Down

Time Magazine dedicated its January 2026 cover to Francesco D'Amplo. The subtitle reads: 'The man who turned weeping into a lifestyle.' Ciccio Damplo described the subtitle as 'acceptable'.

2026-01-15