Torre & Friends: Circularity and Daring Spirit Atop Fondazione Prada

Panoramic Ristorante Torre—seventh floor, Fondazione Prada—hosted the triumvirate behind Lucca’s Ristorante Giglio for a one-night cook-off that fused Tuscan heritage with fearless innovation. A dive into the story of Benedetto Rullo, Lorenzo Stefanini and Stefano Terigi

Fondazione Prada, Torre & Friends — Episode 3: Resident chef Lorenzo Lunghi welcomed the self-styled “Giglio Boys”—Benedetto Rullo, Lorenzo Stefanini and Stefano Terigi

On 22 May 2025 the panoramic Ristorante Torre at Fondazione Prada staged the third instalment of its chef-exchange series Torre & Friends. Hosting the evening was resident chef Lorenzo Lunghi—born in Florence in 1986, a citizen of the global kitchen, and head of Torre since June 2020.

Lorenzo Lunghi (Florence, 1986) forged his craft at Gambero Rosso—Emanuela and Fulvio Pierangelini’s two-Michelin-star temple—where absolute respect for produce became second nature. In 2011 he returned to the Tuscan coast to open Il Bucaniere with Fulvietto Pierangelini, honing an essential, seafood-driven style. Paris followed: stints at Le Chateaubriand and Le Dauphin, and nearly five years as sous-chef at the one-star Saturne, immersed him in natural wine and the free-spirited ethos of French bistronomie. Since June 2020 he has headed Torre, the sixth-floor restaurant inside Rem Koolhaas’s Fondazione Prada tower, where he practices what he calls “gastronomic circularity”: every trim or surplus from kitchen and bar is reborn as sauces, vinegars or fresh ideas. Live fire, incisive acidity and quiet elegance frame dishes that turn waste into wonder.

For this one-night, four-hands dinner Lunghi invited three chefs who share both his Tuscan roots and a decade-long friendship: the “Giglio Boys”—Benedetto Rullo, Lorenzo Stefanini and Stefano Terigi of Ristorante Giglio in Lucca. Together they fused Torre’s Milanese sophistication with the rebellious curiosity that defines Giglio, presenting a menu where technique met playful precision and each dish was distilled to a handful of meaningful, surprising gestures.

In October 2024 the Giglio team asked Michelin to revoke the star it had held since the 2019 guide, explaining that the accolade was attracting the wrong expectations and dampening their sense of fun. “We realised we were running a restaurant that no longer represented us,” Terigi told Italian media at the time.

The Origins of Ristorante Giglio – from an interview with Benedetto Rullo, Lorenzo Stefanini and Stefano Terigi

words collected by Federico Jonathan Cusin

“Il Giglio opened in 1979 as an offshoot of Buca di Sant’Antonio—Lucca’s historic, once-Michelin-starred restaurant—so that Loredano Orsi, then still a busboy, could spread his wings.” It was meant to be a seafood place: “vintage photos show a buffet with a whole salmon carved tableside, an almost baroque scene. The concept never really took off, and Giglio soon pivoted to traditional cuisine, quickly becoming a local favourite. Paola Barbieri, with whom the three of us now share the business, later took over.”

The Giglio Boys: How the Trio Came Together

“Our paths crossed a decade ago,” they explain. “Stefano and Lorenzo have known each other since middle school. Lorenzo later studied at ALMA—the International School of Italian Cuisine—where he met Benedetto. The two of them returned to Lucca and worked at Giglio for a month. At the time Stefano was studying architecture at IUAV in Venice; he eventually graduated with a thesis on Ferran Adrià and came to Giglio to try a tasting menu. He then decided to devote himself entirely to cooking and went to Berlin to work at Pierre Gagnaire’s Les Solistes, where Benedetto was also working. After that stint we all came back to Lucca and began a professional partnership that is now ten years old.”

A Michelin Star—Then Willingly Surrendered

“We were awarded the star in November 2018. Since then our culinary approach has continued to evolve. Perhaps it has settled a little in the past two years, but the urge to change remains. Ours is a cuisine that is meticulous yet not experimental; it is technique-driven, comforting and concrete. We move forward by transforming ourselves, and our identity is reflected in the restaurant. Cooking for us is first and foremost a passion, not a mission that values only success.” In 2024 they chose to renounce the star.

Bread and Rebellion: Gigliola

“We opened Gigliola in 2020. We already knew good bread was coming out of our kitchen, so at first we were simply looking for a space where we could install an oven and focus on baking. Once we found the right place, ideas snowballed. Gigliola’s food is more global, youthful, informal and musical.”

Following the Seasons at Giglio

“Our menu changes four times a year to follow seasonal produce. We keep a fixed framework for the types of dishes we want on the menu, but that framework itself shifts over time. We never use exotic ingredients. Ours is a Mediterranean cuisine with a haute-cuisine touch that comes largely from Benedetto. We’ve brought back traditional dishes that honour the region.”

Il Giglio’s wine list is full of niche choices. “We enjoy discovering new wineries, especially those that follow an ethical approach to viticulture. We look for wines that are minimally manipulated and true to their natural process.”

Beyond Instagram: Plating at Giglio

“Some people still come simply to eat. We’re not particularly good at creating visually iconic dishes—certainly less than others. Our aesthetics are designed to serve flavour. Serving a pigeon leg as a second course isn’t transgressive. If you eat animals you should be consistent enough not to feel uneasy when you see the whole animal on the plate, unless it’s been transformed into an unrecognisable shape. It’s a matter of awareness. You go to fine dining for the quality offered, for someone who can lead you on an alternative flavour journey.”

The Socio-Cultural Dimension of a Restaurant

Can cooking be political? “Everything can be political. We make choices aimed at fostering environmental and social sustainability. Beyond respecting the seasons of our ingredients, we have for years ensured more free time for our staff, and even though ours is a seasonal business, everyone gets a summer holiday.”

Cultural Touchstones

“If Ristorante Giglio were a song, it would be The Clash’s album London Calling: a band, like us, capable of blending multiple genres into one project. We also draw inspiration from Marcel Duchamp’s alter ego Rrose Sélavy—an iconic, historicised figure still relevant today and capable of assuming many forms.”