Adolfo Pucci is the executive sous chef at Ariete, the Michelin-starred restaurant in Miami led by chef Michael Beltran. Born and raised in Maracay, Venezuela, Pucci grew up in an Italian-Venezuelan family of butchers. His first understanding of food came through that family craft, which taught him to respect ingredients, recognize their value, and appreciate the work behind them.
After leaving Venezuela, Pucci developed his cooking across Italian, French, Japanese, and Latin American kitchens. His experience includes L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Dōma, Itamae, Stubborn Seed, and Villa Crespi in Italy. Rather than distancing him from his identity, those different culinary traditions gave him new ways to express it. He describes his style in three words: “Identity. Precision. Evolution.”
Miami has also shaped Pucci’s perspective. The intersection of Latin American, Caribbean, American, and European communities taught him to view migration as an exchange among ingredients, memories, traditions, and new surroundings. His cooking begins with his Venezuelan childhood and Italian heritage while remaining responsive to Florida’s ingredients and the people who produce them.
Pucci is returning to the S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy Competition as a 2026-27 U.S. Regional Finalist after previously competing in the 2022-23 regional final. He sees the competition as an opportunity to share his identity, learn from chefs with different backgrounds, and represent the country where he has built his career. Representing the United States globally, he says, would honor his family, the Latin American community, and the sense of belonging he has developed as an immigrant.
His signature dish, Three Shores, One Table, brings Venezuela, Italy, and Miami together without presenting them as separate cuisines. Lamb reflects Pucci’s upbringing in a family of butchers, while yuca, corn, and ají dulce evoke the food of his childhood. Pasta represents his Italian heritage, and the dish’s interpretation of involtini recalls those made by his nonna Pérsida. Pucci hopes the judges recognize something familiar within the contemporary techniques and think about their own families, childhood meals, and ideas of home.
Pucci ultimately hopes to become a leading voice in New American cooking and open a restaurant that connects his Venezuelan and Italian roots with ingredients from across the United States. He wants that restaurant to be known not only for its cooking and the Michelin stars he hopes to earn, but also for developing cooks who go on to find voices of their own.
Adolfo Pucci is one of 10 chefs competing in the 2026-27 S.Pellegrino Young Chef Academy U.S. Regional Final. Meet the other finalists vying for a place at the global Grand Finale.
