There are restaurants where dinner begins when the first plate reaches the table. At La Rei Natura, it starts much earlier. It begins outside, in the hills of the Langhe, in the vegetable garden and greenhouse, with the scent of herbs, the arrival of a new season or an idea that may have occurred to Chef Michelangelo Mammoliti far away from the kitchen.
Set within Il Boscareto Resort & Spa in Serralunga d’Alba, surrounded by one of Piedmont’s most celebrated wine landscapes, La Rei Natura received its third Michelin star in 2025. But the restaurant is about much more than Michelin stars. Its language was established long before: nature, memory, instincts and attention to technique.
The World of Chef Michelangelo Mammoliti
Nature has always been central to Chef Michelangelo Mammoliti’s cooking, along with memories of home and family. His career, however, took him far beyond Italy. He left at nineteen and spent his formative years in France, where he developed his technical precision and learned how to manage a kitchen. Returning to Italy in 2014, he earned his first Michelin star in 2017, a second in 2020 and, after taking the helm of La Rei Natura in 2022, a third in 2025.
His time abroad continues to influence his cuisine and his approach to the kitchen. Today, that experience extends to his own brigade, where ideas are developed together and can emerge anywhere — during travels, visits to producers, time in the garden or simply a conversation on a car journey.
Memory is another important element. Chef Mammoliti explores neurogastronomy and the ability of flavour and aroma to bring back places, experiences and emotions. References to barbecue, pastrami, Barolo or Valencia become starting points for new dishes. A touch of pimentón de la Vera, for example, might recall the flavours of a paella tasted years ago. The aim is not for guests to recognise the chef’s memory, but for the experience to awaken one of their own.
For Chef Mammoliti, travel works in much the same way. A flavour discovered somewhere in the world can remain in his memory for years before unexpectedly finding its place in a dish.
Where Nature Sets the Menu
The vegetable garden and greenhouses are fundamental to La Rei Natura. A 200-square-metre greenhouse stands near the entrance road, while another in Barolo supplies vegetables grown under the direct supervision of the chef and his team.
Here, nature dictates the timetable.
Rather than beginning with a finished idea and searching for ingredients to realise it, the kitchen can begin with what the garden has produced: aubergine, pepper, carrot, beetroot, herbs or roots. The team then tests, tastes and develops.
A beetroot might inspire a vegetable interpretation of pastrami, applying techniques and flavour references usually associated with meat. This constant investigation is at the heart of MAD100% Natura — literally, “crazy for nature” — Chef Mammoliti’s research into the possibilities of the vegetable world.
It also explains why the menus can change according to the availability of raw materials. At La Rei Natura, seasonality is not simply part of the philosophy; it actively determines what reaches the table.
A Restaurant Designed Around the Meal
The experience continues through the interiors, created by designer Stefano Guidotti from an idea conceived by Chef Mammoliti himself.
Instead of treating service simply as the connection between kitchen and table, the chef wanted to extend the kitchen’s narrative throughout the restaurant. Dinner unfolds across distinct environments, each corresponding to a different moment of the experience.
The material language remains deliberately close to nature. Adobe walls bring texture and warmth; terracotta floors are laid in patterns reminiscent of old Roman roads. Fabrics, resins and metals appear in restrained natural shades. The connection to the surrounding landscape is present without needing to be explained.
The progression begins with the aperitif before moving into the main dining room. Members of the brigade are given their own moments in front of guests, preparing or finishing dishes at dedicated stations. The cooks are not anonymous figures hidden behind a kitchen door; they become part of the evening.
For a more intimate experience, the Sharing Table occupies a private room for eight. Here, Chef Mammoliti can prepare a free-form menu developed specifically for the group, giving the dinner an entirely individual character.
And then, unusually, dessert has its own destination.
The final stage takes place in a room dedicated to patisserie, where guests can watch the pastry team preparing the sweeter conclusion to dinner. Rather than allowing dessert to become an afterthought, La Rei Natura gives it a physical space and its own rhythm. The perspective changes, but the attention does not.
Three Expressions of the Cuisine
Guests can choose between three tasting experiences, each revealing a different aspect of the chef’s philosophy.
De Rerum, meaning the nature of things, is perhaps the broadest expression of Chef Mammoliti’s cuisine. Dishes move through ingredients and ideas as varied as caviar, foie gras, calamari, peppers, sea bass, duck, beetroot and pineapple.
MAD100% Natura turns towards the vegetable element, explored through ten free-form creations and supported, where the chef considers it necessary, by animal proteins.
100% Solanum concentrates on the Solanaceae family, moving from aubergine and vegetable ragù to lobster, sweetbread, mangosteen and shiso. It demonstrates how a tightly defined botanical starting point can lead somewhere considerably less predictable.
The cellar provides another journey. It begins, appropriately, with the Langhe before travelling across Italy, France and Spain and further towards Armenia and Georgia, combining historic names with smaller producers.
What Comes Next
Technique, instinct and emotion remain at the heart of Chef Mammoliti’s cooking. The third Michelin star has brought greater responsibility, but not changed his approach. Today, his ambition goes beyond creating exceptional dishes: it is also about developing a team, sharing knowledge and building something that can continue to evolve. At La Rei Natura, the experience is never just about what arrives on the plate, but the people, place and memories behind it.
Located in: Il Boscareto Resort & Spa
Address: Via Roddino, 21, 12050 Serralunga d'Alba CN, Italy