The experience of the Stefano Paganini Restaurant team in Olympic catering
The 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics were one of the most complex and prestigious international events in recent years. Among the Italian professionals involved in managing Olympic catering was the staff of the Stefano Paganini Restaurant.
It was a professional and human experience that saw the chef and his team working in Livigno, at the heart of the freestyle and snowboard competitions, contributing to the organizational machine of a global event, but also an unparalleled logistical and operational challenge: millions of meals planned in total over the course of the event, thousands of professionals involved, many different cultures and palates to satisfy at different times of the day, in line with the competition schedule.
Catering at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Games: scale, organization and quality
In Livigno, Chef Stefano Paganini worked with his brigade in collaboration with the Italian-American team responsible for catering services for OBS (Olympic Broadcasting Services) and NBC, providing daily service for over 600 professionals, including journalists, technicians and international broadcast staff.
Each meal included 4 salads, 4 first courses, 3 main courses and 4 desserts, always different, with daily rotations and precise supply chain management. A system that requires coordination, swift decision-making and high quality standards, even under intense operational pressure.
Stefano Paganini: from the kitchen of Magliano Alfieri to the Olympic kitchen
For Chef Paganini, this was not his first Olympic experience. During the Turin 2006 Olympic Games, he had already experienced the atmosphere of the five rings, but Milano Cortina 2026 marked his direct involvement in the daily management of an international brigade within the Olympic context.
An experience that further strengthened the method and organization that have always defined Ristorante Stefano Paganini: discipline, attention to raw ingredients, and teamwork.
The Value of the Brigade and International Collaboration
The Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Games once again demonstrated how cuisine is a universal language. The brigade of Ristorante Stefano Paganini worked side by side with American chefs and international professionals, engaging in continuous exchange between different approaches, techniques and culinary cultures.
Special thanks go to the brigade of Ristorante Stefano Paganini for their professionalism and dedication, to Giada, whose presence was essential in organization and coordination, to the Italian-American team for the collaboration and synergy built on the ground, and to Carlo Zarri, a key figure in the management of Olympic Food & Beverage operations, for making this opportunity possible.
From the Olympics to the Table: What Remains of This Experience
Taking part in the catering operations of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games means engaging with extraordinary volumes, international standards and a unique level of organizational complexity. Above all, it means bringing home new skills and an even broader vision, along with the awareness that excellence is always born from teamwork.
Now back in Magliano Alfieri, Chef Stefano Paganini continues his journey in Piedmontese haute cuisine with an enriched professional background shaped by an experience that bridges local identity and global dimension. Because even far from the five rings, every service remains an exercise in precision, harmony and responsibility.