The World at your Table

Elia Schramm: the Star Chef from Rio

Meet the Creative Chef Shaking Up Rio de Janeiro's Gastronomy Scene with His New Restaurants

By Sut-Mie Guibert

Elia Schramm was born and raised in Italian Switzerland, but he’s also quite a ‘carioca’ (Rio de Janeiro) —energetic, friendly, and quick-talking! According to him, ‘the less time you have, the more you do. Ask a busy person to do something, and they’ll do it right away!’ And that’s how we managed to carve out a slot in his jam-packed schedule for him to tell us about his diverse projects. Yes, because, obviously, he juggles several things at once, and in talking to him, we realize that everything stems from his origins and family: Babbo Osteria, an award-winning Italian restaurant, Scuola, a beautiful social project, and the newly opened Si-Chou, an Asian restaurant

Babbo Osteria, the Best Trattoria in Rio de Janeiro

This is Elia’s first venture, an original restaurant; a risky decision, considering he was emerging from the pandemic with professional stability (he was the Chef of a group of 7 restaurants) and has a family with two children – he had to be assertive. Brave, he took the plunge and was right: Babbo Osteria is now two years old and has already been awarded by Veja Rio as the best Modern Trattoria in the city. A great recognition for this chef who was born and raised in Italian Switzerland, thus carrying an emotional baggage made up of memories from his paternal grandmother’s house, a true Italian nonna: risotto, polenta, products from northern Italy. Childhood memories and flavors that have been adapted to the taste of Rio de Janeiro residents: “Bringing references and adapting them to the reality here is the minimum any chef can do. You have to work with the maximum of products available. For example, we work with burrata, a fresh cheese, instead of gruyère, a heavy cheese from the Alps.”

The restaurant is extremely affectionate and family-oriented, starting with the name: “Babbo” means “father” in Italian. The house, in Ipanema, is very welcoming with a balcony, courtyard, plants, and a decoration that comes from the personal collection with photos of the children, the father… It’s as if Elia welcomes us into his own home. A very Italian and Brazilian restaurant: made to gather family and friends around a table filled with the best dishes. Favorites among the public are the filet mignon au poivre accompanied by gnocchi with grana sauce or the open shrimp ravioli with pumpkin textures, fondue, black garlic, and crunchy almonds. But the octopus is also very popular, and of course, the fresh pasta.

Photo 1: Babbo Osteria Restaurant / Photo 2: Grilled Octopus with Nero Rice / Photo 3: Carabinero Salad /
Photo 4: Babbo Osteria’s Interior Setting @rodrigoazevedofotografia

Scuola, the Culinary School

On the maternal side, Elia lived with his Carioca mother in Africa when she worked for UNICEF through Fiocruz. This was the education he received at home, the cultural reference for what is worthwhile in life, for what is important. Everything came from the foundation, from home. He studied law, pursued philosophy, was actively involved in the student movement, and engaged in a lot of social work… but had to pause for 18 years when he immersed himself in the world of cooking, eventually becoming a chef, earning a Michelin star, and now transitioning into entrepreneurship.

Since Babbo Osteria was doing well, along with his like-minded partner, Elia felt it was time to give back to society, to contribute to it for ethical, cultural, and even religious reasons. They then created the Scuola, a beautiful social project. A space for promoting gastronomy, with education and culture as its fundamental pillars. During the day, there are free and open courses for capacity building for people in socially vulnerable situations who wish to enter the hospitality and gastronomy industry. And at night, there are classes with renowned chefs, dinners, workshops, private events… these are designed for a paying audience. The Scuola has already had two classes, employing two people and training eight others.

The next step is to work with special adults: the Scuola will host the first class with autism, something that will also extend to family members since, due to disabilities, individuals often require the support of their families, who also often need to work. So, it’s a course that will not only be for individuals with autism but also for caregivers, who are usually family members themselves.

Graduation of the first class of Scuola

Si-chou, the New Asian Restaurant

Elia’s adventurous and cheerful side led him into a new partnership with his friend, Menandro Rodrigues, the chef of the award-winning Haru restaurant and a great connoisseur of Japanese, Korean, and Chinese cuisine. Where do their stories intersect? Besides being friends for over a decade, they joined forces to tell the tale of Marco Polo, an Italian-Venetian merchant who travels to China and returns with pasta in his luggage. It’s Italian roots once again, combined with a Western and contemporary perspective on Asian gastronomy.

Embark on a gastronomic journey along the Silk Road, experienced through dim sum appetizers, Korean ussuzukuris dishes, a sushi bar, and, of course, pasta like pad thai, carbonara si-chou, or even Beijing lacquered duck. The journey extends beyond flavors and is complemented by the entire sensory experience of the environment, adorned with unique Asian pieces and panels that evoke the story of the famous merchant.

Si-chou Restaurant, indoor ambiance/Korean Fried Chicken. Photos: @rodrigoazevedofotografia

The family foundation

So many horizons and projects would not be possible without paternal and maternal origins…but also without the family that Elia created, as today he is the father of nine-year-old Olivia and five-year-old Benjamin. Children who also love to travel, just like their father.

According to Elia, “traveling is the best investment one can make; when there is the possibility, of course. My father couldn’t travel when he was a child, so he became an avid reader. He traveled through books. He only started traveling when he was older. As for me, I had this opportunity from a young age to be a somewhat rootless person, to be a cosmopolitan child. That is an asset that has always allowed me to navigate and move through various cultures.”

“Traveling is the best way you have to feel. To be contaminated. You smell the place, listen, see the colors, the light, the architecture… You understand a culture more profoundly when you know the place. If you are truly open to being contaminated, it is a very positive contamination.”