Ilario Mosconi is a culinary virtuoso on Luxembourg’s gastronomy scene. Together with his wife Simonetta, he has been enchanting his guests with a harmony of delightful dishes for 38 years now.
Ilario Mosconi was born on 20 July 1957 in the pretty little Lombardy village of Ponte di Legno, high up in the Italian Alps. A happy childhood amid the fresh mountain air and the stunning natural beauty of the Presena glacier. As you may expect, skiing featured on the school timetable here in winter. A sport that became a passion for the young Ilario, who started ski jumping at the age of twelve. “My coach was two-time Italian champion Giacomo Aimoni” says Mosconi’s chef de cuisine proudly. As a boy, Ilario dreamed of making it as a skier and competing professionally. But it wasn’t to be. In 1970, his parents decided to up sticks and move the family to Luxembourg. “And so we arrived in Esch-sur-Alzette. Where I had no friends, didn’t speak the language and lived in a flat on the fourth floor. It was really tough. I had to learn French and get used to a way of life that was worlds away from my life in the moun- tains. And the worst thing about it was there were no opportunities to ski!”
A Unique Taste of Italy
With the influx of Italians in Esch in the early 1970s, he quickly made friends, but: “School wasn’t for me. I wasn’t ever any good at sitting still and learning — I needed to be active, to feel ‘useful'” he says. So, at the age of 15, Ilario left school and started working as a waiter at Astro [Editor’s note: now Hotel Acacia], Auberge du Brill and Pizzeria Lema. In the 1980s, he began dating fellow Italian Simonetta, who he’d known for a long time. “In those days in Esch, every- one knew everyone” they laugh. The couple married in 1982. As newlyweds, they enjoyed nothing more than discov- ering the region’s finest restaurants together. It marked the start of their shared passion for gastronomy. “After a while, we started talking about opening a restaurant of our own. But we wanted it to be something unique” they say.
In 1986, they opened Domus on Place du Brill and hired Renato Favaro as head chef. “We wanted to stand out from other restaurants, to offer Italian specialities you wouldn’t find in a tradi- tional Italian restaurant.” Pasta, farfalle with salmon, sweetbreads with porcini mushrooms, spaghetti with prawns and redcurrants, ravioli with a walnut cream sauce… The couple were burst- ing with ideas, and their restaurant soon bursting at the seams with guests.
“WE WANTED TO STAND OUT FROM OTHER RESTAURANTS, TO OFFER ITALIAN SPECIALITIES YOU WOULDN’T FIND IN A TRADITIONAL ITALIAN RESTAURANT.”
– ILARIO MOSCONI
Better Late Than Never
When Chef Favaro left in 1989, Ilario Mosconi took up the baton in the kitchen. “I’d only ever worked front of house before. I’d had zero training as a chef, but was keen to take on the chal- lenge” says the Italian chef. “So, the sous chef helped train me, and that’s how I started — as a chef de commis.”
On one of their culinary journeys, Ilario and Simonetta met Italy’s first three-star chef, Gualtiero Marchesi. Marchesi knew about the Mosconis’ project and invited Ilario to do some work experience in his kitchens. Ilario jumped at the opportunity. “I travelled to Milan every three to four months, working 16 to 17-hour days. As soon as I’d get back to my hotel room, right opposite the restaurant, I’d make notes on what I’d learned that day.”
And so it was that Ilario Mosconi became… Chef Mosconi. Then, one Thursday evening in 1997, just as Ilario was changing a bulb in one of the restaurant’s chandeliers, the phone rang. On the other end were the Poppelaars from Manoir Kasselslay in Clervaux: “Congratulations! We’ve just heard from Le Plaisir de la Table [Editor’s note: in Belgium] that you’ve been awarded a star in the Michelin Guide!”
There was a festive atmosphere at Domus that evening, even if Simonetta Mosconi didn’t quite dare believe the good news until she’d seen it with her own two eyes: “There were no official ceremonies back then like there are today; you had to wait until you had the Michelin Guide in your hand and could see it there for yourself, in black and white.”
From Esch to Luxembourg City
That same year, the Mosconis decided to leave Esch-sur-Alzette and open a restaurant in Luxembourg City. “We sold everything we had… All we had left was the car” recalls Simonetta. The run-down house they bought in the Grund district needed gutting. The renovation work took three years. All that remained of the original build- ing were the façades facing the street and the River Pétrusse. Ilario Mosconi gets out some photos. One shows his professional Molteni stove. It’s hanging from the end of a crane, at a height of around ten metres. “It was lowered into the kitchen from above before the roof was put back on” says the chef.
Mosconi, Grund’s new Italian restaurant, opened its doors in Novem- ber 2000.
“Our philosophy has always been to keep improving, to be consistent and to source only the very best ingredients” say the owners. Even if that means travel- ling the length and breadth of Italy to do so. “We know all our producers and can tell you about every single farm that supplies our restaurant. For example, the farm where we buy our Corbara toma- toes — which we put in jars so we can use them all year round — employs a dozen people. They’re the best quality tomatoes, all graded and sorted by hand. Any with even the slightest defect are put aside and sold to pizzerias, for example. We don’t buy anything blindly — even any products we get from wholesaler La Provençale are products that we already know and trust and have given our quality seal of approval to” explains Ilario Mosconi. “We’ve even been to visit our almond, citrus fruit and pistachio supplier in Sicily.”
“OUR PHILOSOPHY HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO KEEP IMPROVING, TO BE CONSISTENT AND TO SOURCE ONLY THE VERY BEST INGREDIENTS.”
– ILARIO MOSCONI
An Elusive Second Star
It’s meticulous work, beautifully orchestrated by a couple in perfect harmony. While Ilario composes his dishes in the kitchen, Simonetta welcomes their guests and breathes life into the place. A dazzling duet that earned them a second Miche- lin star in 2005. An accolade for Mosconi that enabled the restaurant to join the illustrious circle of Relais et Châteaux and Grandes Tables du Monde restaurants. “It was what we’d always dreamed of” says Simonetta with a smile.
But in 2013, the second star disap- peared. The restaurant owners never found out why. “We tried to carry on with the same zest and enthusiasm” says the chef. The passionate duo never gave up and continued to work undeterred. In 2016, Michelin awarded the Italian restaurant a second star again… only to take it away for a second time in 2019.
A huge disappointment, but one that didn’t put the restaurateurs off their stride. The exquisite establishment at 13, rue Münster is still the proud holder of a Michelin star, amongst other awards commending its culinary excel- lence. Most recently, Olivier Petit, who has been working at the restaurant for 20 years, was named Sommelier of the Year 2024 by Gault&Millau.
When asked if he’s thinking of retir- ing, the 67-year-old chef replies: “Yes, at some point, but not just yet.” For now, he is content with life as it is. Although he is looking forward to “having more time for golf, tennis and skiing”. “And for walks in the mountains, with a picnic of delicious local food and a bottle of wine” adds his wife.
But until then, Ilario Mosconi will continue to devote himself, heart and soul, to his restaurant. Because this maestro of Italian cuisine still has masterpieces galore in him to delight Mosconi’s diners.
MOSCONI
13 rue Münster
L-2160 Luxembourg
mosconi.lu
