Pietro Leemann was born in Locarno in 1961. In 1976, after a special meeting with the chef Angelo Conti Rossini, he decides to become a chef. In 1985 he becomes vegetarian and after dedicating some time to deepen his studies, he decides to travel to Asia. Here he is hired by the School Tsuji in Osaka, where he teaches Italian and French cuisine. After this experience he focuses on his real future goals. In 1989 he gets involved in a project with some friends and together they decide to open a vegetarian restaurant: Joia. In 1991 he publishes his first book “Alta cucina vegetariana” and in 1995 “Colori gusti e consistenze nell’alta cucina vegetariana”, which becomes an icon. The following year he is awarded with a Michelin Star. In 2010, after two inspiring trips, one in Shanghai and one in New York, he notes that what he creates in his restaurant Joia is innovative and groundbreaking.