San Diego Chef Accursio Lotà Wins Barilla Pasta World Championship

Paolo Barilla, Chef Accursio Lota & the winning dish!

September 29, 2017

After three rounds of competition in two different Italian cities, San Diego's own - Chef AccursioÌýLotàÌýof Solare Ristorante in Liberty Station - has won the 6th annual installment of Barilla's Pasta World Championship.

A chef of Sicilian origin, Accursio Lotà won the 6th edition of the Barilla Pasta World Championship with his "Spaghetti alla Carbonara di Mare", paying homage to the Mediterranean flavors and ingredients of where he grew up. After two rounds in the Italian city of Milan, the final was held at Academia Barilla in Parma where Accursio defeated the competition of Israeli Chef Omir Cohen and Japanese Chef Keita Yuge before Michelin-starred Italian judges Caterina Ceraudo, Lorenzo Cogo, Alfio Ghezzi, Matteo Baronetto and Roberto Rossi. Expect Chef Accursio's winning pasta dish to be a special on the menu at Solare Ristorante when he returns next week.

Accursio Lota is originally from the small agricultural town Menfi on the Italian island of Sicily. He first entered the epicurean spotlight when at age 18 he was chosen to represent his school at a national culinary competition. He then went on to work with famed Chef Sergio Mei at the Four Seasons in Milan. Accursio moved to California when he was 22 to work at the Biltmore Four Seasons in Santa Barbara, where at one point he catered a fundraiser for then-Presidential candidate Barrack Obama at Oprah Winfrey's home. The first restaurant Accursio cooked at in San Diego was at The Marine Room in La Jolla. In 2012, Accusio and his wife started an underground fine dining restaurant club called Limone, where they designed pop-up events with themes related to the seasons. In November 2012, Accursio became the Executive Chef at Solare, where he has since received numerous awards and accolades.

Solare Ristorante is located atÌý2820 Roosevelt Road within Liberty Station in Point Loma. For more information, visit Ìýand check out more photos from the competition below.