For ten years, The Queen of Taste has brought together chefs, restaurants and food lovers to celebrate one of the most authentic expressions of Cortina d’Ampezzo: its cuisine.
On 12 and 13 September 2026, the festival marked its tenth anniversary with two days dedicated to food, creativity and the flavours of the mountains. More than 300 guests took part, moving between five restaurants in the Ampezzo valley before heading up to Col Drusciè for a memorable breakfast with a view.
Rather than creating a temporary festival venue, The Queen of Taste has always chosen a more authentic approach: opening the doors of Cortina’s own restaurants and inviting chefs to share their kitchens, their ideas and their passion.
A taste of Cortina, from one kitchen to another
Saturday’s Cortina Chef Tour offered guests the chance to experience the valley through a series of special dining experiences.
Five groups moved from one restaurant to another, where local chefs joined forces with colleagues from the Chef Team Cortina and guest chefs to create exclusive menus.
At Villa Oretta, the Bocus family welcomed Luigi Dariz of Da Aurelio, creating a unique meeting of two culinary perspectives rooted in the Ampezzo tradition.
It was much more than a collaboration in the kitchen. It was an opportunity to exchange ideas, techniques and stories, while celebrating the ingredients and flavours that make mountain cuisine so distinctive.
When the mountains inspire the menu
At the heart of The Queen of Taste is a strong connection with the land.
The chefs involved in the festival interpret the mountains in their own way, working with ingredients that speak of the landscape and its traditions: mushrooms, speck, herbs, spruce, game and local produce.
These ingredients become the starting point for contemporary dishes that respect tradition while leaving room for creativity.
This balance between heritage and innovation, simplicity and technique, local identity and contemporary cuisine is what makes the festival such a distinctive part of Cortina’s gastronomic scene.
Villa Oretta at The Queen of Taste
For Villa Oretta, taking part in The Queen of Taste was a natural expression of the restaurant’s connection with Cortina and its culinary heritage.
The collaboration with Luigi Dariz brought together different experiences around the same table, creating a menu that celebrated the character of mountain cuisine while reflecting the individual identity of the chefs involved.
At Villa Oretta, food has always been closely connected to hospitality. Sharing a meal is about more than what is on the plate: it is about the atmosphere, the people, the setting and the stories that come together around the table.
The Queen of Taste offered the perfect setting for this philosophy.
Ten years of celebrating mountain cuisine
Since its first edition, The Queen of Taste has continued to evolve while staying true to its original spirit: bringing people together through food and giving Cortina’s culinary talent a place to shine.
Over the past ten years, the festival has welcomed different chefs, changed its formats and explored new locations, while maintaining its close connection with the restaurants and professionals who make up the local gastronomic community.
The tenth anniversary was therefore both a celebration of the journey so far and a look towards the future of mountain cuisine.
A taste of Cortina at Villa Oretta
At Villa Oretta, we are proud to be part of a culinary community that continues to tell the story of Cortina through its restaurants, its ingredients and its people.
Because the Dolomites are not only something to admire.
They are something to experience — and, sometimes, to taste.
The Queen of Taste is a celebration of precisely that: the beauty of Cortina, brought to the table.