(born 3 January 1979 in Rome) is an Italian celebrity chef, actor, foreign tarento, social media personality, businessman, martial artist and sommelier dell'Olio. He holds the rank of 3rd dan black belt in Kyokushin karate. He is living and working in Japan, and nicknamed and . He is the president of the Italian Cooking Association in Japan, known as "Italian Ryouri Kenkyukai" in Japanese. In a survey he was found to be the second most famous Italian in Japan after Giorgio Armani. Bellissimo writes for various Japanese cooking magazines and books. Early life Born in Rome on 3 January 1979, Bellissimo took an early interest in cooking through his parents. Graduated from the Alessandro Caravillani Art school of Rome. During his time at Sapienza University of Rome, where he majored in Philosophy, he entered the army and graduated from school there. In 2001, he came to Japan and graduated from a Japanese language class at the YMCA. He has won first place at a Japanese debate contest. Career Aside from his work as a chef and a foreign tarento, Bellissimo has experience as a food critic, an Italian cuisine consultant, a motivational speaker, a model for fashion magazines, a columnist, an essayist, and a sports commentator. He is also known to be quite knowledgeable on Italian fashion, and is often referred to as "one of the trendiest chefs in the industry". Ambassador of the history of Italian cuisine In 2017, Bellissimo has launched a cultural program on the cuisine of Leonardo da Vinci and Ancient Rome together with historian Daniele Macuglia from Peking University. With Macuglia, he reconstructs forgotten dishes of the Italian culture and lectured at various universities and cultural institutes in the United States, European Union and Japan. Filmography Appearances in Television Variety Programs Handsome Kitchen (Fuji Television) Waratte Iitomo! (Fuji Television) Wagamama!Kimama!Tabikibun (BS-Fuji) GakkoChakkoTV (Akita Television) Konnichiwa Itto6ken (NHK) Kitchen ga hashiru! (NHK) One Seg Lunch Box Raku Gohan (NHK) Junbanmachi no Ryorikyoshitsu (LaLa TV) Sekai ga Odorita Nippon!Sugoi desune!!Shisatsudan (TV Asahi) Uchigohan (TV Asahi) Eko no Saho (TV Asahi) Shikamo!! (Nippon Television) Sekai banzuke (Nippon Television) Osama no brunch (Tokyo Broadcasting System) Sekai fushigi hakken! (Tokyo Broadcasting System) Sekai no minna ni kiitemita (Tokyo Broadcasting System) Sekai kurabetemitara (Tokyo Broadcasting System) Bara iro Dandi (Tokyo MX) Goji ni Muchu(Tokyo MX) Appearances in Television Dramas Kyō wa Kaisha Yasumimasu. (2014).... Italian Chef Kore wa Keihi de Ochimasen!