Drawn to the kitchen from a young age, he trained in Denmark before heading to Paris, where he worked at Le Petit Bofinger and the acclaimed Taillevent, gaining his first real exposure to fine dining.

Back in Denmark, he cooked at Røgeriet, Hansens Køkken og Bar, Søren K, and Oliva, until a career-defining internship at elBulli in 2006. “Ferran Adrià taught me about science and precision,” he later said, “but Redzepi taught me to trust my creativity.” After elBulli, Puglisi became sous-chef at Noma, working closely with René Redzepi for over two years.

In 2010, he opened Relae in Copenhagen’s Nørrebro district with sommelier Kim Rossen. His approach was radical in its simplicity: minimal staff, no frills, and a stripped-down menu of just four dishes, each focused on a few pure, seasonal ingredients. No fuss, no excess — just flavor and intention.

While influenced by New Nordic cuisine, Puglisi doesn’t follow strict locavorism. “I’m Sicilian — I need olive oil, lemons, and tomatoes,” he says. His philosophy is about originality, not imitation: “If I copied Noma completely, I’d miss its main message — create something of your own.”

That authenticity quickly caught international attention. His face appeared at major food conferences, and his dish of marinated mackerel with cauliflower and lemon purée was featured in top culinary magazines around the world.