There’s something about Porsche that draws in owners and enthusiasts you wouldn’t expect, a global passion that bridges different industries, lifestyles, and day jobs. It might be a financial analyst easing into the morning commute to the office in a 911 Targa, or a Michelin-star chef whose real guilty pleasure is spirited weekend drives in a 911 GT3 RS, different worlds, same view behind the wheel. That’s exactly the case for Chef Simone Zanoni, who recently spent time with Porsche for an interview discussing what drives his passion for Porsche and fuels his success in the kitchen.
The Porsche 911 in three words?
Timeless, precise, emotional.
What would you never do in a 911?
Drive it without respect. A 911 is engineering culture
What’s your favorite road?
The Tonale Pass in Italy.
What on a 911 could you do without?
The screens.
The 911 moment of your life?
The first lap I drove in a 911 GT3 RS – unforgettable.
Long before his rise to fame in the culinary world, Simone grew up on a farm in the Italian region of Lombardy, discovering a love for cooking through his grandmother and traditional Italian dishes. Success followed after his culinary training, working in the kitchens of legends like Gordon Ramsay, and even earning a Michelin Star for Le George at Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris. And while his world became defined by food, his underlying love remained Porsche sports cars and motorsports. In fact, when Simone isn’t in the kitchen putting together an incredible, memorable meal, he likes to spend time behind the wheel of his 991-generation Porsche 911 GT3 RS, at somewhere around 9,000 RPM.
It’s proof that there are millions of Porsche stories just like Simone Zanoni’s, each sparked by a single moment that sticks for life. In a world where Porsches are loved across continents, no two stories are the same, but they all share that same smile the moment the key turns.
