Karime López

Karime López was born in Mexico City in 1982.^[1] López first learned about cooking at home as a child, helping her mother prepare family meals at home in Querétaro, Mexico.^[2]

At age 18, López moved to Paris to study art. While in Paris, her attention shifted from art to culinary arts.^[3] In 2005, López moved to Seville, Spain to train as a chef.^[4] After her studies, she apprenticed under Santi Santamaria and later at top restaurants, including Can Fabes, Mugaritz, Pujol and Noma.^[4] López later described the challenges of pursuing a chef's career as a woman, and the difficulty of making sacrifices to travel far from home to learn from the world's top chefs.^[5]

In 2017, López moved to Modena, Italy where her husband, Takahiko Kondo was the sous chef at Osteria Francescana.^[4] In 2018, Massimo Bottura offered her the position as head chef of Gucci Osteria in Florence.^[6] In 2019, López and Gucci Osteria were awarded a Michelin star.^[4][7] With the recognition, López became the first Mexican woman to receive a Michelin star.^[2][8][9] In 2019, López was named Italy's Female chef of the year.^[4]

In 2022, Kondo joined López as co-head chef at Gucci Osteria where the couple focus on dishes crafted with local produce.^[10][11][12] In 2023, López was awarded as the best Chef of Distinction Abroad by Mexico's National Chamber of Restaurants and Seasoned Foods, a national industry body representing the Mexican restaurant industry.^[13]

• List of female chefs with Michelin stars