Danilo Zanna

Danilo Zanna (born 15 April 1982) is an Italian chef, television presenter, and restaurant operator residing in Turkey. He has been a judge in the reality show MasterChef Turkey since 2019.

Life and career

Early years Zanna was born on 15 April 1982 in Prato, Tuscany, Italy to Italian parents Armando Zanna and Emillia Zanna. He took over cooking as a family business. He strengthened his culinary skills by working with Italian chefs on Italian cuisine.

Life in Turkey Zanna, who is interested in Turkish cuisine, migrated from Italy to Turkey because he wanted to pursue a career in this field. After settling in Turkey, he opened a restaurant with Italian and Turkish cuisine. Later, he started to take part in television programs, with his first being in a program called "Zahide ile Hayata Yetiş" as an assistant chef.

Zanna rose to recognition with the cooking show İtalyan İşi, which he had created and presented on the Planet Mutfak television channel. He worked on Italian dishes at Kadir Has University Istanbul Cuisine Institute, which includes the restaurant culture of different countries in Turkey. After a while, he recruited Kaan Noyanalpan who competed in MasterChef Turkey Season 6.

He has also hosted the Turkish version of MasterChef Junior, which has aired on Exxen since 2021. As of 2024, he remains one of the three judges in MasterChef Turkey.