Xinge

Turning Concepts into Cuisine

Between sketches and dim sum, photo shoots and restaurant cuisine, Xin Ge Liu is among the most exciting personalities in Italy’s contemporary culinary community. The founder of the Xinge restaurant in Florence combines fashion and food in a way that has long since transcended mere trends – she is embracing what many are only just discovering.

Text: Janaina Engelmann-Brothánek. Photos: Xinge

Born in 1993 in the Chinese province Hebei, Xin Ge Liu grew up in a working-class family. Her keen sense of aesthetics was evident from an early age: she designed clothes for dolls, spent hours watching her grandmother cook, and quickly developed a deep understanding of shape, color, and composition. “I regard a dish as a fashion design. It starts with a mood board, an idea, an emotion.” At 18 years of age, she relocated to Florence to study fashion design at the renowned Polimoda. Her first fashion label was ambitious but failed, yet Xin Ge saw the failure as a creative reboot. In 2020, in the throes of the pandemic, she founded Xin Ge Gogo, a Chinese takeaway that quickly became an insider tip. Her style is distinct, uncompromising, and unmistakable from the outset. “I wanted to be free, free to create. I did everything myself – in the kitchen, but also the photos for the website.” The next, even more significant step followed in 2023: the fine-dining restaurant Xinge. The location is an experience – as carefully curated as a fashion show. Light, music, presentation, atmosphere – they all reflect a dramatic concept. Xinge regards the menus as collections: seasonal, limited, creatively condensed: “Today’s guests desire more than mere food. They crave emotions, an experience for all five senses.” She is not surprised that luxury brands are placing more emphasis on gastronomy: “The fashion industry is suffering. People are buying fewer bags, but they still wish to travel, enjoy, experience. Lifestyle is replacing luxury products.” Xinge’s culinary approach does not go unnoticed. It has been decorated with awards from Gambero Rosso, Identità Golose, TheFork, and Fortune, which included the pioneer in the list of the 40 Under 40 in the Food Industry. Forbes, Vogue, Rolling Stone, Elle Decor, and Guida Michelin have also featured the exceptional creative chef with a fashion background. Despite all the success, Xinge remains curious, tireless, and brimming with ideas. She is currently working on a new after-dinner location with music, a DJ, and multi-sensory experiences as an extension of her restaurant and her vision of a holistic, elegant culinary concept. If you ask her which ingredients she would choose to describe herself, the answer comes promptly: “Salt, sugar, and chili – the three ingredients that should never be omitted.”