Matteo Zed
Considered one of the most talented Italian bartenders at the international level, Matteo Zed won third place at the Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Competition in 2012, second place at the Diplomático World Tournament in 2013 and then became the 2015 world champion for the Americas in the Belvedere Martini Challenge.
Zed has had the opportunity to work in Japan under the master Hidetsugu Ueno at Tokyo’s highly acclaimed Bar High Five after which he relocated to New York for four years where he worked for Joe Bastianich’s Del Posto, the renown Zuma, and Armani Ristorante on Fifth Avenue where he served as a consultant and operation manager in the Trattoria and Ammazzacaffè projects in Brooklyn, with a bar program completely focused on amari. He has sat as the judge for the World’s 50 Best Bars and has been featured in many national and foreign trade magazines including Drinks International, Bartenders Magazine and BarLife. His cocktails were included in Gaz Regan’s book, 101 Best New Cocktails and in 2015, Matteo was named Best Italian bartender abroad by Bargionale.
In 2019 he partnered with a five-star boutique hotel to open The Court, the premier bar and lounge located in the heart of Rome, with coveted and enticing views of the Coliseum at the ground level. Under Zed’s leadership, the bar has won numerous awards and accolades including being ranked 71st in the world for Top 500 Bars, and has been recently named as one of the World’s 50 Best Bars Discovery.
With the publishing of The Big Book of Amaro, Matteo aims to introduce the world to the best of the Italian amaro, its rich history and accessibility to be enjoyed by cocktail and spirit lovers at every level. He lives in Rome, Italy and currently works as Bar Director at The Court.
