She trained under Gualtiero Marchesi and at other prestigious establishments, including El Celler de Can Roca, Enigma (run by Albert Adrià), Aponiente (run by Ángel León) and Relae (run by Christian Puglisi), before feeling ready to strike out on her own. She opened her first restaurant, Il Girasole (The Sunflower), on the outskirts of Milan, specialising in fish and seafood.

In 2007, she and her friend and business partner Sandra Cicirello opened Alice Ristorante in Milan. Viviana took charge of the kitchen, while Sandra worked as sommelier and maître d'. They received their first Michelin star in 2009, and in 2014, the restaurant moved to the second floor of Eataly Milano under the new name VIVA Viviana Varese.

In 2021, she opened the W Villadorata Country Restaurant in the Val di Noto hills, and in 2022 she opened VIVA il Bistrot inside the historic Palazzo Nicolaci in Noto, as well as the artisan ice cream and pastry shop VIVA Dolci e Gelati. In 2023, Milan was in the spotlight again with POLPO Semplicemente Pesce by SPICA, a vibrant bar and trattoria.

In 2024, a new project will begin at Passalacqua, a large, sumptuous, and refined hotel located on the shores of Lake Como. The culinary offering here aims to revive and update ancient aristocratic recipes, ranging from French grandeur to Sicilian 'monsù'.

Her latest project is FAAK, where the grill, oven and wine take centre stage from breakfast to dinner.