«the potato that wants to become a truffle»
You’ve said that you find inspiration for your cooking in visual
for believing that what you are doing is the
art, literature and music. Could you explain how they stimu-
right thing.»
late you? «I find modern art very important and inspiring to my work. As
You speak about literature, philosophy and
you can see, Osteria Francescana is full of modern art. Kandin-
music. Are you a chef-philosopher?
ski’s (Russian painter, 1866 -1944, ed.) pyramid is a great spiri-
«No, I wouldn’t say that. What I talk about is
tual inspiration for me. I’m fascinated with his famous pyramid
passion. The passion that comes from reading,
from 1911 that reflects on humanity’s spiritual life. In my own
from listening to music. The passion that comes
personal pyramid on the art of cooking, I put at the top culinary
from pursing an interest in depth. Remember:
creativity. We could say that it expresses who I am. Just below
to speak about passion is to speak about emo-
are technical skills and then, at the bottom, the raw materials.
tions. Passion is expanding your knowledge, the
These are the three elements that must go together to achieve the
same knowledge that inspires you to make a
best possible result.»
new dish. Or you could simply say that often my dishes spring from my passion and my emotions.»
And what about musical inspirations? «I grew up with music, especially jazz. My brother and I have
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Portrait
You said before that Monk was seeking his
a collection of 10,000 LPs. Music to me is passion, and it’s that
roots through his music. Have you done the
passion that I put into my work and the dishes I create. Take, for
same in your kitchen?
instance, the American jazz genius Thelonious Monk. Early in his
«Definitely. In these years we speak often about
career many considered him to be a nutcase because he played
the importance of going local, using local ingre-
in a way that nobody had ever heard before. The truth is that he
dients, safeguarding the local biodiversity and
was only seeking his African roots through his music. Only a
so on. I’ve been doing that for many years. Ac-
few people understood that, such as Charlie Parker and Dizzy
tually, it would be difficult to duplicate Osteria
Gillespie. This is a wonderful story, because it’s also a metaphor
Francescana in another place.»
Photo: Paolo Terzi