Discover Germany | Special Theme | Hannover City Special
Cheese buffet with traditional Italian cheese sorts.
TROPEANO Di-Vino
Experience the heart of Italian cuisine “Come in. Have a seat my friend. Let’s go on a journey together. Let’s eat and drink together. Let me take you along into that wonderful, fascinating world of Italian cuisine. A world you’ve never known even existed. But here it exists. Original and pure.” When you enter the restaurant TROPEANO Di-Vino, this is Biagio Tropeano’s promise to you. A promise that can only be fulfilled with Tropeano’s secret ingredient: Biagio’s unique passion. TEXT: THOMAS SCHROERS I PHOTOS: TROPEANO DI-VINO, BIAGIO TROPEANO
This is the place where it matters. It, of course, being the tradition and the core of Italian cuisine and the history connected to the cuisine and the regions where it originated. Biagio Tropeano knows all about this history and, throughout his life and career, he has become part of it. “Our dishes have to touch your soul, you must understand. At Tropeano’s you don’t get the ordinary; we are serving experiences.”
Biagio did not think about becoming a restaurant owner or even a sommelier. His grandmother inspired him to take on a study programme in hospitality management. “She said, ‘Oh you like to cook, why not do that?’. Off I went and, to tell you the truth, over time I quickly realised what a wonderful profession I have. I would always, always do it exactly the same if I had to go back.”
When trying to understand the philosophy behind the restaurant, you need to start with the man himself. Initially, young
After his first studies, Tropeano worked in various prestigious hotels in Italy, Germany and Switzerland. He was elected the
68 | Issue 49 | April 2017
best sommelier in Germany and was part of multiple restaurants and opened the TROPEANO Di-Vino in 2003. How to touch the soul For Biagio, fulfilling his promise for your palate and your soul with his cuisine is not a possibility, but a duty. “You have to hand yourself over to the history and you have to do that with complete passion. I’m in service of the history of the Italian cuisine and in that service quality is the most important aspect.”Visitors to the Tropeano will not find your ordinary pizza or pasta. “When people ask me about pizza or spaghetti, I’m cringing inside. This is not what the old Italian recipes are about. I’ve fought this prejudice for a long time. What we are working with here are recipes from the 14th, 15th and 16th century. Sure, they are updated for our modern guests in some ways, but the ideas go back to the originals that we want to preserve.”