QUART ERLY - P.I. 21/07 /2017 Intern ationa l € 10, Spedizione in Abbon Chf 10,50 , UK £ 7,50 Poste Italian e S.p.a. amento Postale - 70% - LO/MI
J A D E I S S U E
JADE ISSUE - n° 11 - 2017 - € 10
• n ° 1 1 • 2 0 1 7
The Art of Sailing
[ GOURMAND ]
POP, ROCK, Davide Oldani has been working with design schools for quite some time and has himself designed various restaurant-oriented products. Experimentation is a must to keep quality high. But design brings added value
by Marta Bernasconi
I
t is strange to think that Davide Oldani was a brilliant footballer as a youngster and only turned to cooking
after an injury put paid to a promising career on the pitch. That said, he is now very much a Serie A chef. After manning the stoves in such illustrious kitchens as those of Gualtiero Marchesi and Alain Ducasse to name but two, he opened his celebrated restaurant, D’O, in his hometown of Cornaredo outside Milan in 2003. Oldani then went on to publish several books and also attract interest as a business speaker. In 2014, he opened the Davide Oldani Café at Milan’s Malpensa Airport and then broadened his interests to the Hotel Aman Canal Grande as well as Manila and Singapore. We asked the celebrated chef to talk about his idea of the essence of good food which he has distilled through his Cucina POP brand. “I choose very high quality products and then I reduce the quantity. Everything that is seasonal, and thus easier to source, is raised to noble new heights through preparation. I am always looking to create harmonious contrasts: I bring together very different flavours, textures and temperatures in my dishes because, when you create harmony between opposites, you get a really interesting result.” Oldani has also been working with design schools for quite some time now and has himself designed restaurant-oriented accessories and equipment. “Yes, I’ve designed everything from chairs to china. It’s all functional and tailored to my idea of hospitality and also the conviction that everything centres around the value of what you eat. In the case of plates and glasses, for instance, the container has to enhance the content. And Passepartout, which delivers a fork, knife and spoon all in one, grew out of a desire to
120
Davide Oldani (left) has designed everything from chairs to china. It’s all functional and tailored to his idea of hospitality. Plates and glasses, have to enhance the content
121
[ GOURMAND ]
122
make tasting easier and to foster conviviality.”
with port which has been reduced and thickened with 2g of
Davide Oldani has presented us with two recipes to whip up on
cornflour. Top with 10g of toasted sunflower seeds.
board. The ingredients are all simple and easy to source but can
Oldani’s onboard dessert is deliciously fresh: Strawberry and
quickly be turned into gourmet creations in a POP, so to speak,
Basil Fruit Salad with a Pomelo Granita. To serve four, you
thanks to an original yet fast and simple method.
will need 300g of fresh strawberries, 2g of basil leaves, 50g
The first recipe is “Rainbow Trout, Wood Sorrel and Port”. To
of sugar, 50 ml of water. Cook 100g of the strawberries in the
serve four you will need 350g of rainbow trout fillets cut into
water and sugar mixture. Then add basil and remove from heat.
four portions, 5g of sunflower oil and 3g of salt. Roast the trout
Whizz in a blender and allow to cool. Dress the remaining
in a pan with the oil and the salt. To make the sauce, bring
chopped strawberries with the resulting sauce. To make the
200ml of water to the boil in a saucepan and then add 3g of
pomelo granita, bring 200 ml of pomelo juice and 80g of sugar
cornflour dissolved in cold water, 150g of wood sorrel blanched
to the boil. Then remove from heat and freeze in a high-sided
in salt and water, 2g of salt and 1g of sugar. Blend and filter the
container. Arrange the strawberries in bowls and serve with the
mix, adding more salt and sugar if necessary. Pour sauce onto
pomelo granita which you make by “grating” the frozen pomelo
centre of plates and then top with a portion of trout. Cover
and sugar mix with a steel spoon.