Grotto Bundi, exterior.
TEXT: CORNELIA BRELOWSKI | PHOTOS: GROTTO BUNDI
Ticino cuisine, family style At the Grotto Bundi country inn, guests can indulge in the culinary traditions of the Mendrisiotto region. However, the crowning experience is the homemade Grotto Bundi Polenta, based on a family recipe. “For us, the polenta is the queen of meals,” Stefano Romelli, chef and owner of the Grotto Bundi states proudly. He took over the restaurant 25 years ago together with his wife Sandrine and immediately began experimenting with variations of the traditional polenta, his own favorite food since childhood. Today, Romelli‘s refined recipe is the biggest asset of the restaurant and draws visitors from all over the region. Alpine cheeses, delicious salame and a variety of Merlot wines from the region complete the palatal experience. The simple yet special recipe consists of a special corn and grain mix with added salt and water. Cooked gently on long burning robinia wood, the Grotto Bundi polenta is not only delicious, but also profoundly healthy and additive-free. It can be enjoyed 40 | Issue 63 | June 2018
with gorgonzola, salami, roasted onions, garlic butter, sage, parmiggiano or fried eggs. “80 percent of my guests don‘t even need to see the menu!” reveals Romelli. The well-known traditional restaurant is set near the town of Mendrisio in the Ticino and its culinary specialties reflect the flavours and scents of the region. Typical local cuisine and, most of all, the homemade polenta, make a trip to the Grotto Bundi a must while visiting the area. Here, having lunch or dinner equals a plunge into the authentic soul of the Mendrisiotto with its untouched natural surroundings, where time itself slows down. Each day at ten in the morning, and then again at five in the evening, Stefano Romelli fires up the big kettle to create his
special polenta, of which an average of 45 kilogrammes is consumed per day. The essence is in the mix: The aromatic variation at the Grotto Bundi is a touch different from the classic yellow polenta. Romelli experimented for a long time using different grinding degrees and drawing inspiration from regional variations, for example, from the Veltlin buckwheat polenta. The resulting recipe consists of a certain percentage of corn, buckwheat and bran – but its details remain a family secret. A neighbouring mill delivers the special mix directly to the restaurant. The Grotto Bundi looks back on a hundred years of history. About 80 years ago, a certain Abbondio Calderari named the traditional restaurant after himself (‘Bundi’). Then, as now, guests enjoyed both a good meal and the natural beauty of the Monte San Giorgio and Monte Generoso area. A small paradise, the Mendrisiotto region is marked by vineyards and natural parks fea-