EX.IT May 2018 Issue

EX.IT

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO MAY RUSSO 2018

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN

THE CULINARY MAGAZINE BY ALFREDO RUSSO

DAVIDE PALLUDA

ROERO CUISINE

CARLA PELLEGRINO

ITALIAN FLAIR

PAULO AIRAUDO

MAX ALAJMO

CULINARY DNA www.extraordinaryitalian.com

CULINARY EXCELLENCE

CICCIO SULTANO

TRADITION AND INNOVATION EX.IT May 2018 -

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ANDONI LUIS ADURIZ

REIF OTHMAN

ANDRÉ CHIANG

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MICHAEL WILSON

YOSHIHIRO NARISAWA

JORDI ROCA

JORDAN KAHN

PAUL BOCUSE

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO APRIL RUSSO 2018

JOËL ROBUCHON

YOSHI IS TEN

MINGOO KANG

MINGLES WITH FLAVORS

MANOELLA BUFFARA

COOKING WITH HER SOUL www.wgmagazines.com

ALAIN HUANG RAW

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

“everyday I work in search of pure tastes and Monviso is clearly the superior mineral water choice for me” Chef Alfredo Russo THE TASTE OF PURITY CAPTURED IN A BOTTLE!

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

For more than 80 years, Bragard supports women and men who give the best of themselves everyday at work to ignite their client’s taste buds.

Combining tradition and inovation, professional workwear from Bragard gained unparalled reputation thanks to its quality and make the biggest names of the culinary and hospitaly world proud.

BRAGARD LLC OFFICE 604 BEDAIA BUILDING AL BARSHA 1 PO BOX 214338 DUBAI UAE Tel : +971 4 395 16 11 Fax : +971 4 395 16 12 fabien.firetto@bragard.com

www.bragard.com

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Real Madrid Café is a space where the passion for Real Madrid, football and socializing becomes one.

With two levels and two massive screens, Real Madrid Café, The Beach, JBR is the ultimate hangout for live matches while enjoying the beachfront location. Offering all-time comfort food favorites like burgers & wings, a wide selection of creative mocktails and shisha flavors, Real Madrid Café creates the perfect setting for Madridistas and sports enthusiasts a-like to gather and support their teams.

The extensive range of Real Madrid merchandise, including over 40 exclusively signed

pieces of memorabilia, ensures to give all shoppers and diners the ultimate football experience. Real Madrid Café also hosts a variety of events and is a popular place for birthday parties of all ages.

THE BEACH AT JBR, DUBAI U.A.E. TEL 04 277 5625 www.realmadridcafedubai.com realmadriddubai@ginzarestaurants.com

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

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Together we stand strong, dream big and create greater change for causes worldwide.

CharityStars is the international platform specialising in fundraising through digital auctions promoted in collaboration with celebrities and large companies.

All the proceeds are donated to charity.

A different way of raising awareness about the many charitable causes worldwide.

CHECK OUT OUR AMAZING AUCTIONS

www.charitystars.com

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

Jean-Georges Dubai showcases a comfortable indoor layout with a jade, cozy garden.

While providing a fine atmosphere of an outdoor vivid lounge and stunning interiors, Jean-Georges Dubai offers its guests the chance to enjoy multiple evenings with live entertainment, a Friday brunch with an exquisite menu created by 2 Michelin Star Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten paired with impeccable service. The restaurant presents a warm ambiance that captures Dubai’s affinity throughout the day to uphold a late night.

JG Dubai is a preferred venue for many celebrities who have chosen it as a trendy destination to celebrate their events or simply to enjoy the exquisite dishes and service. Guests who have joined us in the past include key members of royal families in the UAE as well as international names such as Russell James, Franca Sozzani, Nargis Fakhri, Paolo Maldini, Clarence Seedorf, Dwight Yorke, and Christian Louboutin.

Four Seasons Resort Jumeirah Beach Road, Dubai

Book at +971 4 343 6118

info@jean-georges-dubai.com | www.jean-georges-dubai.com

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Good taste isn’t expensive

S P A C E S

F O R

B E A U T I F U L

L I V I N G

conceptplus INTERIOR DESIGN

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Suite 214, Hamsa (A) Office Tower, Za’beel Road Karama, Dubai, United Arab Emirates P.O.Box 300450, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel.: +971 4 3705269 I Fax: +971 4 2947442 - EX.IT May 2018 E-mail : info@conceptplusstyle.com I osama@conceptplusstyle.com www.conceptplusstyle.com

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

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DUTY DUTYFREE FREE PRODUCTS PRODUCTS & & BONDED BONDED STORES STORES

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5, Vyzantiou, Spyrides 2064Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus 5, Vyzantiou, Spyrides Tower, Towers, 2064 Cyprus Tel:+357 +35722210828 222 108 28 I I +44 +44 745 745 228 Tel: 22868 680202 www.brandhouse.uk.com www.brandhouse.uk.com

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

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SMOKED EX.IT May 2018 -

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Culinary Arts can give new life to children... we make it our mission to identify talented, underprivileged children with culinary ambitions and provide opportunities that otherwise would have been beyond their reach‌

Grant MacPherson

WO’GOA Foundation Ambassador An inspirer, innovator and perfectionist - Grant encompasses all the qualities that deserving children can glean from a role model!

The Pearl Martin Benn Sepia, Sydney, Australia - EX.IT May-2018

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partnered with SKD ACADEMY the culinary institute in the Philippines

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

AWARNESS IS FINE BUT ADVOCACY TAKES YOUR BRAND TO THE NEXT LEVEL

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT

info@wgkonnect.com

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APRIL 2018

Editor

Fabian deCastro Alfredo Russo

Feature Editor Contributors

Maria Lourdes Laura Pedrazzoli Elisabete Ferreira Michael Hepworth

Photography

Victoria Shashirin

FJMdesign WGkonnect Photography Consultant Creative Design Studio Publisher IZZY Publishing Pvt. Ltd. EX.IT™ is an online digital publication published by: Izzy Publishing Pvt. Ltd. Unit 14, Agnelo Colony, Kerant, Caranzalem, 403002 Goa, India Tel: +91(832) 2463234 Fax: +91(832) 2464201 sales@extraordinaryitalian.com Company Registration Number U22100GA2011PTC006731 Marketing & Advertising Call: +91 832 246 3234 E-mail: marketing@extraordinaryitalian.com WG™ Beverly Hills Michael Hepworth 287 S.Robertson Blvd Beverly Hills, CA 90211 International Representative Point Select Leisure Management DMCC Concept Plus Interiors LLC ©IZZY Publishing Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. Editorial material and opinions expressed in EX.IT™ digital publication do not necessarily reflect the views of IZZY Publishing Pvt. Ltd. EX.IT™ and IZZY Publishing Pvt. Ltd. cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies or errors and do not accept responsibility for the advertising content.

All contents are strictly copyright and all rights are reserved.

Production in whole or part is prohibited without prior permission from IZZY Publishing Pvt. Ltd. ©2018 EX.IT™ All rights reserved.

ALFREDO RUSSO RED MULLET WITH EGGPLANT & FRESH MINT DOLCE STIL NOVO ALLA REGGIA - VENARIA REALE, TORINO

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It’s all Italian... a journey of flavors from Italy & around the World!

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

ooking is in his DNA, Max Alajmo’s cuisine is based on the concepts of depth, lightness and fluidity, it is poetry on a plate. Inspiration for his distinctive dishes comes from looking at the world with a sense of discovery. Ciccio Sultano transforms products into food using all five senses with an inclination for taste and touch. Tasting and touching creates and evolves first impressions.

C

His commitment, creativity and passion has helped his progressive innovation, Giancarlo Morelli shows what he really is, a pure person, with an extremely fine palate and sophisticated taste.

Davide Palluda revisits and revitalizes traditional Langa and Roero cuisine. When you mix experience, passion, tradition and honesty, this translates a pleasant balance of flavours on a plate with Donato De Santis.

General Manager of the Year Fabio Datteroni brings luxury to the 12th-century castle Castello del Nero, and Giovanni Assante is giving back right value to traditional pasta with Gerardo di Nola.

Love for the land has been the driving force behind the Allegrini family’s commitment to enhancing the potential of Valpolicella and its viticultural traditions.

Three regions, six wineries, six different ways of enjoying the beauty of Italy. Terra Moretti has always worked to protect and valorize the areas where the best grapes are grown. Today the group is led by Francesca Moretti.

While in Europe, we catch up with the ItaloArgentinean Paulo Airaudo at Amelia in the heart of San Sebastián. A culinary Glamour across the Atlantic with Carla Pellegrino and Marco Medaglia considers Asia as part of his culture.

Buon appetito!

Alfredo Russo EX.IT May 2018 -

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MAY 2018

CONTENTS 26

Cooking Is In His DNA

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Tradition And Innovation

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Extremely Fine Palate

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Culinary Glamour

90

By Alfredo Russo

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In the Heart Of San Sebastiรกn

102 Roero Cuisine 112 Experience, Passion, Tradition And Honesty 122 General Manager Of The Year 134 Authentic Italian Cuisine 140 Giovanni Assante And Gerardo Di Nola 144 Allgerini 150 Bellavista

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

EX.IT EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN

RED MULLET WITH EGGPLANT AND FRESH MINT Creativity is defined as the tendency to generate or recognize ideas, chefs are motivated to be creative, we need for novel, varied, and complex stimulation.... But very often we can be creative looking at the past, to authentic regional Italian cuisine.

When it comes to eating seafood, a common taboo is people will not eat fish with red wine and never be eaten with cheese. Is it right?

Wrong - Seafood can absolutely be eaten with cheese, in fact, you might be surprised how often the pairing comes ups. This taboo, like drinking red wine with fish, is deep-seated and widely followed.

There are always exceptions to the rules and pairing fish with cheese is a perfect example. Seafood with cheese appears in some Italian recipes “Sword Fish Sicilian Roll” made with Pecorino Cheese or even “Anchovies” on a Pizza…

So it’s time for red mullet, eggplant and parmesan!

ALFREDO RUSSO DOLCE STIL NOVO ALLA REGGIA

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MAX ALAJMO

MAX ALAJMO

COOKING IS IN HIS DNA

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

PHOTO © SOPHIE DELAUW

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MAX ALAJMO

CUTTLEFISH CAPPUCCINO PHOTO © SERGIO COIMBRA

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RISOTTO SAFFRON PHOTO © SERGIO COIMBRA

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

BONE WITH HERBS PHOTO © SERGIO COIMBRA

In 2002, the Michelin Guide awarded Le Calandre with three stars, making Max, at 28, the youngest chef in the world to obtain this culinary distinction.

Born in Padua, Max’s love for cooking can be traced back to his childhood, having grown up in the kitchen of Le Calandre alongside mamma Rita. After attended cooking school at the Istituto Alberghiero di Abano Terme, Max furthered his culinary education as an intern in the kitchens of top Italian and French chefs like Alfredo Chiocchetti, Marc Veyrat and Michel Guérard.

Returning back to Padua, mamma Rita and papa Erminio passed the keys of the family restaurant on Max and his brother Raf. Together, the Alajmo brothers have worked passionately to transform their parent’s modest restaurant into one of the world’s best. In 2002, the Michelin Guide awarded Le Calandre with three stars, making Max, at 28, the youngest chef in the world to obtain this culinary distinction. Today, Max oversees the kitchens of the Alajmo family’s ten restaurants, a line of food products and a special events business - all from Le Calandre, his vibrant culinary laboratory.

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MAX ALAJMO

The Alajmo family…

Cooking is in their DNA, the Alajmo family’s professional interest in food and restaurants can be traced back to the end of World War II, when the grandfather, Vittorio, opened a humble cheese counter inside the main market hall in downtown Padua.

Erminio and Rita, took over Le Calandre restaurant in Sarmeola di Rubano, a small town just outside Padua, in the early Eighties.

With Erminio’s strong managerial skill and Rita’s extraordinary culinary talent, Le Calandre received its first Michelin star in 1991.

Shortly afterwards they made the courageous decision to pass the restaurant on to their children.

A risky challenge that proved successful over time as each member of the family developed their own role within the business, choosing to do what interests them most.

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

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MAX ALAJMO

CRISPY BUFFALO MOZZARELLA AND RICOTTA CANNELLONI PHOTO © SERGIO COIMBRA

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ROAST SUCKLING PIG PHOTO © SERGIO COIMBRA

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

HAND-CHOPPED PIEMONTESE BEEF PHOTO © SERGIO COIMBRA

“Max’s cuisine is the fruit of a study that goes beyond taste.”

Max’s cuisine is based on the concepts of depth, lightness and fluidity, it is poetry on a plate.

Inspiration for his distinctive dishes comes from looking at the world with a sense of discovery.

His distinctive approach to cuisine finds is reflected in the dining room of Le Calandre. Everything from the hand-carved wooden tables to the glassware and room fragrance was designed by the Alajmo brothers and produced by master Italian artisans.

The result is a multisensory culinary experience that is carried the dining room, cordially and naturally.

Max’s cuisine is the fruit of a study that goes beyond taste. He approaches ingredients with respect, researching them in depth, in order to understand their true essence and bring out the best in them.

His dishes capture all of our senses; beginning with the most evocative of the five, our sense of smell.

According to Max, the ephemeral component of aromas and perfumes is compensated by their immediacy and ability to create lasting memories, particularly in relation to food. His work is also focused on lightening culinary preparations using carefully techniques that to not mask the ingredient, but rather bring out its peculiar characteristics.

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MAX ALAJMO

FRIED LANGOUSTINE ROLLS PHOTO © SERGIO COIMBRA

“every element in a recipe must make its own contribution to create a harmonic balance, carrying with it the memory of where it has been” 34 - EX.IT May 2018

The concept of fluidity is fundamental in giving an order to the ingredients in each dish. Translated into culinary terms, this means that every element in a recipe must make its own contribution to create a harmonic balance, carrying with it the memory of where it has been. The result is combination of intense sensations. An original presentation of ancient flavors using a fresh and reassuring approach.

Ranked at the top of all the major Italian restaurant guides, Le Calandre is one of the few restaurants in Italy to be recognized with three Michelin stars, an honor that the restaurant has held since 2003.

The menu is inspired by seasonal ingredients, with dishes embodying both classic Italian flavors and bold, unexpected combinations. Guests may choose from three tasting menus - “Classico,” “Max” and “Raf” - or decide to create their own menu selecting dishes from the tasting menus.

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

BROCCOLI RABE SOUP WITH COLD ONION CREAM PHOTO © SERGIO COIMBRA

NAKED AND RAW MEAT AND FISH PHOTO © SERGIO COIMBRA

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MAX ALAJMO

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QUADRI

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

Quadri is a Venetian wonderland where mystery, poetry and magic come together with extraordinary Italian cuisine.

QUADRI

Since 2010, this 18th-century café, bistro and finedining restaurant in St Mark’s Square reopens its doors after a major restoration. A transformation revealing the original magic of the place in a romantic and slightly surrealistic atmosphere imagined by Philippe Starck and crafted by select Venetian artisans.

The restoration project was initiated by Massimiliano and Raffaele Alajmo based on the need and desire to preserve the extraordinary heritage of Quadri, and to create a legacy making its mark on both contemporary history and the history of Italian cuisine.

To carry out this delicate restoration, the Alajmo brothers turned to the French creator Philippe Starck. The brothers met Starck ten years ago and previously collaborated on the creation of two restaurants, Caffè Stern a phantasmagoric bacaro in the heart of Paris and AMO a mysterious and elegant café located inside the T Fondaco dei Tedeschi building in Venice.

QUADRI

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MAX ALAJMO

“The concept of Quadri simply is Quadri. Quadri was extraordinary, except it was little sleepy. Out of respect, love and intelligence, we didn’t want to change such a powerful concentration of mystery, beauty, oddity and poetry. We simply looked for its wonders, and we discovered a wonderland.

Everything here is a mental game, with its own magical little music. Hidden fertile surprises come to life everywhere; on the walls with the fabric, in the lights with the surrealistic chandeliers and in the chimeric taxidermy collection that inhabits the place; the animals came here and wings grew on their backs, becoming fantasy creatures like the mythical winged Lion of Venice.

QUADRI

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This dream partly comes from my brain, my heart and my folly; yet we needed hands to make it a reality. And the secret of Quadri’s absolute quality is the Venetian artisans.” - Philippe Starck.

Philippe Starck and the Alajmo brothers appointed Marino Folin, an architect and former director of the IUAV, Venice’s architecture university, to oversee the work of the best traditional Venetian artisans.

Folin was also responsible for contacting local government officials in charge of preserving the city’s artistic heritage and getting their approval on all aspects of the restoration. “The important cultural investment made with this restoration,” explains Folin, “was involving Venetian artisans, many of whose small family businesses date back to the 1800s and early 1900s.”

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

PHILIPPE STARCK, MAX ALAJMO, RAF ALAJMO, MARINO FOLIN

QUADRI

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MAX ALAJMO

BATTUTA DI VACCHETTA PIEMONTESE ARROTOLATA SALSA DI SEMI DI CANAPA E MANGO PICCANTE

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SPAGHETTI AGLIO, OLIO E PEPERONCINO OSTRICHE E KALE ROSSO

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

MENU QUATTRO ATTI - SECONDI PIATTI

RISOTTO CON ANGUILLA AFFUMICATA SORBETTO DI ESTRAGONE E BARBABIETOLA

“The cuisine of Quadri is intrinsically tied to and influenced by the space in a process of reciprocal intermingling that occurs over time”

“The cuisine of Quadri,” explains Massimiliano Alajmo, “is intrinsically tied to and influenced by the space in a process of reciprocal intermingling that occurs over time. Just as the past and the present flow into the future, food and cuisine are influenced by the past not only in terms of ingredients, but also service. So the gastronomy we offer is based on place, Venetian traditions, the lagoon and its ingredients, historically recontextualized to the present day through a new luminosity that gives the food greater depth.”

The fish arrives fresh from the Rialto market each day, as does the produce, based on seasonal availability. The menu is presented as three tasting menus - Max, Raf and Quattro Atti (Four Acts) but guests can also choose to order two or three courses, selecting from any of the dishes on the three menus. A new addition, the Quattro Atti tasting menu was designed so that all the dishes are served in the center of the table and shared among the guests, making for a convivial experience.

The food is presented on a variety of mismatched plates and dishes designed by the Alajmo brothers to have a Venetian feel. Ristorante Quadri, the only restaurant located in St. Mark’s Square, received its first Michelin star in 2012.

MENU QUATTRO ATTI - DESSERT

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ELECTROLUX PROFESSIONAL

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

A TOUGH FRESH CHALLENGE: SETTING UP A COOKERY SCHOOL IN A CASTLE The Ugento castle has been restored to its former splendor thanks to the d’Amore family, its masters since 1643. Massimo d’Amore and his partner Diana Bianchi wanted to inject new life and contemporaneity into the ancient walls by converting the castle into an international cookery school opened 12 months a year: the Puglia Culinary Center (PCC). Such centre of excellence has been entrusted to the lead of chef Odette Fada, celebrated worldwide for her fine Italian regional cuisine, the same she now teaches professional and amateur chefs on the courses she holds on the premises.

From September to April, the school hosts prospective chefs from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), U.S.A.’s most long-running cookery school, which has chosen PCC as its first and sole campus in Europe.

A prestigious partnership which further highlights the high standing of the structure. “Il Tempo nuovo” restaurant has been recently inaugurated inside the castle, and 9 luxury suites will soon be available, as a conversion of the old frescoed halls. In the neighborhood stands another d’Amore property, the centuries-old Masseria “Le Mandorle” farm, recently refurbished with a chic-contemporary twist.

A truly challenging design given the very nature of the location: Ugento castle, a 14th century gem, was subject to a number of restrictions, especially architectural and artistic. Not a single screw was to ruin the magnificent vaults and the centuryold walls, yet it was necessary to install cooking, preparation and preservation devices, custom ventilation systems, tailored worktops, and anything needed in a high-level cookery school.

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ELECTROLUX PROFESSIONAL

“We were looking for the best kitchen technology, but along with support in design, building and installation stage. We discovered Electrolux Professional could provide the whole package”

MASSIMO D’AMORE OWNER OF THE UGENTO CASTLE

For instance, the ventilation system could not be hooked to the vaults, so it was agreed to secure it to a stunning metal structure which serves the purpose of supporting the ducts. The three M2M thermaline built-in units weighing 2 tons each had to be placed into the central kitchen by means of a crane. They were then hand-carried in order to avoid damaging the floors. In the patisserie department, the same applied to the remarkable 10 metre long chocolate-making table with its 7 cm thick absolute black granite refrigerated top: so perfect but so heavy! The area was also fitted with an innovative all-in-one input/output ventilation system.

Meeting after meeting, problem after problem, it was unparalleled teamwork that turned the 14th century castle rooms into the Puglia culinary centre - a centre of culinary excellence bound to continue making history.

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

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CICCIO SULTANO

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

PHOTO © TARANTINO

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CICCIO SULTANO

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

“I am a cook. I transform products into food using all five senses with an inclination for taste and touch. Tasting and touching creates and evolves first impressions. Then the mind comes into play, but not before there is a direct contact – a certain physicality – that reflects movement between sea and land, memories of home and travels abroad, high culture and popular culture, a monumental past and present, encompassing the heart and the mind, listening and reasoning, always with notable finesse. In loving an ingredient comes a desire to transmit feelings, because one who loves, loves out of respect. We aren’t afraid of change because our roots run deep” says Ciccio Sultano His kitchen and dishes are derived both from nature and from man. Products are selected with maniac care, from farmers and purveyors worthy of this name that he has discovered, sustained and encouraged, culminating in a trustworthy and knowledgeable network.

Just like a good wine that is made first in the vineyards, then in the cellar. For Ciccio, above all else, lie three primary ingredients: oil, wheat and salt. Without them he wouldn’t be Sicilian, and he wouldn’t be a chef. It is this trifecta that gives importance to the logo that represents him.

BACCALA ORANGE FENNEL

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CICCIO SULTANO

His restaurant has the aura and history of an old Sicilian house, ancient enough to be baroque and bourgeois. Found inside Palazzo La Rocca, the same walls that provided the set for the film Divorce Italian Style with Marcello Mastroianni.

When he finishes the discrete renovation that he has undertaken, it will be ever the more inviting: an architectural space, perfectly legible and modern, underscored by the light, by the colors of the walls, and by the rationality of the furnishings designed

by Fabrizio Foti. In this warm and welcoming space, he cooks and entertains alongside his wife “With her – thanks to her – the restaurant is the pulse of my life. Gabriella Cicero plays the key role of general manager, organizing and directing with a seemingly inherent knowledge of what is about to happen. Such wisdom could be defined as someone consciously in tune with the situation but in reality, having embraced this project of mine, it encompasses much, much more” adds Ciccio.

Having the fortune to bask in his name - one of international recognition and respect – the work of Copystudio became one of defending originality.

Nomen omen, as the Latins would have said: a name is a privilege, a name is a destiny. Thus was born the decision to combine three elements, three signs that together would singularly define Sultano’s personality. Wheat, oil, and salt. All of the rest resides in a fourth element, at once present and invisible: the wind.

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

SALA GIALLA-DUOMO

SALA BLU-DUOMO

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CICCIO SULTANO

SPAG BOTTARGA

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TIMBALLOGATTOPARDO

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

Leaving aside the easy seductions of exoticism, or worse, of folklore, and added another level of concreteness giving way to the brand’s emblem: the signature of Ciccio Sultano, nakedly handwritten, a stark sound of five syllables. All of which aligns in a calculated theory, a culmination both existential and professional, insinuated by a formula used by another great exponent of Italian cuisine: form is material, and material is form.

The power of Sultano’s cuisine unfailingly translates into knowledge and consciousness. Every day, we set out to create the extraordinary from the ordinary, from roots and seasons that in Sicily are like authentic gifts.

EX.IT catches up with Ciccio Sultano…

It’s interesting to learn how chefs find their passion for cooking and where they grew up, how you found your way into the culinary field…

My journey to discovering the kitchen began when I was between 16 and 17 years old. From Monday through Friday, I worked at a local pastry bar called “Sweet di Vittoria”, and Saturday and Sunday I apprenticed for free at a restaurant, dividing my time between the dining room and the kitchen where I took a liking to meat and fish on the grill.

A tried and true apprentice, asking explanations for every little detail. It’s true that one learns by watching, but even more so by asking questions.

In the meantime, I read everything published by the magazine Gran Gourmet on Vissani, Marchesi, Troisgros, and Bocuse… I was charmed and wideeyed like a kid in a candy shop.

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CICCIO SULTANO

You cook traditional cuisine of Sicily, the passion for Sicilian produce and a perfect culinary approach that blends tradition and innovation –how do you bring about this balance on a plate?

Taking the past and transforming it into the present. Imagining this transformation up until the point that you identify the recipes of the past with the same spiritual predisposition with which you listen to a fairy tale. In short, bringing them to life, assimilating them and then, of course, translating them into a personal and contemporary language.

Tradition is none other than yesterday’s innovation, in a process that is constantly repeated.

I have always compared the meeting between tradition and innovation to the way the land and the sea caress each other. The point at which they touch is the shoreline. To do something truly new, you have to know how to betray tradition while underlining it. As a chef, my job is to walk barefoot on the shore.

My kitchen goes beyond cultural and culinary common places and delivers innovation: future traditions. And it does so often starting with memories.

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RED MULLET

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

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CICCIO SULTANO

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TRIGLIA, LATTE DI MANDORLA E CHINOTTO PHOTO © MARCELLO BOCCHIERI

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

Your previous experiences which helped to form who you are as a chef today…

I would say that my identity as a chef has gradually been clarified through three crucial moments. The first was when I put together pasta, bottarga and raw carrot. This combination unleashed a souvenir of my childhood. Magically, I rediscovered in my mouth the taste of the white mulberries (“gelsi bianci”) that we ate as kids climbing on the trees. The combination of those three elements in some mystical way produced a certain floral aspect.

The second step had to do with the award of leading chef that was assigned to me by Gambero Rosso in 2002, two years after the opening of Duomo on Via Capitano Bocchieri in Ibla. That recognition for me was a discovery of what we had, and the potential to make something worth it.

The third revealing moment arrived two years later, in 2004, with the first Michelin star. I did not immediately understand what it meant. Then, it became clear to me that the prime objective was to defend the star. And, in doing so, we obtained a second one.

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CICCIO SULTANO

Your culinary philosophy, and take us through the process you go through to creating a new dish, the inspiration of your creations…

When I say Sicily, I don’t intend to partake in a parochial nor traditionalist discourse. Sicily is a central point for historical, geographical, and climatic reasons. It is difficult to think of it as “just an island” given the incredible cultural and culinary richness that places it above and beyond other places. We are, and history defends us, in a central position from which to depart and return. A fertile land when considering the possibilities of research that it offers. In honor of this realization, I’ve created a menu dedicated to Dominations. At the center of the Mediterranean, at the point of contact between Europe and the Southern hemisphere, between the West and the East, Sicily has been a capital of taste and ingredients for centuries. From the Phoenicians to the Byzantines, from the French to the Austrians, from the Neapolitans to the Piedmontese, they each took but also left us something more. We are many things, and from there comes originality and, in a sense, the inescapability of the point of view and experience of being Sicilian.

In inspiration, there exists no recipes, no instructions for use. I believe that chefs are divided between those who create and those who copy. Sometimes it depends on a meeting between friends, others by a reading, a trip, a taste or a smell. I start, however, from three real and symbolic ingredients: oil, salt, wheat. There are those who turn their own best dish into a signature, a “logo”. My logo is this trilogy of Aside from the philosophical part, I recognize my fundamental ingredients. role as a free thinker. My kitchen is a kitchen in movement, silent with accumulation of knowledge, In front of the project of a new dish, the process emotions and discoveries. I’m not one that follows revolves around principles of identity, belonging the currents, but swims in a sea of two horizons: and responsibility. It must be, therefore, first one is Sicily, and the other is the clientele who sits mine, then Sicilian, and finally respectful of the expectations of those sitting at the table. at my restaurant.

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

OSTRICA DI CAMPO

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CICCIO SULTANO

STUFFED LAMB

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PIGEON

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

Ingredients are inspiring you right, your favorite ingredients and ingredients that you weren’t able to master…

Right now, I’m thinking about mozzarella… to form a tuna. The selection of my ingredients takes place through a network of suppliers with whom I maintain personal relationships. People I trust, people who put their faces behind their work. It’s like an equation: I defend the dignity of the supplier who, in turn, defends the dignity of me as the chef and my clients through the passion and caliber of his work.

Bread, olive oil, lamb, fish and I’m crazy about vegetables. In the spring, I feel like I’m at my best as a chef, because in that moment in nature, love permeates.

I can’t stand cilantro. It reminds me of the unpleasant odors of chemicals.

Special cooking techniques or equipment you particular enjoy using…

My favorite piece of equipment in the kitchen is a knife. Four knives are enough for a chef: a small paring knife, a chef’s knife, one for filleting, and a large butchering knife.

Regarding technique, the important thing is to not become tyrannical, but to remain respectful of the ingredient. There are chefs who invent a dish just to put a certain procedure into practice: a form of intellectualism, nonsense, maybe fun but nothing more. That which matters most is to maintain the integrity of the ingredient. To do one thing for another is not for me.

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CICCIO SULTANO

Do you think that cuisine has changed?

It has changed because the guests have changed.

Today, those sitting at a restaurant are ready to take part in a journey that involves all senses. The cultural level has risen together with that of expectations.

The new way to feed is based on listening, on the music we play in every dish. It is a pact of honor and beauty; something really exciting.

What can guests expect from Ristorante Duomo?

FOCACCIA RAGUSANA

They can expect a show. Something out of the ordinary, engaging, thoughtful and exciting at the same time. This is our motivation to constantly improve. The recent renovation of my restaurant has preserved the original atmosphere that of a bourgeois interior in a baroque palace, enriched with shadows, the colors of the rooms, a sort of chromatic rêverie, immersion in a dreamy dimension. The lights, entrusted to the magician Davide Groppi, paradoxically manage to paint the shadows. But then there is the new kitchen, the service, our way of hospitality – warm and courteous – calibrating gestures and attention to detail, taking the guest by the hand without ever hurrying their experience.

I have always thanked those who enter my restaurant, for choosing us and for choosing Sicily as a destination.

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

TIMBALLO DEL GATTOPARDO

UOVO, PANE E MARSALA

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CICCIO SULTANO

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

Advice to the new generation of Italian chefs…

To remain Italian, we don’t need other models, nor to imitate other countries, other schools. We are the architects of our destiny and that of Italian cuisine. What is the point of falling in love with an exotic fashion, when every day we are blessed with true gold – a variety of products and extraordinary techniques, unique in the world?

Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, your advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time…

To study, to expand as much as possible on everything that has happened up until today.

Understand the history of cooking, of cuisine, of goals met and triumphant efforts; it’s the only way to eventually contribute oneself someday. And above all, it’s a way of avoiding gratuitous claims and announcing ridiculous revelations. As in all crafts, seriousness and preparation go hand in hand, without forgetting that years and experience count and always make the difference.

How would you define luxury?

First of all, luxury is something that should be worn with ease. I would rather speak of style or class.

Luxury is knowledge and must be shared. I am proud that my cellar has been recognized as world-class, where not only you can find the “best”, but also rarities like being chosen as a Krug ambassador. At the same time, I’m even happier that my restaurant can accommodate simple people who want to treat themselves to a true gift. You see, something like that really moves me.

DESSERT COUSCOUS

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GIANCARLO MORELLI

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

iancarlo always knew what he wanted to do when he grew up. After graduating from the hotel school in San Pellegrino Terme, he set out on his own personal and professional adventure, travelling to the US and to France to gain experience and to take his palate and his work in leading star-rated restaurants. With the benefit of this experience, he set sail across the Pacific Ocean as executive chef on the “Pacific Princess”.

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GIANCARLO MORELLI

In a short time he became a consultant for several Italian restaurant companies around the world, and in 1981 he embarked on his own entrepreneurial path, managing different eateries until 1993, when he opened the Pomiroeu in Seregno, in Milan.

Through the years, the results of his work has been recognized and he has received several accolades and awards. In 2010, he won the “Riso Gallo, Risotto dell’anno” risotto of the year prize, and stood on the winners’ podium at the “Sandwich Club Contest”. In the same year, Giancarlo was the only Italian representative at the “Perù Mucho Gusto”, food and wine festival, and participated in the “Chef’s Cup”, the event which promote the haute cuisine, sport and lifestyle.

His commitment, creativity and passion has helped his progressive innovation, Giancarlo shows what he really is, a pure person, with an extremely fine palate and sophisticated taste, a chef who never forgets his past and his origins, a generous man who stays faithful to his genuineness. A wellresearched technical cuisine, which conveys love for quality products and strictly follows the seasons, in the respect of mother nature.

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GIANCARLO MORELLI

It’s interesting to learn how chefs find their passion for cooking and where they grew up. Tell us how you found your way into the culinary field to become one of the most sought-after Chef!

The varied gastronomic offer follows the chef’s inspiration, ingredients have to be fresh, simple, and spontaneous. The ingredient of rice is considered as the food of his heart, “I believe that rice, with its basic elegance, is a precious raw material – a bit like a stunning rough stone that only reveals its true potential and value when it is skillfully crafted” adds Giancarlo. In 2011, he was at Alicante for the international event dedicated to rice, ‘Tunnel del Arroz”.

EX.IT catches up with Giancarlo Morelli…

Passion for cooking is like any other passion. But to me “passion” is not the right word: it’s a matter of vocation. Then, once you understood that cooking is going to be your profession, the path that makes you a better chef is founded on curiosity. The first skill you need is a good palate and will to learn.

Personally I can’t point a single moment in which I felt like cooking. I can remember, since I was a child, I always wanted to cook. At that time being a cook was not a widespread desire, back in the days this profession was not gratifying, not in the same way we think about it now, at least. I grew up in countryside with a lot of produces, and my mother did her best to cook different dishes every day. Probably the passion for cooking came from her, I inherited it. Probably because she pushed me to make casoncelli and spumiglie. To me it was a game that lasted until nowadays, sometimes easy, sometimes hard.

You cook a modern Italian cuisine, with a passion for Italian produces, a perfect culinary approach that blends tradition and innovation in harmony, how do you bring about this balance on a plate?

If one refers only to tradition he is simply an old chef. On the other side, if one delegates his work to innovation, he does not go far. No tricks: the way to get together tradition and innovation is gastronomical wisdom and produce knowledge.

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

RADICI E TUBERI COTTI NELLA TERRA DI SOTTOBOSCO, FINTO ZABAIONE DI CAPRINO PICCANTE

RISO SELEZIONE CARNAROLI DEL “PAVESE GRAN RISERVA” MANTECATO ALLA RICOTTA DI BUFALA LEGGERMENTE AFFUMICATA CON TARTARE DI GAMBERI ROSSI E TARTUFO NERO, COLATURA DI ALICI

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GIANCARLO MORELLI

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

Your previous experience which helped you are as a chef today…

I need to thank my first chefs, the ones who gave me the idea of respect and classical kitchen basis. The laws which help you to take the first step (rules that too often we forget nowadays). My fundamental experiences are the meeting with my teacher, and everyone that somehow inspires me. Not only the greatest of the world that I met where I worked in my youth, but every single man that gave me the awareness of this job.

Your culinary philosophy, and take us through the process you go through to creating a new dish…

First, I concentrate on the season I want to take inspiration from, then I focus on a smell or on a melody. I often think to a single fragment in my memory that reminds me a nice moment in my life, for example a travel. I create the title of the dish and while I’m writing the next steps come by themselves: I can smell the new creation, I can taste it, even more concretely. Something really new comes up when I begin remembering.

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GIANCARLO MORELLI

Ingredients that inspire you, your favorite ingredients and ingredients that you weren’t able to master…

Cauliflower, definitely. Because of its shape, its smell so unpleasant when it is cooked wrong and so good and fine when you can handle it in a proper way. It is an incredible vegetable: so changing.

I’m from Bergamo, so I’m totally bound to the yellow corn flour.

Mussels: they represent my personal limit. I’ve never cooked a single mussel, and I will never do it.

Special cooking techniques or equipment you particular enjoy using…

I love kitchen equipment, I love the copper casserole.

Techniques is like haute couture: it changes with season, but instruments are eternal.

Produce, Creativity or Technique…

Produce - without a great ingredient the creativity will never be enough. It’s a good produce that stimulates creativity.

When you opened your restaurant what was the feeling when you received your first awards; and what keeps you motivated at this point of your career?

Targets keep me motivated, in the same way as I have received the first awards. I’m totally grateful for honor and prizes but my personal thrust is the customer’s satisfaction. People keep coming in your restaurant and they keep having a good experience: that’s the best award I aspire to.

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

PETTO DI ANATRA GLASSATA AL MIELE E CARDAMOMO, PUREA DI CAROTA BIANCA, PAN PEPATO E SALSA AL PASSION FRUIT

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GIANCARLO MORELLI

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TARTE TATIN DI MELA, CREMA DI CANNELLA E GELATO AL CARAMELLO SALATO

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

Do you think that cuisine has changed?

A lot. If it had not change I would not be where I am now. If I could change myself I would have stopped years ago. If you look scrupulously you can recognize where my cuisine started but then it has been affected by the idea of respect for whom that produce, for clients, and mankind.

What can guests expect from your restaurant?

A total experience: a matter that goes beyond the simple good taste. My guests are the protagonists of the restaurant, they are the most important part of the dinner. I want them to feel like at home, because when you feel comfortable you are relaxed and you can act with naturalness, enjoying the atmosphere.

Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, your advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time…

“LA CILIEGIA” SERVITA CON BRODO DI ERBE AROMATICHE E GELATO ALL’ALLORO

Keep questioning yourself. Do not expect that others can perceive your work exactly as you conceived it.

Whether you reach the success or not, just work for yourself and for your personal contentment.

Be happy and do not wait that someone else says you are a good chef. You are always the first able to understand that what you are doing is worth.

Like in sport: everyone is able to reach a medium level but only who works hard obtain the success to emerge.

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CARLA PELLEGRINO

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

orn in Rio de Janeiro to a Portuguese father and a second-generation Italian mother. As early as age 10, Pellegrino was cooking daily for her family and helping run her mother’s catering business, which educated her in the preparation of traditional Brazilian, Italian and Portuguese cuisine. At age 16, chef moved to Liguria, Italy, where she owned a small store where her passion for cooking inspired her to conduct cooking demonstrations daily.

B CARLA PELLEGRINO

CULINARY GLAMOUR

In 1997, travels brought her to the United States, where she attended the French Culinary Institute in NYC and in 2000, graduated with honors. In May 2000, she and Frank Pellegrino Jr opened and successfully established Baldoria Restaurant on 8th Avenue and Broadway at the heart of NYC’s theater district. At the end of 2006, a dream became a reality and Carla led the culinary team as the executive chef to open Rao’s Las Vegas. She took 10 of the original recipes from the legendary East Harlem’s Italian restaurant, added her own traditional North Italian cuisine and built a high volume menu concept keeping in mind quality of ingredients and consistency and at the same time translating the family style operated by Rao’s family at its ten table restaurant since 1886.

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CARLA PELLEGRINO

Carla has been featured on Top Chef, Today Show, CBS Morning Show, Fox News National, Throwdown with Bobby Flay (which she won), Food & Wine, Bon AppĂŠtit and multiple other national and local news outlets.

VEAL OSSOBUCO (BRAISED VEAL SHANKS) IN MILANESE STYLE (SERVED WITH SAFFRON RISOTTO)

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With a proven track record of success with restaurants from New York City to Las Vegas, Carla is a vibrant star on the epicurean landscape of Las Vegas and beyond. Carla has been serving up her dazzling dishes at renowned restaurants for more than a decade, combining award-winning cuisine with a magnetic personality that has made her a favorite with food critics, restaurant patrons and the media alike. From high-end to high-volume, with traditional and progressive Italian cuisine and extensive experience in venues at high-profile Strip properties such as Caesars Palace and Tropicana, Carla is a versatile culinary talent. The following pages detail some of the experience, awards and accolades that Carla has earned throughout her career as an Executive Chef, Owner and Proprietor of high-end restaurants in New York and Las Vegas.

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

FILET CHATEAUBRIAND AND CARROTS PUREE, SERVED WITH HARISSA SAUCE

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CARLA PELLEGRINO

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CARLA’S SEAFOOD SALAD

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

EX.IT catches up with Carla Pellegrino…

It’s interesting to learn how Chef’s find their passion for cooking and where they grew up. How did you find your way into the culinary field...

I grew up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in a very low income household, my mother used to cater local birthday parties and such to help my father with the bills, however she was alone and every time she had a party to cater I was hers “sous-chef” skipping school those specific days in order to assist mom with her culinary duties, therefore, I grew up relating food with love and caring, since helping my mom in the kitchen was my labour of love, for that matter, I still to these days like to cook for friends, family or anyone I want to show love, respect or gratitude. Luckily when I came to the USA in 1997, I met my ex- husband, Frank Pellegrino Jr, and he was the first to see my gift as business and gave me the opportunity to turn my hobby into a career, it is after all a bless to able to work with what ones love to do.

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CARLA PELLEGRINO

Taking you back when you completed culinary school, you went on to open Baldoria Restaurant in New York, and then went on to open and run Rao’s in Las Vegas…

I went to FCI (French Culinary Institute) in NYC, graduated with honours and soon after finishing Culinary school in 2000, I partnered with Frank Pellegrino Jr, and I opened my first restaurant, Baldoria, a 200 seats standing alone venue, in the heart of the Theatres district in Manhattan, a pretty awesome achievement for a first culinary endeavour, we wore successful for great 10 years and on 2005 the great opportunity of opening a brunch of Rao’s at the Caesars Palace in Las Vegas came along and I moved to the West Coast in 2006 to make the dream happen.

Rao’s in Las Vegas was a great success from day one, a large venue of 338 seats, averaging 600 guest daily, it was a great challenge for a newly Chef here, I am very proud it worked out beautifully!

Your cuisine is influenced by traditional Brazilian, Italian and Portuguese cuisine, full of flavors, fresh with quality produce – complex and modest yet with an impeccable balance - how do you create this overall sense of balance on a plate?

My cooking style it is very traditional, I respect the basic and carry the old world into it, I still follow up and keep in mind tips and recipes from my favourite European food bibles such “Larousse Gastronomique”, “Il Cucchiao D’Argento” and “Il Talismano della Felicita”, I believe good food it is about fresh ingredients, great cooking techniques e simple seasoning; and that to me it is a great math to have a consistent honest and delicious food, food that will stay inside people emotional memories and create regular customers.

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

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CARLA PELLEGRINO

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

How would you describe your cuisine?

Pure European homemade comfort food.

Your greatest influences in the kitchen…

All the aromas of Italy, I moved to Italy I was fourteen years old, I lived in the country side of Liguria, where my uncle grew his own olives and grapes, we made our own olive oil and wine, and smells in that house are still vivid in senses, I feel in love with Italian food in that farm, and Italian aromas will always be my inspiration for food!

In your opinion, what is the best recipe you have ever created?

I always say that a chef don’t have a favourite dish or recipe as a mother doesn’t have a favourite child, it would be unfair. I love everything I cook and cook with my heart and let whom taste my dishes be the judges The process you go through to create a new dish…

Cooking it is all about your nose, I think a great dish starts in a chef’s nose, where we blend tastes with aromas and can almost taste the result of dish before we even start to cook it.

MEATBALLS

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CARLA PELLEGRINO

Ingredients that inspire you, your favourite ingredient and ingredients that you weren’t able to master…

Nothing new has jump my eyes or senses, I am very traditionalist in my cooking; I love Extra Virgin Olive and Rosemary.

Pick one favourite ingredient would mean to condemn every dish to taste the same or have the same flavour hint; it sounds selfish to me; every ingredient, as long well choose and fresh, has its importance in my kitchen Not that I remember, however, even if I have never tried, I don’t think I could cook with the so “trendy” one hundred year old egg…. I wouldn’t know what to do with it.

Special cooking techniques or equipment’s you particular enjoy using…

I have a “thing” for wooden spoons, I love them; and I love slow cooking, therefore I enjoy braising things.

Produce, Creativity or Technique…

Technique is definitely the most important, I think we have Too Much “creativity” on the culinary industry today’s day; to me too much creativity belongs to a painter maybe, when it comes to food it just translates into weird food and attempt to make money at any cost and dishes which makes nonsense.

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

STRIPPED BASS ALMONDIN (ALMOND ENCRUSTED) OVER FRESH TOMATOES COUSCOUS BROTH

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CARLA PELLEGRINO

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Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, your advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time…

My suggestion would be: Not to think at the chef’s position as glamorous, all this glamour to our work, it is a brand new thing, which was giving to us only to turn this industry more profitable and make the cooking channels richer. Being a chef it is a very tough work and we are really most of the times with our hands on, dirty chef jackets and 12 hours behind stoves, and that it is the reality of it, cooking it is a passion and most of the times financially speaking, it doesn’t pay as much as it should, so we must really love our officio first and maybe if your good enough, glamour eventually will come to you; but if you started already looking for the lime lights and cameras, you will never be a real Chef or understand real good food.

SFOGLIATINA DI CARAMELLO - ORANGE ZEST CHANTILLY, FRESH RASPBERRIES AND FRIZZY LIME

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ALFREDO RUSSO

Red mullet with eggplant and fresh mint by Alfredo Russo 90 - EX.IT May 2018

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

4 red mullet fillets, weighing 130-140g, boned and scaled 150g eggplant purÊe 150g eggplant cubes 150gr parmesan 2 cloves of garlic crushed 1 tsp Balsamic vinegar 1tbsp plain flour 3tbsp olive oil, plus some extra for frying the red mullet Salt and freshly ground black pepper Peel the eggplants and slice in thick slices, then bake at 160° C. for 12 mins (heat + steam) then keep regular cubes and blend the rest till a soft cream.

Season the red mullet fillets and lightly flour them, shaking off the excess flour.

Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a non-stick pan and fry the fillets, skinside down for 2 minutes on each side.

Divide the eggplants (cream and cubes) between four plates, pop two fillets on top of each mound and, using a teaspoon, drizzle the plate with parmesan.

Scatter the fresh mint over everything and eat immediately with some drops of balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

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PAULO AIRAUDO

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

THE ITALO-ARGENTINEAN IN THE HEART OF SAN SEBASTIÁN orn in Argentina to a family of Italian immigrants and, since Paulo was 18, he worked in several parts of the world Mexico, Peru and several European countries.

While in Europe, Paulo gained his experience at three Michelin starred in restaurants Arzak in San Sebastián, in London with three Michelin star restaurant at The Fat Duck and one Michelin star Magnolia in Italy. Together with Francesco Gasbarro he opened La Bottega – a forward thinking modern trattoria in the historic part of Geneva. Only four months later, in October 2015, the restaurant received its first Michelin star.

After 14 years of cooking and seeking culinary excellence all over the world, this nomad chef has finally found his home – even naming the ambitious endeavor after his 2-year-old daughter, Amelia, which means this time he’s here to stay, yes this time it’s personal.

B PAULO AIRAUDO PHOTO ©ALEX TEUSCHER

Paulo Airaudo creates his first solo restaurant in San Sebastián where his European adventure originally began. “My family loves San Sebastián.

I love San Sebastián. We’re happy here, and the main reason to build this restaurant. At the same time this magical town has the eye of chefs and foodies globally upon it, which in a way makes it possible for me to offer my food to the world” says Paulo.

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PAULO AIRAUDO

With impressive dedication, this Italo-Argentinean star Paulo Airaudo managed to transform an old timber shop into a full throttle two-story restaurant in the heart of Zona Romantica, the charming neighborhood of San Sebastián filled with fine Parisian style architecture.

The 50 seat restaurant, includes 14 seats inside an open kitchen and features an inventive cuisine born of Airaudo’s innovative global outlook, created largely with local products from the luscious and mountainous Basque area of Northern Spain.

This combination results in a fairly priced, everchanging 14 course tasting menu blending the knowledge and skills developed during the – up till now – nomadic chef’s extensive culinary endeavors through Spain, England, Scotland, Italy and Switzerland, and before this various countries in the Latin American region of the world.

Paulo Airaudo entering San Sebastián is viewed with equal wonder and surprise, as no expat chef has opened a restaurant of this caliber in the globally praised food destination for decades; one of the most Michelin-accolade areas in the world per capita, and filled with world-celebrated restaurants that draws global headlines; Mugaritz, Martin Berasategui, Arzak and Akellare, to name a few.

But, typical of the Basque warmth, the local community has welcomed Airaudo’s bold move as an interesting addition to the future culinary growth of the majestic town tucked into the lagoon shores of the Bay of Biscay.

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

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PAULO AIRAUDO

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ASADO DE TIRA

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

Your cuisine is a dining experience that is focused and inspired by your culinary translation of your experiences around the world - how do you bring about this balance on a plate?

My kitchen is in constant evolution; it’s a kitchen of adaptation that can be defined as “sensilla” but with much elaboration to detract. We take care of the product as it deserves it.

EX.IT catches up with Paulo Airaudo…

It’s interesting to learn how chefs find their passion for cooking, tell us how you found your way into the culinary field?

Since I grew up in a kitchen, eating, enjoying moments with my grandparents, I had the dream to travel and get to know the world. The only thing that allowed me to do this was being a cook that without speaking the new language or knowing the country, gave me the opportunity to work, learn and integrate. Over the years, food became my passion. I cook because I love to eat and I really enjoy the moments that it offers me.

Arzak, The Fat Duck and Magnolia… how did it help you as a chef today?

All the experiences of work, short or long, helped to form me. They all helped in a way that I today have a defined vision; in my business as in my philosophy of life and work. Having worked in great restaurants gave me an opportunity to meet wonderful people, listen to their life stories. This has surely enriched me.

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PAULO AIRAUDO

Your culinary philosophy…

My philosophy of work and cuisine is focused on the product in its quality and freshness. I always start with the product; the taste, the scent, if it reminds me of something. After this comes technic, thoughts of how to cook it, and then starts testing various ideas. How things can be transformed.

Ingredients inspire you, your favorite ingredients and ingredients you have not been able to master…

One is continually knowing ingredients and different ways of working them. I really like working with “poor” ingredients that you underestimate and make them shine; to show them in their maximum expression.

Grapefruit is one of my favorite ingredients as it brings me many memories.

I am fortunate to not having experience this yet, to leave an ingredient behind because I didn’t achieve what I was looking for. But I’m sure it’ll happen at some point.

Produce, Creativity or Technique…

Produce is by far the most important. Without an amazing product it’s impossible to create some beautiful.

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EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

62-HOUR SLOW COOKED PORK BELLY WITH HORSERADISH-MASHED POTATOES

WHITE ASPARAGUS WITH COD’S ROE AND MOZZARELLA

CRAB SALAD WITH PICKLED CUCUMBER AND AVOCADO MOUSSE

GRILLED LOMO BAJO AND GREEN ASPARAGUS WITH ASPARAGUS PURE

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PAULO AIRAUDO

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Your greatest influence in the kitchen?

Today it’s the freedom. The freedom of choice. I don’t have limits and use technics from around the world with the opportunity to choose what I’ve learned from traveling. To be able to introduce a particular flavor - even in the most subtle way, feels like magic to do.

What keeps you motivated at this point of your career?

It’s simple. I love my job; it’s my life and I enjoy every day and every moment. It also gives me the opportunity to discover, travel and learn. That’s is a big motivation for me…

Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, your advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time…

Be ready to make a choice. As a big man & chef once told me; “We exchange moments, we choose what to let go (family moments, friend’s moments, events, etc) to be in a kitchen”. It’s not easy, but it’s a necessary sacrifice.

CONFIT OF EGG YOLK WITH LARDO IBÉRICO AND BASQUE PEAS

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DAVIDE PALLUDA

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rowing up among spanners and conversations about cars and engines, the garage which overlooked the historical marketplace in Canale belonged to Davide’s grandfather, then passed on to his father and his two brothers. But his curiosity wasn’t so closely focused on carburetors and pistons as it was on stories of grape harvests, fabulous peaches, mysterious truffle hunts and distant markets. Words that he played at translating into aromas and flavours. These where the roots of his early training, passion - the love for creative crafts, cars, stories to listen to or explain, and business, however, his feet were firmly planted on the Roero hills and his eyes turned to dreams and to the world.

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After graduating from Catering School in Barolo, he gained professional experience in some of the prestigious kitchens in Italy and around the world; and in 1995, he jumped into the saddle of his first project to enhance the culture of the food and wine of the Roero, which had been overshadowed by those of the Langa hills. Davide and his sister Ivana opened “Ristorante All’Enoteca”, annexed to the Enoteca Regionale del Roero, in Canale. The Roero region rises to the left of the river Tanaro, and was for years the younger brother of the Langhe region.

Today it has grown and occupies a prominent place in the world of international food and wine.

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It is here in Canale and the Roero region that nurtured Davide’s dreams and ambitions as a chef. “I am fully aware and grateful for this, this is why I’ve done everything I can to give back: always working hard, as chef and promoter of the territory and it has regained its cultural identity.”

With Alba’s culture of Langa and Roero cuisine, Davide Palluda’s education and character oriented his professional training towards research and consistent innovation. Tradition and territory were the guiding light and compass of his activity, but they haven’t led him to form habits or become lazy and repetitive. The meticulous research for raw materials, experimentation of the latest techniques and technologies in the kitchen, the application of the principles of dietary science to his menus, together with an openness towards the major cooking schools, have enabled him to revisit and revitalize traditional Langa and Roero cuisine, in accordance with today’s needs and pace of life.

The result is food with an evident personality, varied, fresh, colorful and balanced, which has been acknowledged by the prestigious Michelin star since 2000. The same year he was elected the best young chef of the year by the Espresso Guide and in 2006, Davide opened the “DP” Laboratory with his wife Annalisa. Davide has been responsible for enhancing the value of Roero cuisine and is acknowledged as being one of the best Italian chefs.

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DAVIDE PALLUDA

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DAVIDE WITH HIS WIFE ANNALISA AND HIS CHILDREN - FRANCESCO, VITTORIA AND CECILIA

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

EX.IT catches up with Davide Palluda…

Your cuisine focused and inspired by your creativity with the finest produce, creating a composition of flavours which is complex and impeccable balance…

The search for balance is the most complicated task that a cook undertakes; I try to put everything I have learned, what I like to eat and what I know of my terroir into my dishes. I am not entangled in tradition; I use it to create without being tied down to it.

Your previous experiences which has helped you as a chef today...

The first restaurant I worked in was Il Giardino da Felicin in Monforte D’Alba, where I learned to respect tradition and raw materials. Then I went to work at restaurant Balzi Rossi in Ventimiglia, and then I went on to several other experiences in Spain, Germany and France.

Your culinary philosophy, and take us through the process you go through to creating a new dish…

The creation of a new dish can follow completely different paths, some more dogmatic, linked to memory, to the season, or to the enhancement of a specific ingredient. Others are more the result of intuition and why not a pinch of luck. The important thing is that chefs never stop tasting new products and keep their minds and palates trained, nourishing their souls as they see fit.

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Ingredients that inspire you and your favourite ingredients…

Working against the current where new trends turn to vegetables, I love cooking meat. Veal, beef, ox, farmyard animals and game are always on my menu. It is precisely on the maturation and dryageing of meat that I have recently been focusing on to obtain the maximum in terms of tenderness and taste.

Special cooking techniques or equipment you particular enjoy using…

I have a lot of technological supporting tools available in the kitchen, but I use them less and less. I am moving back to the original ways of cooking and recently rediscovered the microwave for some specific preparations.

Produce, Creativity or Technique…

Creativity and skill go hand in hand, but I prefer a technical and precise cuisine rather than stylistic exercises with volatile results.

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DAVIDE PALLUDA

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“I think that Italian cuisine in the world is living a fantastic moment, many young talents from every region are brilliantly representing our cuisine. We are setting standards in so many ways: from the point of view of love and respect for the product, attention to food and wine combinations and above all human warmth”

Your greatest influence in the kitchen and what motivates you?

It is a beautiful feeling that I lived with the right amount of distance, I achieved so many goals right from the start and then I didn’t pay I continued to work to grow.

Apart from paying the mortgages, the desire to improve myself in order to raise the bar every day to achieve the goals that I set myself. A cook lives and works to provide emotions.

Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, your advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time…

To young people, who are today increasingly skilled and prepared “Have dreams and turn them into reality”, you need to manage the different steps in a career and set realistic goals, not utopias.

If at 30 you don’t yet have a Michelin star, it’s all very normal and you haven’t failed anything yet. 10 percent talent and all the rest hard work this is my motto from the start.

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DONATO DE SANTIS

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t was more of a necessity than passion as Donato did not find the true meaning of becoming a chef, it was rather a good excuse to step out of his neighborhood which was a dangerous place for a 13 year old boy as growing up in the outskirt of Milan in the late 70’s and having the opportunity to travel was a huge achievement. The cooking school in Milan turned out to be his ticket to the world. Being lucky to live as an apprentice cook at the Antica Osteria del Teatro in Piacenza was a tremendous experience. With strict supervision of maître/owner Franco ilari and chef/partner Georges Cogny, Donato entered the “true” world of high class cuisine working 12-14 hours a day in a hot a steamy kitchen.

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DONATO DE SANTIS

The experience at Piacenza gave him his international exposure, as a young chef, he was blessed to be noticed as a fresh new talent and eventually elected as the best young chef of Italy in 1984 and subsequently the second best young chef in the world by the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs in Luxembourg. Needless to say, the phone never stopped ringing with jobs proposals from everywhere. The most attractive one came from California, he was only 20. Life changed forever and only a few years after, he began to realize his talent as recognitions came in a constant wave and it was only then, he realized that he could do this for a living and he did it.

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EX.IT catches up with Donato De Santis…

Your modern Italian cuisine is a perfect blend of tradition and innovation…

When you mix experience, passion, tradition and honesty, is quiet easy to translate that to a pleasant balance of flavours on a plate. Even though not all “experiments” come out as a winner, the intent is always rewarded by a second try. Perseverance is key in the process and of course a devoted team Tell us about your experience which helped you as a chef today…

I began working in kitchens at a very young age.

Different countries, different languages, different cultures but always cooking pure Italian cuisine.

This type of experience tempered out my character as a chef and as a person at the same time. Being a chef is a way of living among us who loves cooking; the slang, the codes, the search. Every Place in which I was in command has given me the opportunity to strengthen my skills and learn from everyone who was there at the time. I cooked in diverse circumstances such as ugly steamy kitchen, yachts, villas, hotels, airplanes, basements, private residences, beaches, into the woods…I even cooked with no fire at all!!! This cocktail of adventure and challenge made me the chef I am today.

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SPAGHETTI FRUTO DI MARE

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DONATO DE SANTIS

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AGNOLOTI CON IL PLIN

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

Your culinary philosophy, and take us through the process you go through to creating a dish…

A decent chef would always let his/hers creations speak for itself. Brillat Savarin went on extensively on describing “the philosophy of taste” but that is for whoever sits at the table. I try to discover as much as I can, deep into my own culinary culture and I find it harder each day to reach the bottom of it. My philosophy could be described rather like a Mission. I must add the thrill of the challenge; that I really like. The challenge to elaborate an unknown, never performed dish (by me) and see what happens: that´s awesome. I enjoy blending the flavours rapidly into a palette in my mind, searching among the flavours I am familiar with and the ones less explored and come up with combinations that makes me salivate even before I grab a knife or a sauté pan. Usually your last dish is always the best one…it has the essence of all you have done so far.

Ingredients that inspire you and your favorite ingredients…

First of all I try not to use kale as much (joke) but sincerely speaking I have an obsession with wheat, good wheat, wheat with Name, last name, passport number and everything that would tell me where it came from!

On another scale I swim relatively easy with fish and seafood; I find it very challenging and unpredictable all the time. I like discovering variety of fish or shellfish or seafood and learn “what” to do with them. If I must select a favorite ingredient that would be Olive oil.

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DONATO DE SANTIS

Special cooking techniques or equipment you particular enjoy using…

Recently I fell back in love with cooking with fire, real fire, and wood fire. Wood burning oven or open wood burning metal tools. Trying to control a wild fire and its temperatures is really exciting and brings out the savage part of a chef. It truly gives me the goose bumps of a first date when I allow myself to cook like that. Cast iron, clay pots, salt blocks…I feel like a man, I feel like a cook, I feel like a human being.

Produce, Creativity or Technique…

Magically the order in which the question was formulated is the same order of priority I would give when it comes to choose. Needless to say the trio needs to coexist in order to accomplish the best results

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DONATO DE SANTIS

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DESCARGA TUS ARCHIVOS

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

When you opened your restaurant what was the feeling when you received your first awards; and what keeps you motivated at this point of your career?

Awards are hard to interpret and to catalogue.

Nevertheless they are a boost of ego for the all staff in general. In time, I learned to scan carefully critic’s opinions and to filter the overall sense of the award in order to do a proper use of the recognition. True recognition and motivation comes from the cooks that follow your steps, learn and eventually do your dishes even better than you would do.

Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time and to the new generation Italian chefs…

This job, this profession, this way of life is a complete jungle. Anyone who adventures here for the first time, has to find the way in and out every single day. The minute you want to turn around, the jungle closes up behind you because it grows ever so fast; it´s a constant growing industry. Stay put, stay strong, and stay true.

Italian chefs of this new generation should search inside their own country. They will find many unknown skills and traditions, treasures of the humanity….

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FABIO DATTERONI

FABIO DATTERONI CASTELLO DEL NERO

icture-perfect landscapes with olive groves and vineyards provide a memorable backdrop for this 12th-century castle, located in the celebrated Chianti wine region. The former home of an Italian nobleman, the Castello del Nero. Whimsical details include restored original frescoes, vaulted ceilings, ‘cotto’ floors and a gorgeous collection of antique furniture.

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EX.IT catches up with Tuscany born Fabio Datteroni who was named the 2017 General Manager of the Year in Luxury Travel Advisor’s Awards of Excellence…

What can guests expect from your room and suite offerings?

Our room and suite offering reflects what we are, an authentic Tuscan experience as most of our rooms do have wooden beams and terracotta floors, some of the suite do also feature original frescoes from the 16th-18th century. Attention to details, gorgeous views of the Tuscan countryside, a lot of natural light, large bathrooms with either walk in shower and bath tub or built in showers.

Nicely appointed, contemporary and fresh style, each room and suite is different from each other in terms of colors, shape, form, location, each one is a unique experience in itself.

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FABIO DATTERONI

DELUXE SUITE

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DELUXE SUITE

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

Clients’ needs have changed as a consequence of the increasing use modern technology and the search for tailor-made experiences. What do clients expect when booking your hotel?

We have been working in the past 6 years in order to make our hotel a destination into the destination itself. Booking a stay with us is a return of the investment made as our caring attitude of our guests needs is our top priority. We are people who love looking after other people and make sure they are very happy as this is the best reward we can expect, a smile and a thank you from those recipients of our service and quality delivering. At our hotel we offer so many on site and off site experiences, from pasta making cooking class with our Michelin star chef to hot air ballooning, from driving a vintage Fiat 500 to experiencing a ride through the gentle rolling hills of Tuscany, discovering that the best experience is to simply enjoy the property itself, the dolce vita of doing nothing allowing our staff to pamper our guests, de-connecting from the daily routing and re-connecting with themselves.

DELUXE SUITE - LIVING ROOM

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FABIO DATTERONI

ANTIPASTRO

use it for bread and pasta making, we selected the best of the local producers to both support the local economy and to have the best of the most fresh food, to be sustainable in every way possible.

The success of our project allowed us to reach the First Michelin Star in 18 months later, the hotel guests demanded us more food experiences so that we had to open a second restaurant more based on the Tuscan cuisine, another great success.

More than ever before, cuisine expresses itself in hotel restaurants. What kind of experience do you offer? What adjectives would you choose to describe your cuisine?

We have since ever a strong beliefs that most of the best food & beverage experiences are now available in hotel restaurants.

Today we offer a Tuscan Lounge food experience open from 12noon to 10 pm where a dinner menu is offered starting from 6pm at the Tuscan La Taverna, at the same time we also offer the Gourmet candle light experience at our La Torre Michelin Star, lots of choices for our guests that do not want to explore the area that much as they find in house all the best pairing their food choices from a wine list that counts 1200+ different labels, having a drink and aperitivo at The Bar where our excellent Bar tender will mix the spirits creating hand crafted cocktails accompanied by tasty bites. In the summer our F&B offering also provide an ‘under the sun umbrella’ dedicated menu so that our Guest can also have lunch or a snack relaxed on the sun chair.

In 2012 we started a new project for the F&B offering at our hotel, we wanted to create an experience more and more on the farm to fork model, we have developed an organic vegetables and aromatic herbs garden, we make our own wine with our estate grown grapes, we make a superb extra virgin olive from our olives groves, we just started to have our bee hives to produce the best Our cuisine is Italian Contemporary and Local honey, we planted ancient grains to make flour and typical from the Tuscan area.

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CAPPELLETTO

DESSERT

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FABIO DATTERONI

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What are your thoughts about Italian cuisine around the world?

For so long the Italian cuisine abroad Italy has been adapted to the taste of the people living in the country where is was offered, in most of the case because a lack of the same quality same origin of the ingredients, it really still makes me smiling when finding in a menu the spaghetti meatballs, the Bolognese ragout or the fettuccini (we write it with an E at the end and not with an I) Alfredo or the pasta with a Marinara sauce, pretending to selling the Italian sounding and making the dish a real once. This creates the idea that when in Italy and ordering these dishes can make the clients ordering the most typical food experience while instead we do not have this the same way as it is abroad.

During the last years the general culture of the nowadays travellers and united the borders making the people more acknowledgeable about food allowing the chefs to not interpreted a dish but instead to cook it the original way, also in terms of high quality Italian ingredients that are now much more easy to be supplied directly form the Italian producers.

Step by step the Italian cuisine around the world is slowing moving towards the respect of the tradition while there is still a lot of food offered as Italian or Tuscan just by adding an Italian noun. A few weeks ago in an American highway I have seen a big truck advertising for the best Tuscan vegetables soup! This says it all.

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FABIO DATTERONI

What solutions do you propose to the clients who long for spiritual and physical well-being?

We are a holistic Spa, we offer high quality treatments for the best well-being possible. We have signature treatments offered with our extra virgin olive oil (estate produced) with an infusion of sun dried lavender seeds (also grown on our estate) to offer both a gentle scrub and a perfect nourishing of the skin. In partnership with ESPA we launched a special package to promote a good sleep, the Re-Connect package that has been so successful so far. It includes treatments, selected food & beverage to enhance the sleep, and lots of other pampering attentions.

We also offer yoga class and the best spiritual opportunity: relaxing watching the gentle Tuscan rolling hills, the olives groves, the vineyards, the cypress trees lines, the sunflowers with a good book, a good glass of red wine produced on our estate, leaving behind the cell phone to de-connect and to re-connect with ourselves.

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THE BAR

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LA TORRE

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

To have a high attention to details, walking the property every single day several times during the day.

To have a very good F&B culture in order to raise the bar of the quality offered.

To be a visionary but also to be able to understand the finance and the cash flow, to promote the investments needed to support and to better the business life of the property, to measure the customer and the staff satisfaction, supporting the operation, taking all the responsibilities and sharing the success.

From my predecessors I have learnt that having a family and taking very good care of them is more important than the career which needs to be taken very good care as well, being a happy father and a happy husband helps in a great way to be an happy GM and to be hungry every single way to create new experiences to be delivered to the hotel Guests.

You belong to a new generation of General Managers, what makes a successful GM today? Do you need to be more of a generalist? What have you learnt from your predecessors and what have I have innovated and elevated the Guest experience at Castello del Nero first of all empowering my you innovated? team, to make each one feeling part of the whole What make a GM successful today is to be 120% picture, each one to be responsible of the success, part of the picture, you have to be present in every each one to feel good and to reflect this feeling into aspect of the business you run, speak to the Guests the Guests in a very genuine and caring attitude, and listen to them, speak to all of your Team attention to details, to the best quality possible, the members and listen to them. A GM nowadays best service possible, attentive but not intrusive, has to have the ability to be the best PR and Sales people for the people, people with the people. person, travelling the world and attending the industry events and again listening and watching I do not like to make fireworks as they are yes and trying to bring back home something new to beautiful but they do not last, I’d rather prefer to be implemented in your hotel do make the service slowly make a star that once carved and proved will remain in the sky forever. and the quality delivered the best as possible.

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MARCO MEDAGLIA

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ith a strong bond for the culinary arts, Marco follows his passion for food and this has led him to explore flavours of the world. He delivers authentic Italian cuisine using only the finest ingredients of the season.

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EX.IT speaks with Marco Medaglia Chefs find their passion for cooking – tell us how you found your way into the culinary field…

Actually in my case it was more of a natural development, my grandmother was a chef in one of more important restaurants in our home town and I spent many times in the kitchen during my child hood. It was more of a natural development become a chef, something like family business.

MARCO MEDAGLIA

Your cuisine is focused and inspired by a combination of fresh and quality ingredients, creative with the finest produce, creating a composition of flavours…

I love ingredients that inspire me, having worked for several years in different kitchens I automatically develop the technique that was applicable in different ways. With good fresh ingredients I use my techniques to develop a creative plate and of course the taste is something you born it, and is all about the feeling.

Your culinary philosophy…

I love to consider myself as a modern/contemporary chef with strong influences of Italian ingredients and culture – this is the base of what I am. Based on freshness of ingredients and sophistication of technique, the respect of ingredients.

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MARCO MEDAGLIA

You perfected your culinary skills working at several prestigious kitchens around the world – how has it helped you as a chef today?

I have lived in 12 countries and 22 different cities till date. I can say that all of them gave me something, in terms of technique and taste. Great experiences for ingredients, and the teams you work with. But definitively the time you develop, the experience and what you want to be later on. The experience in Italy in various Michelin star restaurants to restaurants under the home have an important part of what I am today.

The kitchen job is marvellous, as you never stop to learn, and if you humble enough to catch the song, you will learn from everyone and every kitchen give you a baggage to bring on, I am surprised every day by passionate kids or moms that create great things, just keep on and watch what happens around you.

As Executive Chef and with responsibilities of overseeing and co-ordinating the restaurants and staff, how do you ensure the highest quality is constantly?

Since working with Asians, I give them more responsibilities and make them understand what important role they play, it’s more mental coaching, of course to oversee the standard operation teach them the base and techniques is the minimum standard.

Produce, Creativity or Technique‌ Creativity definitively, cause the other are consequences, if you are curios and wish to explore technique is the immediately a consequence, produce is probably the terming less exiting on my point of view.

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MARCO MEDAGLIA

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Ingredient obsessions… It all depends on the season, mood of time but definitively a menu without Artichoke, Fresh Seabass, Glacier 51.

(Toothfish or Cod), Truffle, Wagyu, Burrata, Pasta of course it would be difficult for me to imagine.

Living in Indonesia, it’s quite complicated for imported ingredients and I push myself to explore local resources like Lemongrass, Sweet Potato, Mango, Soya, Ginger, Turmeric, Curcuma, Lime.

Special cooking techniques or equipment you particular enjoy using…

I love it slow cooking, comfit, but definitively not obsessed with any technique in particular. Just love explore new things.

What keeps you motivated?

The fact that tomorrow can always be better, if I can’t see progress, I will definitively turn of the light Your favorite comfort food and what does Marco Medaglia do when he needs a break?

I love Japanese, Chinese food, and in my off time, always have time for a good Sushi or Dim Sum. It is 12 years that I have been living in Asia and I consider it as a part of my culture now. During my off time, its dedicate to my 2 beautiful daughters, I spend time with them and I am blessed, it fills my space and allows me and relax my mind. It all about family time…

Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, your advice to chefs entering the kitchen for the first time…

Leave the glamour to the fashion show and put all the passion they have in what they doing, the kitchen is hard job, only a big passion gives great result…

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GIOVANNI ASSANTE

GIOVANNI ASSANTE GERARDO DI NOLA

he pasta factory Gerardo di Nola was born in 1870 in Gragnano. In the 30s it moved its headquarters in Castellammare di Stabia, remaining its production site until 1995. Pasta has always represented a fundamental element on the Italian tables, a fusion of great quality, prestige and attention to all the national and international changes of the food industry.

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Today the pasta factory has moved to Gragnano with the aim to continue the journey, giving even more luster to the artisan pasta and this historical company, which over time evolved into a right mix of past, present and future.

The production of pasta in Gragnano has remote origins, which refer to Roman times, but it is only at the end of the Sixteenth century that the first family owned pasta factories appears. In the midnineteenth century, Gragnano becomes the City of Macaroni thanks to the intervention of Ferdinand II of Bourbon who grants to the Gragnano’s manufacturers the privilege of providing the court with all the long pasta.

The wind, the sun and the right humidity level, together with the experience of secular pasta maker masters, make the city an ideal place for the production of durum wheat pasta.

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TRAFILATURA

The pasta Gerardo di Nola is only made with bronze dies that shape the dough through keyholes. This provides a rough dough at the right point, porous enough with a lively and full-bodied texture, perfect to receive and enhance the sauce and seasonings.

The bronze die pasta, also differs from the other pasta for coloring matt and rough.

The pasta is made exclusively with Italian durum wheat semolina, provided by selected partners. The flour is obtained by grinding the wheat and it gives to the pasta an amber color and protein elements that are transformed into gluten in processing as a result of hydration.

Gluten is the backbone of the pasta, in fact it determines the elasticity in cooking, a pleasant smell and a slightly salty taste.

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It is one of the most important steps of the production, in fact we chose a method of slow drying, from 15 hours to 24 hours depending on the cuts and a low temperature which preserves the organoleptic and fragrance grain noticeable on the palate.

The short pasta is dried on wooden frames, while the long one is arranged on rods and then on bogies, both in static cells, then it is left to rest for the necessary time before being ready for packaging.

The packaging, strictly manual, gives elegance, essentiality and precision to each packet and allows us to follow perfectly every stage of the production.

Even if the factory process is semi-automatic, the respect for the tradition and the love and passion for the pasta grant a high standard level of packaging.

Gerardo di Nola, historical pasta factory of

MEZZI PACCHERI CON FRUTTI DI MARE

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

PENNONI IN FASE DI CONFEZIONAMENTO

and technical improvements, with the opening of new machinery ambiences and a new economic vision of the international market, but always focused on the peculiar tradition of the factory.

The factory philosophy is to cut and improve the process, betting on the primary materials, realizing Their products are distributed all over the world, an artisan pasta of highest quality standards. The in gourmet markets and boutique shops and used added value is given by the human factor, a team by international chefs such as Massimo Bottura, with great passion and dedication led by this family.

Tonino Cannavacciuolo and Nino di Costanzo.

Giovanni Assante adds “the artisan pasta is the Today the pasta factory aims to the quality, passion, sentiment of those who produce it, is its soul, its culture and tradition. Giovanni Assante’s idea culture, its sensitivity to beauty and good, is the (president of the pasta factory) is to giving back musicality of water, earth, fire and air. He is not a the right value to the traditional pasta. This project son of art, rather an intellectual of the earth.”. was born years ago by Giovanni Assante, and has grown with his wife Ada’s support and it is extended All this is Gerardo di Nola, Maccheroni Napoletani, to a new generation. There has been commercial luxury quality.

Gragnano, launched a little store online, offering its products to all the lovers of simplicity and gourmet.

Beyond the traditional shapes, from the Spaghetto to the Pacchero, fancy and fine treasures to season your dish.

PACCHERI PEPERONCINI VERDI E VOLGOLE

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ALLEGRINI

ALLEGRINI The Allegrini family has played a leading role in the history of Fumane and of Valpolicella since the 16th century and has passed on the culture of wine-making from generation to generation.

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SILVIA, MARILISA, FRANCO ALLEGRINI

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ALLEGRINI

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PALAZZO DELLA TORRE

EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO RUSSO

The Allegrini Company may be considered the result of the intelligence and hard work of Giovanni Allegrini, who was a straight forward, instinctive man who built an agricultural concern that was solid, efficient and innovative.

He started working at a very young age and perfected the art of winemaking with great skill and an all-encompassing passion. He was given the evocative nickname because in the cellar he would proudly invite guests to taste his wine, and whilst listening to comments and opinions, spring like a spider from one precious barrel to another.

The life-style, history and culture of Giovanni still represent, today, the key to understanding the philosophy and reasons behind the success of Allegrini. After the premature death of Giovanni in1983, his three offspring took over the company and have run it ever since with impassioned enthusiasm and ever-increasing skill and competence.

Love for the land has been the driving force behind the Allegrini family’s commitment to enhancing the potential of Valpolicella and its viticultural traditions. The far-sighted choices made by the company have made it one of the leading wine companies in Italy, and thus the new generation of wine-makers in Valpolicella looks to Allegrini wines as an indisputable benchmark.

Franco learnt from his father how to ‘inter-connect’ with wine and over time he has shown an intrinsic flair for this delicate and extremely important core aspect of the company’s activities. Thanks to his enthusiasm and the fine-tuning of his experience over the years, today he is considered one of the finest winemakers in Italy.

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The innovations introduced by Franco can be summarized in three main points: Gradual introduction of barriques used in tandem with traditional Slavonian oak barrels and, at the same time, a reduction in the ageing period so as to preserve the intrinsic flavor and aroma of the fruit. Revision of the consolidated technique of Ripasso: substitution of the pomace with a percentage of grapes dried using the appassimento method, so as to trigger a ‘second fermentation’ and confer a singular complexity to the wine as well as an elegant and well-balanced profile. A substantial modification to the appassimento method was achieved via the concept and creation of “Terre di Fumane”, a veritable ‘jewel in the crown’ of Valpolicella wine-making. Thanks to the ideas of Franco – supported by technical and scientific research – ideal conditions have been created for the drying and preservation of the grapes used to make Amarone and Recioto, thus guaranteeing high qualitative standards.

After having explored ways of improving the local vinification techniques, Franco and his brother Walter also gradually introduced important innovations into the vineyards: they carried out wide-ranging experiments with the Corvina grape, which is the dominant variety in Valpolicella and one of the most interesting Italian autochthonous grapes. Its merits may be appreciated in La Poja, the company’s ‘cult’ wine made with 100% Corvina. Over time, the vine-training in the Family’s vineyards – the Trentino pergola (trellis) system, traditionally used in Valpolicella – was substituted by other systems to increase plant density. Finally, a densely planted vineyard was created using the international varietals Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah in the flatlands of Villa Giona.

Marilisa has been responsible for marketing since 1980: guided by an instinctive passion for wine, she promotes Allegrini wines and the Valpolicella area throughout the world.

When she presents a wine, she tells the story of its history, where it comes from, how it pairs with food, the labors of those who work in the vineyards and the efforts made to unite tradition and innovation.

Marilisa also cast her eye further afield to other areas of Italy renowned for their viticultural excellence and set out on a fascinating ‘adventure’ in Tuscany: in 2001, with her brother Walter, she founded Poggio al Tesoro in Bolgheri and in 2006, in partnership with Leonardo Lo Cascio, she purchased San Polo, a beautiful Estate in Montalcino.

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VILLA CAVARENA

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TERRA MORETTI VINO Three regions, six wineries, six different ways of enjoying the beauty of Italy. Terra Moretti has always worked to protect and valorize the areas where the best grapes are grown. In the name of the parent company, the mission remains the same: it has always been the soil is a natural resource to be protected, valorized and handed down to future generations. If this commitment is undertaken by an Italian family, the challenge is even more arduous and the engagement is that of those who feel that their fate and that of future generations are one and the same.

For the Moretti family, finding new lands is the first and most fascinating adventure. In this search the key factors are history, the men who made it, the geological eras, microclimates and every natural singularity. But what counts the most is man himself, and his ability to create something unique, the need to leave a sign of his passing.

In Franciacorta, Bellavista and Contadi Castaldi, in Tuscany Petra, Tenuta La Badiola and Teruzzi, in Sardinia Sella & Mosca. More than a list of wineries, a family of companies that share the same values. Founded by Vittorio Moretti, today the group is led by Francesca Moretti, who has instituted a process of “greening� of all the estates, with integrated strategies of natural protection and innovative practices in the area of environmental sustainability.

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“A family, a terroir, an intuition that became history”

The history of the Moretti family is intertwined with that of Erbusco and the Franciacorta area, as some 15th century correspondence testifies. In 1977, Vittorio Moretti decided to devote himself to the world of wine. He started a winery and built a home in the hamlet of Bellavista, after buying small plots of land from 30 different owners. A beautiful spot, as the name – Bella-vista, lovely view – suggests, and one that has also proven to be especially well suited for growing grapes.

The first year, only a handful of still wines were produced; the second year, a few bottles of Metodo Classico saw the light, but only for dinners with friends; by year three, production was well on its way, although with modest volumes. The Bellavista star started to shine brighter and brighter: there followed the first journeys to Champagne, a definition of a personal taste and the setting up of a wine cellar which was soon to become a model, and one of the leading names in sparkling wines domestically and internationally.

Nowadays, the Bellavista brand stands for elegance and refinement. Each bottle tells the story of the winery, of the land where it is situated and of the style that characterizes it.

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“Walking in the vineyards and discovering a unique place with an original personality”

Bellavista is the name of the hill where the winery is located. From here, the viewer’s gaze takes in Lake Iseo, the Po Valley and the nearby Alps. The penultimate glaciation created an amphithe- ater ringed by morainic hills, stretching from the Alpine foothills of Lombardy to the shores of Lake Iseo and Mount Orfano: a stronghold that shields the area against the fog that creeps up from the PO Valley. An oasis of sunlight, water and energy that makes the expression of local viticulture uni- que, with a Mediterranean-Subalpine climate, mild and well-ventilated.

The vineyards were purchased one parcel at a time, and came to close to 200 hectares over time. An incredible mosaic of over 100 plots in 10 municipalities, in order to speci cally tailor each wine drawing on the multiple geological and climatic variations they have to offer. Across the estate, there are as many as 64 different types of soil, representng all 6 vineyard terrains of Franciacorta. A true wealth of biodiversity.

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“The Bellavista style is shaped by nesse, balance and elegance“

Respect for tradition and a farsighted attitude.

Bellavista’s philosophy is a mix of meticulous precision, simplicity, and an obsessive quest for all that is beautiful and good. Attention to detail is fundamental; every action, even the most minute, is treated as crucial.

Nature and man work hand in hand, in the vineyards and in the wine cellar. Grapes are handpicked, while the use of traditional presses ensures soft grape pressing and an accurate separation of the free-run juice. In spring, when the cuvées are blended, Bellavista can count on an extraordinary selection of some one hundred base wines, some of which have been fermented in small oak barrels.

This is when the alchemy is created, the decisive moment before the long wait in the bottle, which ends with manual riddling cycles.

Excellence is a goal to be pursued daily, striving to fully express the finesse, balance and elegance that define the Bellavista style.

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WG MAGAZINE JANUARY 2017

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