EX.IT - Extraordinary Italian March 2018 Issue

ExtraordinarY MARCHITALIAN 2018

Angelo Sabatelli

A Culinary Master

mattia pastori

A Classic Bartender

MASSIMO BOTTURA

Modern Italian Gastronomy www.extraordinaryitalian.com

pino Cuttaia

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It is a real honor to open the first number of EX.IT Extraordinary Italian by Chef Alfredo Russo, a magazine that aims to promote the best of Italian Culinary Experiences and Lifestyle from around the world.

The world of Italian cuisine outside Italy is constantly growing and our main struggle is to raise the awareness and educate people to recognize the real Made in Italy. Our Extraordinary Chefs are the best Ambassadors of our original, traceable, and certified products.

Italian Cuisine is not just combining the amazing ingredients and flavors of our soil, air and water, but is inspiring an whole system of values and a healthy lifestyle, what we call “Vivere all’Italiana”. Each and every dish is a travel in our beautiful country, discovering our history and tradition.

Buon appetito!

Valentina Setta Consul General of Italy in Dubai

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ANDONI LUIS ADURIZ

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Michael Wilson

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Good taste isn’t expensive

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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.

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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, - EX.IT March 2018 Sydney, Australia

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Avani and Bala #VisitSpain #Andalusia #Sevilla #Giralda #Architecture #BeautifulView

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“IN OUR CITIES, WHEN YOU LEAVE ONE EMBLEMATIC SPOT, YOU ENTER ANOTHER. YOU WILL SOON DISCOVER THAT ALL OF THEM ARE PART OF YOU”.

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MARCH 2018

Editor

Fabian deCastro Alfredo Russo

Feature Editor Contributors

Maria Lourdes Laura Pedrazzoli Elisabete Ferreira Michael Hepworth

Photography

Victoria Shashirin Majella O’Connell

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 P.O.Box 333581, Dubai, U.A.E. ©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.

Cover Image Credit: Giuseppe Iannotti Krèsios

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Extraordinary Italian... It’s all Italian from Italy and from around the world, promoting the best of Italian Culinary Experiences and Lifestyles.

WG Magazine and IZZY Publishing is extremely excited about this partnership with Michelin Star Chef Alfredo Russo. This collaboration is the melding of those with a passion for the finer things in life - a desire to live within the greatest expression of gourmet cuisine. This is truly a recipe for a spectacular time!

Like to thank Valentina Setta, Consul General of Italy in Dubai for the foreword.

FdeCastro

ExtraordinarY ITALIAN

EX.IT ExtraordinarY ITALIAN

WELCOME TO EX.IT - EXTRAORDINAY ITALIAN It is my honor and pleasure to invite you to my first issue of EX.IT which defines the best of Extraordinary Italian’s in Italy and all around the world.

Our first stop is Modena with Italy’s leading culinary figure Massimo Bottura and then catch up with Angelo Sabatelli with his traditional cuisine of Puglia. It’s all about reinventing memories for Pino Cuttaia and his love for Sicily. While still in Italy, we meet up Italy’s leading female chef Luisa Valazza and then head on to meet with Giuseppe Iannotti, Alessandro Negrini & Fabio Pisani, the classic bartender Mattia Pastori, Alberto Faccani and Luca Abbruzzino. We catch up with the passionate entrepreneurs of Italian cuisine - Luigi Guarnaccia and Enrico Coppola at Luigia.

A trip across the Atlantic to catch up with Lidia and Joe Bastianich, the ambassadors of Italian food and wine. A trip to the East with the king of truffles Umberto Bombana and Gianni Caprioli in Hong Kong and our last stop is Dubai with Truffle Man Massimo Vidoni and Stefano Iorini, the man behind MonViso - with the taste of purity captured in a bottle…

Buon appetito!

Alfredo Russo

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MARCH 2018

CONTENTS 22

Modern Italian Gastronomy

32

A Culinary Master

44

Reinvents His Memories

56

Italy’s Leading Female Chef

64

The King White Of Truffles

72

Passionate Entrepreneurs Of Italian Cuisine

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A Dish From Alfredo Russo

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Passion For Cooking

98

Truffle Man

106

A Classic Bartender

116 Alessandro Negrini & Fabio Pisani 128 Taste Of Purity Captured In A Bottle 136 Ambassadors Of Italian Food & Wine 142 Italian Gourmet Cuisine 158 Curiosity, Creativity & Learning...

162 Luca Abbruzzino

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Oliva al cioccolato Giuseppe Iannotti Krèsios

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MASSIMO BOTTURA

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assimo Bottura is a leading figure amongst a new generation of Italian chefs. His work both as an innovator and restaurateur confirms him as one of the world’s most creative culinary forces. He has two restaurants situated in Modena, within the culinary-rich Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, the 3 Michelin star Osteria Francescana and an offshoot brasserie Franceschetta58.

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Since Bottura opened Osteria Francescana in 1995, the restaurant has been no stranger to critical acclaim. It was awarded its first Michelin star in 2002, a second four years later and, finally, it reached the height of critical acclaim with a third Michelin star awarded in 2011. Unanimously ranked top in class by L’Espresso, Gambero Rosso and the Touring Club Guide, Osteria Francescana currently rests at 2nd position on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants listing and has been voted the best restaurant in Italy for the past 7 years.

photo © PAOLO TERZI

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MASSIMO BOTTURA

The restaurant has engaged in a profound exploration of territory and tradition, the expression of which can be found in the absolute concentration of flavours guided by conceptual premise. A piece of work by Gino de Dominicis struck a particular chord with Bottura, for at Osteria Francescana, tradition is seen from ten kilometres away.

Italy’s exceptional ingredients and classic dishes are reevaluated with the benefit of critical distance, ensuring that the Italian Kitchen is free to evolve. Bottura is dedicated to reconstructing Italy’s cultural heritage - not deconstructing it.

This intelligent evolution of Italian traditions can be seen in plates such as “Come to Italy with Me” and “Compression of Pasta and Beans” where the rules have been bent and come full circle, constantly reminding diners of Italy’s rich gastronomic heritage. “Risotto Cacio e Pepe”, for example, is a meditation on tradition created as a direct response to the May 2012 earthquakes in Emilia-Romagna, which damaged nearly 400,000 forms of Parmigiano Reggiano.

Guests at one of the 12 tables in Osteria Francescana are able to choose from the à la carte menu or from the restaurant’s two tasting menus: the Tradition in Evolution menu pays tribute to Italian ingredients, traditions and terroir whilst the longer Sensations menu includes seasonal expressions from the experimental kitchen.

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Lentils are almost better than caviar photo © CALLO ALBANESE & SUEO

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MASSIMO BOTTURA

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Mediterranean sole photo © CALLO ALBANESE & SUEO

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In a former osteria, transformed into a Mecca of contemporary culture, Osteria Francescana’s plates are adorned with references to experimental art, peppered with social, political and historical implications and laced with a healthy sense of humour.

Since opening, Osteria Francescana has housed works such as Francesco Vezzoli’s “La Vie en Rose”, Carlo Benvenuto’s “Table and glass” and Mario Sciffano’s “World Map”, all of which have helped to define the restaurant’s unique style with its poetic interpretations. This impressive collection has subsequently been expanded to include works from Bottura’s personal collection. Maurizio Cattelan’s “Tourists”: three stuffed Venetian pigeons, part of a piece featured in both the 1997 and 2011 Biennale of Venice, brings to mind Bottura’s irreverent approach to current Italian culture; Ceal Floyer’s minimalist “Paper and Ink” series (created using a box of 20 scholastic coloured markers and water colour paper); Jonathan Borofsky’s “half a sailboat painting” (literally half a painting); and Gavin Turk’s “bin bag” reflect the chef’s playfulness, a theme which features throughout Osteria Francescana’s menu. The latest addition to the collection, which greets diners on arrival, is one of Damien Hirst’s Spin Paintings. It pays homage to the dish “Beautiful psychedelic spin-painted veal, not flame grilled”, which was inspired by the series.

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MASSIMO BOTTURA

The final days of November 2011 saw Massimo Bottura open offshoot brasserie, Franceschetta58, offering informal dining and drinks just outside Modena’s medieval city centre. Franceschetta58 is a collaboration between Massimo Bottura and Marta Pulini, creative director of Bibendum catering and former chef at two of New York›s most successful restaurants of the 1990’s, Le Madri and Mad61. With the aim of introducing Modena diners to dishes from other regions, Franceschetta58 showcases produce from the whole of Italy. All dishes are priced at 10 euros & 50 cents and are served using sharing plates. A laid-back environment, the table settings and walls are decorated with plates in various sizes and styles gathered from the stock of Richard Ginori (one of Italy›s oldest Italian porcelain manufacturers), restaurants, hotels, private collections and out of production Murano glassware.

2014 saw the release of Massimo Bottura’s first English language book with Phaidon Press, Never Trust a Skinny Italian Chef. This book has subsequently been translated into Italian and Dutch with releases in French and Spanish in 2015.

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Twelve tables in the heart of Modena tells a story of tradition in evolution...

Sometimes mallard, sometimes partridge and even bollito photo Š CALLO ALBANESE & SUEO

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MASSIMO BOTTURA

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Massimo takes his inspirations from contemporary art to create highly innovative dishes that play with Italian culinary traditions...

Boundlessly energetic and enthusiastic, Massimo Bottura has created an offshoot EXPO Milan 2015 project – Refettorio Ambrosiano – otherwise known as Food for Soul. A contemporary soup kitchen, Food for Soul was created in collaboration with the Vatican and Caritas to address the emotive issue of food wastage and hunger in inner cities.

Many of Bottura’s colleagues from Italy and abroad are joining him during the 5 months of the EXPO Milan to cook for the city’s needy and share innovative recipes for reducing waste in the kitchen. With a working title of Bread is Gold, Massimo Bottura is currently working on a book of the recipes.

In October 2015, one of Italy’s most prestigious and widely read publications revealed its L’Espresso Restaurant Guide 2016. For the first time on record, L’Espresso awarded a 20/20 rating, which it gave to Osteria Francescana.

Oops I dropped the lemon tart photo © CALLO ALBANESE & SUEO

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ANGELO SABATELLI

angelo sabatelli

t all started when Angelo Sabatelli was a little kid, at the age of 6, Angelo was in the kitchen teaching himself how to cook, as he was always curious as to how to make food taste better. He used to watch his mother cooking, and then at special occasions when all the family members would gather at his grandmother’s house, they would cook through out the day for the entire family. “It was fascinating to watch my grandmother, aunties and my mother, they would mix, prepare and bake a lots of things which would last for at least one week. For Christmas, Easter every family member would cook or bring something to cook and it was a huge party where food was big and was celebrated, I guess my passion started within those walls. I also believe that my curiosity for a non-granted or simplified answer has done the rest” adds Angelo Sabatelli.

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ANGELO SABATELLI

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At 13, he joined culinary school and the moment he finished his final exams, he ran all the way to the center of his hometown Monopoli to enter on time to take part in a cooking competition. This hard work paid off and he won first place, making him the youngest chef to ever win the contest. For the next five years, Angelo continued to beat all the other entrants. Angelo then travelled to Rome to work at Il Convivio, then to Indonesia at the Hyatt Aryaduta, he then moved to Shanghai’s Ritz-Carlton and Le Touessrok in Mauritius. Angelo was able to experience different cultures, cuisines and had the opportunity to learn techniques which would not have been possible in Italy. He then decided to leave Mauritius and head back home and cook the food he fell in love with as a child.

EX.IT catches up with Angelo Sabatelli…

You cook traditional cuisine of Puglia, passion for Puglian produce, a perfect culinary approach that blends tradition and innovation – a perfect harmony and balance on a plate…

Without the fundamental basis nothing can be innovative, to be able to innovate you need to know the basics. Although I don’t cook traditional Apulian food I do know how to, and it’s from those dishes and recipes that I’m able to give it a new face, almost identity. I must say that living here its relatively easy to buy the right ingredients, then after I find it, I start to work on what I want to achieve and which technique need to be applied, then finally taste and presentation taking in consideration what Apulian food is, for instance a very popular taste today its bitter, chef use lots of things to achieve it, here we don’t need it, all our wild herbs have a good level of bitterness and I don’t need to fake it but use a traditional ingredient in a contemporary way. All has to work well, taste, acidity, bitterness, presentation, all has to work in a contemporary tradition.

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The experience which helped form Angelo as a chef today… 36 - EX.IT March 2018

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After the cooking school I worked for several restaurants and Hotels, in Italy and Asia. I worked for private owners and for International company such as Hyatt International, The Ritz-Carlton and One&Only. All have been great experiences, I always say to my employee that even the worst experience can teach you something. I was and am very hungry for knowledge and I learned as much as I could from each place I worked in, whether it was exposure to other cuisine or to fill in a budget and bring it to accomplishment, I survived several economic crises and those have thought me a lot on how to save even in very critical condition and stay healthy. Today I’m more thoughtful, I can judge a situation and act, I’m more mature and this can be seen in my food, I’ve done a great deal of experiences and all of them have made me the person who I’m today.

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ANGELO SABATELLI

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Your culinary philosophy, and take us through the process of creating a new dish…

My culinary philosophy its simple, less is more!

There are always stages in a cook’s life, when you are young you want show the world what you can do, then as you grow you start to realize that there is no need to show off and what really matter it’s what you put in the plate and that all works well, in harmony. I was at a food event in Dubai and before it started the Hotel Exec Chef came to see the menu we were serving, it looked at the pigeon dish and said, that’s it? I said, what do you mean? He answered, from where I come from we put starches, vegetables, creams and so forth to a main dish. I replied, try the dish first and then tell me if it needs anything, he tried it and agreed that it was perfect, it was a very delicate meat that needed very little, what had to shine was the pigeon, the little vegetable I used to it were there to simply compliment the main ingredient. All this to say that my cuisine is based on the produce and simplicity, when I plan a menu first I decide what will be the main ingredient in that course, then I look for the best quality I can get and once decided, what I want to achieve with it. I start looking for right cooking technique that best enhances the ingredients and brings out the taste I want, then I work on complements of contrasts and temperatures.

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ANGELO SABATELLI

Special cooking techniques or equipments you enjoy using…

Ingredients ingredients

that and

inspire you, your favourite In my kitchen, there is all the equipment a chef unable to master… today can dream of but nitrogen (as previously Right now, I’m in love with the “Timut pepper”, I mentioned) and based on what we are preparing love the citrus scent it has and it goes very well with we use all the cooking technique, classic and modern, conventional and unconventional but my lots of things. favourite tool it’s the sauté pan.

I live in the region which has 60 million Olive trees and the biggest olive oil production in Italy. I could Produce, creativity or technique… not do what I do without extra virgin olive oil, there are many variety to choose from and I use them 100% produce, then creativity and technique.

Without a good ingredient, the dish can be done but based on the dish I’m going to cook, lots of fun. it will never taste great, it will always lacks depth of I’ve done almost anything, the only “ingredient” I flavour, with a great ingredient a little creativity and haven’t used its liquid nitrogen but I can live without the right technique will always produce a fantastic dish. it.

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ANGELO SABATELLI

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What was the feeling when you received your first star; and what keeps you motivated at this point of your career?

Actually, its incorrect! I did receive the first star when I was 23, at that time I was in Rome and I was an employee.

This time it felt great, fantastic, it was my restaurant, finally I was at home and we got the star here, in a small coastal town of a southern region where it’s not easy to propose a contemporary cuisine, where tradition is strong and in most family food still a major part of a day life. It felt like we won the champions league, finally we had a spotlight on our head which meant we could continue to do what we were doing well and finally improve it to a higher standard which since then it had been difficult to apply in all our menus, today in our new location we have even improved more, we have a new restaurant which reflect much more what we do, our standard are higher than ever and will continue to pamper our guest even more.

I have been always curios of many things, food has and it is a big part of my life and it’s what every day makes me happy and want to do more and more, my staff sometime tell me to slow down because they can’t keep up, this is what motivate me cooking makes me happy! Until I will be happy doing what I love most to do, I will keep striving for excellence.

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

Being a Chef its hard work, long hours and being away from the family and dear one for most of the day! Yes, today there is glamour as well into the profession but it’s achieved through hard work and a bit of luck! To the youngest, I would suggest to find few great chefs to follow and learn as much they can from each of them, anyone will be starting from the basic job and cooking, the stronger the basics the better will be the contemporaneity of their food once mastered it.

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PINO CUTTAIA

reinvent his memories orn in Licata, but his family’s story took Pino Cuttia to Piedmont. After studying in Turin, Pino found a job at an Olivetti factory which made typewriters something he found boring. His creativity was over the weekends, when he would spend his time in the kitchen playing around with ingredients. At the factory he was just a number like everyone else, but in the kitchen it was different.

Not forgetting his southern roots, Pino believed that one day he would return to Sicily. His dream of combining techniques he learnt in Piedmont and the brilliant ingredients of Sicily would be his culinary creation, his kitchen would be to reinvent memories with perfect dishes. A place where he can cook exactly the way he wants to.

B PINO CUTTAIA

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PINO CUTTAIA

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Nuvola di caprese

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EX.IT catches up with Pino Cuttia…

It’s interesting to learn how chefs find their passion 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 in the world!

Fossile

Everything started due to a glass of champagne.

I worked in a factory and every morning I had to wake up at half past 4 a.m. I use to work 10 hours a day with the machines, without talking to nobody. 35 years ago, during the New Year’s Eve night, a friends of mine proposed me to go to work as dishwasher in a restaurant, he flattered me in every way he could, but the magic word was “champagne”. At midnight, in the kitchen, we would have toasted. I entered for the first time the kitchen of a restaurant through the service entrance, it was something written in my destiny. I was immediately impressed by smells, ingredients, and preparations.

The work was hard, frenetic, I worked till sunrise, but it was different from working in the factory.

The owner, even if he was strict, payed attention to everyone: we weren’t numbers but people. This thing impressed me, or rather fascinated me. I liked the working environment and for this reason I came back. I started cutting onions, but I realized I was free to decide how to cut them. I discovered freedom and creativity. I felt important, I was free and I could express my creativity: I was happy. I was in, no-one would have been able to kick me out.

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PINO CUTTAIA

You cook traditional cuisine of Sicily, passion for Sicilian produce, a perfect culinary approach that blends tradition and innovation – a perfect harmony and balance on a plate…

“Memory is the fil rouge”. The awakening of memories takes place through taste and this is what bring me back to tradition. This is the departure point, to convert a memory into innovation, you must work on a double effect - the aesthetic and the taste. Innovation is a characteristic which doesn’t modify the departure point but modifies the memory itself.

Innovation stays in resurrect the tradition in a dish, walking down my hometown streets, revisit streets which remind me of perfumes and smells of the kitchen, it is my way to make guests taste the tradition and the history of my people which they obviously don’t know.

When I realize this plate for my guests, this signifies that I want to tell them my experience, I decide to gladly welcome them to my house.

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Cocktail di capesante

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PINO CUTTAIA

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Memoria visiva

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

Risone alla marinara

For sure, all the experiences I lived during my 35 years of my career, they have been fundamental, from the working experiences in Piemonte (“Il Sorriso a Soriso”, the province of Novara and “Il Patio a Pollone”, near Biella) up to the exchanges of opinion and to the talks with my colleagues, each of these moments, has been for me a reason of exploration and therefore growth. Every person, every element, every event brings in itself a value that remains in those people who experience it and it’s a part of every dish I do.

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

I believe that at the base of my kitchen there is the game. This is what brought me to create “l’uovo di seppia”: the game and the illusion. The desire was to recreate a traditional dish (the stuffed cuttlefish) through changing the form, the consistence, the image and using the technique. Through technique, I wanted to give a new elegance to a poor dish. A dish, arise from a sign, that for me is often tied up to the emotion of memories, but then we have to metabolize it to understand which is the correct form it has to take. The time to create a dish, ignore every external urgency as it only answers to the wish - to give life to something tied up to a memory.

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PINO CUTTAIA

Ingredients that inspire you, your favorite ingredients and ingredients you were unable to master…

I believe that the obsession, in the good sense of this term, it’s an essential quality for a chef who approaches ingredients for the first time. Some of these, are so fascinating that people strongly desire to know them intimately and in a certain sense also desire to dominate them as well as exalt them. One of these, for me, is wheat. Wheat is complicated, it hides secrets and human histories. It stimulates my curiosity and pushes me to explore it. The tomato is complicated, difficult to tame, a daily challenge, but obviously the ingredients I still don’t know.

Special cooking techniques or equipment you particular enjoy using…

Surely, the barber’s scissors. Even if it may seem an unusual tool, I use barber’s scissors in the kitchen because they cut perfectly. I have three of them which I use to cut anchovies and their thorns.

After all, a lot of jobs enter in the kitchen with their corresponding tools. For this reason, we can say that the chef is an artisan, rather, he’s the synthesis of many professions.

Produce, Creativity or Technique…

With the precondition that the equilibrium between these three characteristics is what gives birth to a good dish, I have to say that every one of us has great affinity with one of these in particular. For me, it’s the case of the creativity. Being creative, gives me the opportunity to play, to imagine, to feel free.

The kitchen is disciplined and the kitchen is in order.

Creativity allows me to go beyond the unexpected and to see something more, to create an illusion.

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Polpo sulla roccia

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PINO CUTTAIA

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Pizzaiola. Merluzzo all’affumicatura di pigna

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Opening Ristorante Madia, you received your first award – what was the feeling and what keeps you motivated?

Cornucopia di cialda di cannolo ricotta e arancia

I have always lived this situation in a positive way.

Positive feelings have always turned to all the people who work with me and to the beloved ones.

I believe that true happiness arises from the group.

For what concern my first award (2005 - Young Man of the Year chosen for the Guide of Italian Restaurants L’Espresso) was the right recognition for a correct job which was going in the right direction. It was the sign that people noticed us.

Finally, I believe that what motivates me every day is simply loving what I do.

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

I would recommend them to be attracted only by the food, to be curious toward what they do, to be always moved by the desire of exploring.

Exploration means finding ourselves, and the kitchen represents the exploration of ourselves and curiosity toward the secrets that only the kitchen discloses to us every day.

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LUISA VALAZZA

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Q Luisa Valazza

ueen of “the sacred temple” of International culinary, one of the renowned actresses of that world, Luisa’s food is the reflection of a true woman who loves the gastronomic tradition of her territory, and offers creative and hearty dishes, where technique and research are coupled with devotion. The basis of her philosophy revolves around the choice of local ingredients, culinary customs, finding new forms and variations, so giving value to their peculiarity and offering her magic recipes a great multi-sensorial feel.

Today, Luisa is one of the few female chefs in the world to achieve three-Michelin-star and is recognised as Italy’s leading female chef. Initially, she had wanted to study Italian literature at university and become a teacher, just like her parents. However, Chef Luisa’s career perception took a detour towards the kitchen when she met her husband, Angelo Valazza, owner of the international acclaimed restaurant Al Sorriso.

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LUISA VALAZZA

Al Sorriso is a real oasis of harmony and cordialness, a charming concentration of great feelings a dreamland...

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Self-taught in the kitchen, Chef Luisa adapted to Italian and French recipes from cookbooks, her natural talent soon became apparent when she started creating her very own Italian gourmet cuisine – based on the finest, local Piedmontese ingredients.

Established in 1981, the idea of Angelo and Luisa Valazza a self-made cook and native of Soriso. The secret of their success is attributable to a great deal of sacrifice, authentic passion for table excellence, and the inborn flair for taste which characterizes natives of the Piedmont region. Today, thirty years on, the Michelin Star and other international awards make this venue an oasis of harmony and hospitality, a charming concentration of feelings that makes you feel in tune with the universe.

With Luisa’s creativity and excellent culinary skills, Al Sorriso offers the opportunity to consider cuisine from a different perspective, rediscovering its different tones, combining seasonal herbs and foods and enhancing the local products. The result is a traditional yet wellresearched cuisine.

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LUISA VALAZZA

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Luisa’s coking is... “a life given to researching innovative tastes, all in strict respect of our traditional values, characterized by a simplicity that comes right from the heart.”

Beginning from the land, whose value is the combination of local customs, gastronomical tradition as well as research into the products of the territory, you are literally charmed by the blend of tastes and scents, where Luisa skillfully adapts her recipes to the present needs, in a way as to make you taste, the best way possible, all the elements that make up a dish.

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LUISA VALAZZA

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A true philosophy about taste, it’s a about scents that usher you into the pleasure of food, where the intensity of natural tastes gives real life to Luisa’s dishes, so charming the sight of it and giving great satisfaction to your palate.

It’s about transforming raw materials, without necessarily altering their properties, neither their organoleptic quality nor their original taste, which Luisa and Angelo scrupulously select or grow by themselves, in which case, respecting the alteration of the seasons. The cooking is always by gradual heating process.

Luisa’s coking is all about one thing “a life given to researching innovative tastes, all in strict respect of our traditional values, characterized by a simplicity that comes right from the heart.”

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UMBERTO BOMBANA

ailed as “The King of White Truffles”, Chef Umberto Bombana delights the palates of the world’s finest gourmet. A native of Bergamo in Northern Italy, he was trained at Centro di Formazione Alberghiera and apprenticed under acclaimed chef Ezio Santin at Antica Osteria del Ponte, now a Michelin-starred restaurant outside Milan. Chef Bombana’s talent and skills soon took him around the world. In 1983, he joined the famous Rex II Ristorante in Los Angeles, where he was lauded for his simple yet refined regional cooking. The restaurant, owned by Mauro Vincenti, is a regular venue for post-Oscar parties. Adding to his foundation were stints in the kitchen with other top chefs such as Gianfranco Vissani, Michel Rostang and Pinuccio Alia.

H Umberto Bombana

The King of White Truffles

Chef Bombana then arrived in Hong Kong in 1993 to open Toscana - the legendary Italian eatery at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, and quickly established it as an iconic destination of the fine dining scene. His distinctive flair and passion for refined Northern Italian cooking offered Hong Kong 15 years of incomparable dining. During his career at The RitzCarlton, the chef also shared his expertise at sister properties in Laguna Niguel, California, Boston, Osaka, Seoul and Singapore.

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UMBERTO BOMBANA

Recognition for Chef Bombana’s culinary creations reached an unprecedented level of prestige when he was awarded the Best Italian Chef in Asia by the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners (ICIF) in 2002 and then Worldwide Ambassador of the White Truffle in 2006 by the Piedmontese Regional Enoteca Cavour in Italy.

Bombana love for Italy, his dishes and his recipes are a real love story among ingredients, which talks about his country.

Not limiting his choice to only Italian products, since he loves searching, choosing and selecting products from all over the world. His hands and his palate are totally Italian, this is exactly why all his gastronomic options are real postcards of the Bel Paese (beautiful country), and guest can experience the Italian fragrant and tasty landscapes from their first bite.

Hailed as the “Best Italian Chef in Asia”, Chef Umberto Bombana delights the palates of the world’s finest gourmet with his contemporary, sophisticated and inventive culinary creations. Bombana’s cooking is a celebration of his motherland lifestyle, it is a homage to il bel paese with love, tradition, origins, knowledge and the past. All these important elements are added to his culinary treasure to convey the Italian sense of hospitality and provide an unforgettable authentic gastronomic journey by delivering the best Italian cuisine using the best seasonal ingredients.

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Black Truffle Ice Cream - Chantilly cream, crispy hazelnut and pistachio

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UMBERTO BOMBANA

With the closure of Toscana and The Ritz Carlton Hong Kong in January 2008, Chef Bombana took some time to reflect on his culinary vision. In the summer of 2009, he and Chef Roland Schuller launched an exceptional new restaurant The Drawing Room with Schuller handling the day to day executive chef duties.

In less than a year, it earned a Michelin star.

In January 2010, Chef Bombana returned with his most distinctive and personal project ever, namely 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA, and promises to his most fanciful masterpiece yet. Like Fellini’s movie, it is destined to be an unforgettable experience for anyone lucky enough to go on the maestro’s artistic journey with him. After only few months, the restaurant has been awarded with two Michelin stars: a huge incentive to keep searching the highest quality. The third star arrived in December 2011, and 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA became the first Italian restaurant outside Italy to deserve this high recognition until today.

Chef Bombana’s culinary empire further extended to China where he opened 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA Shanghai in 2012 and Opera Bombana in Beijing in 2013. In December 2013, he opened Hong Kong’s first refined Italian trattoria – CIAK – In The Kitchen located at Landmark Atrium, Central.

His Shanghai shop became one of the most popular new restaurants in the city. By sharing the same vision, Opera Bombana aims to provide the very defined and unique interpretation of great Italian food. In June 2015, Chef Bombana opened the latest branch of his famed 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA at Galaxy Macau serving refined Italian cuisine and featuring the finest seasonal ingredients sourced from around the world.

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UMBERTO BOMBANA

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8½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA is once again honoured with three stars in the newly released Michelin Guide Hong Kong & Macau 2016. For the fifth year in a row, it continues to be the first and only 3 Michelin-starred Italian restaurant outside of Italy to earn the accolade, for Chef Bombana it is the biggest reward.

Since opening in 2010, 8½ Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA has been recognized as one of the best Italian restaurants worldwide by not only the Michelin Guide, but also Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, Italian Cuisine Worldwide Awards, Miele Guide’s Asia’s Finest Restaurant Top 20, and many more.

“It is an honour and continuous motivation for me to produce exceptional food,” says Chef Bombana, owner and executive chef of the restaurant. “To make a good dish, you have to use not only technique, but also heart and passion to bring out the best of the ingredients.”

Awards are given based on multiple criteria including product quality, preparation and flavours, the cuisine’s personality, value for money and consistency over time and across the entire menu.

The authoritative guide defines restaurants that receive three stars as “exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey”. Perfectly depicted in this definition is Chef BOMBANA’s vision in his restaurant - to offer his customers an unforgettable culinary experience and an artistic journey.

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LUIGI GUARNACCIA & ENRICO COPPOLA

Luigi Guarnaccia & Enrico Coppola

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t was on a business trip to Turin that Luigi Guarnaccia met Enrico Coppola. Luigi is a visionary with more than 20 years’ experience and 70 restaurants and Enrico is an entrepreneur passionate about Italian cuisine and a Chef Pizzaiolo, who had already won the famous Gambero Rosso award for the best Italian pizzerias.

The two friends joined with the aim of reinventing and reinterpreting Italian pizza on the international scene, looking for the best quality products, offering impeccable hospitality, traditional recipes, with an Italian atmosphere. A concept was born from this common vision and ambition – Luigia.

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Luigia is more than just a restaurant, it’s a tribute to life and family traditions, and bears the name of Luigi’s and Enrico’s grandmothers, both called Luigia. Both these visionaries share their passion for Italian cuisine, creating outstanding pizzas from recipes handed down from generations. The smooth and light dough is a result of in-depth study, the dough rests for 72 hours before being baked and only the finest and freshest ingredients are used to create a unique pizza.

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LUIGI GUARNACCIA & ENRICO COPPOLA

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EX.IT gets the opportunity to speak with Enrico Coppola…

How did Luigia find its way as one of the top 10 pizzerias in the world?

With passion and thanks to all the people that are part of it, starting from the founders: Luigi Guarnaccia and myself, and with all the guys belonging to the Luigia family that work with energy and commitment. Our success is the result of a mix of skills and innovative ideas with a focus on the authenticity of the dishes. We believe that unfortunately the Italian authenticity has mostly disappeared, because of the various reinterpretations which often result in a sort of a downgrade of the original recipes. Our mission is to offer in our pizzerias an authentic experience, which is usually found in luxury restaurants, and to create the ultimate gourmet masterpiece Luigia draws its inspiration from the love given

by Italian grandmothers to their families, an art tradition in perfect harmony on a plate…

Thanks to the memories and the know-how gained through experience, we reproduce the recipes of our grandmothers from the various Italian regions.

Every day our aim is to bring these memories on the tables, involving all the senses, trying to evoke in our customers the “home tastes”. This we consider the key to our success.

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LUIGI GUARNACCIA & ENRICO COPPOLA

You pride in serving “the Best of Italy”, sourcing only the freshest and best quality ingredients, with authentic tried and tested recipes handed down from generations – take us through the culinary philosophy, and the process you go through to create a pizza?

To convey at best the tradition of our past generations we use fresh 100% Italian products, selected through a meticulous, in-depth and continuous research. The care and the quest of our recipes set us apart from the typical offerings of the Italian restaurants abroad.

That is the reason why, when we founded “Luigia”, we thought about a concept that can satisfy all possible occasions: business lunches, dinners with friends, lunches with the family, romantic dinners.

The philosophy… From our point of view, every day we maximize our efforts to improve ourselves. Luigia focuses on the quality of the products, on the efficiency of the service and on the customer orientation. Our philosophy is sound: our professionals are our guys; the restaurant is like a home and the customer is a family member and we want him to feel free to come and join us when he wishes to.

That is why we are open 365 days a year, we removed the reservation system and the payment is at the reception, in order to empower our customers and give them the maximum freedom to come and pay when they desire. Moreover, with attention to the environment, we decided to serve micro-filtered water and we use sustainable takeaway boxes.

With the focus on the quality, we use 100% Italian flour for the dough preparation and we work with experts that respect the natural maturation period (approximately 72h). We are aware of the fact that the “Pizza Napoletana” is a promotion instrument of the “Italianity” abroad and this is confirmed by the fact that it became a “Unesco Heritage” in December 2017, finally obtaining the official importance it deserves.

Personally, I can admit that this news really cheered me up. I was practically born to prepare pizzas and I was obsessed with the research for the best and perfect dough and I spent my days with the flour sliding through my hands, trying and trying again the quantities and the mixtures. The efforts were repaid by the customers’ happiness and this worldwide recognition confirmed my feelings.

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LUIGI GUARNACCIA & ENRICO COPPOLA

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Luigia is more than a restaurant, it’s a love story that Luigi and Enrico shares with you...

Any special techniques or equipment…

Our kitchens are provided with all the necessary instruments to make our mission possible. Our philosophy is to have special and avant-garde structures. We are always updating in order to keep up with the times. We have special devices and machines, such as the Thermomix, the Underpressure Steamer, the Röner and many others, so that our guys can have the best tools at their disposal to create emotions.

Produce, Creativity or Technique…

In my opinion, creativity is the key. However, the right balance between creativity, technique and production is fundamental: a creative person cannot reach optimum results without the technique and the production is the consequence of the mix of these two aspects.

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LUIGI GUARNACCIA & ENRICO COPPOLA

What motivates you all at Luigia?

The first Luigia opened in Geneva in 2010. Our purpose is to improve ourselves and this is possible thanks to two main incentives: our customers with their loyalty and our staff which with their passion grow with us. Luigia is not a chain, Luigia is a family that gets bigger and bigger every day.

We are very proud of the success stories of the guys that started as Pizzaiolos and then became our partners. To represent our philosophy, we created the hashtag #luigiafamily.

Any advice to Pizzaiolos and Commis entering the kitchen for the first time?

I would recommend learning the kitchen basics before learning how to plate up. It is fundamental to well manage a “Spaghetti al Pomodoro� before tackling the whole Italian culinary repertoire.

Cooking means training, one who does not focus on training cannot improve himself, cooking without research and study does not take you anywhere.

It is necessary to analyze manuals and books, and nowadays the internet makes all of this much easier, you have access to all information. Being able to implement the knowledge of the basic principles of the culinary art with the access to information, resources and tools is the key to success.

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ALFREDO RUSSO

The creamy Ricotta cheese and all the ingredients of the Sicilian cassata by Alfredo Russo

Ricotta: GR 300 Fresh Ricotta Cheese GR 15 Icing Sugar GR 150 Cream Lemon cream: GR 250 Lemon juice 6 Eggs GR 250 Sugar GR 5 Gelatine

Cocoa Biscuit GR 300 Flour GR 150 Sugar GR 160 Butter GR 50 Eggs GR 5 Salt GR 100 Cocoa

Other elements: GR 500 Lemon sherbet 100 gr Fresh oranges (segmets) 100 gr Fresh dried tuiles 100 gr Pistachio paste Lemon/lime/orange zestes 60 gr roasted pistachios 60 gr cocoa nibs For the ricotta mix all ingredients and store in refrigerator.

Prepare the lemon cream by mixing all the ingredients and cook in a bain-marie until it reaches a temperature of 65 ° C, cool and keep in the fridge.

For the biscuit proceed in the traditional manner and bake at 180 ° C, after rapidly cooled and frozen, slice with the slicer.

Compose all the elements and serve immediately.

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GIUSEPPE IANNOTTI

is passion for cooking since the age of six and it’s something he always tried to cultivate and keep alive. Despite this, he decided to follow his head rather than his heart and so, after finishing science high school, Giuseppe went to university to study computer science (since he only need to pass a few more exams to graduate). But his passion for cooking made itself increasingly felt, he decided to register for a hospitality management course and explore this side of his character. In 2007, he opened a small restaurant in Castelvenere called Kresios, followed by a shop in Telese Terme, Kresios Bottega, selling gourmet specialties selected with meticulous care.

In 2011, the two businesses were brought under a single roof, a farmhouse owned by his family just outside Telese, with a gourmet restaurant and a number of elegant rooms.

H Giuseppe Iannotti

his passion for cooking

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Entirely self-taught, driven not only by the will power and stubbornness that have always been part of his character, but also by passion for technical studies and a profound knowledge of the raw materials involved. Passion, determination, the thirst for knowledge, travel and world cooking are his valuable teachers and constant companions on this important journey of Giuseppe Iannotti.

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GIUSEPPE IANNOTTI

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Una ricciola nell’orto

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Giuseppe’s cuisine at Krèsios is extemporaneous and brave, experimental and based on a fine selection of the best raw materials from all around the world with a strong distinctive connection with the tradition of Southern Italy.

EX.IT gets the opportunity to catch up with Giuseppe Iannotti…

Your cutting edge cuisine, passion for Campanian produce, a perfect culinary approach that blends tradition and innovation…

While researching and executing my dishes, I always try to bring out their strong ties with the local area, although at the same time they also reach out towards new horizons, where sourcing excellent raw materials from throughout the world is the key factor. The idea is always to serve a dish without ever forgetting its origins.

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

I am completely self-taught, building my skills over the years through passion, determination and a thirst for knowledge, filtered through the constant need to observe and understand: studying products, learning about new techniques and trying them out, and then cooking, testing and repeating.

My first internship was four years ago in Grant Achatz’s Alinea Restaurant, which is recognized internationally as the epitome of restaurant excellence.

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GIUSEPPE IANNOTTI

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Pezzo di anatra alla griglia

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Your culinary philosophy and creating a new dish…

My philosophy is based on the concept of “modernism”, or in other words on the constant need to renew ideologies and methods so that they are consistent with the new needs of the modern world: renewing, doing things differently, inverting orders. I think of myself as a modernist in the kitchen, as someone who likes to subvert, while maintaining a rigorous but inverted sense of order.

I always try to use a language that is essential but rich, with a semblance of linearity that conceals from the superficial eye or palate a whole world to explore. When I think about creating a new dish, I focus on the contrasts between old and new, with my heart in origins and tradition and my head in the world. In this process, I always try to reject styles, fashions and mores, trying instead to develop new concepts that spring from the nature in which I was born and raised.

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GIUSEPPE IANNOTTI

Tonnato sbagliato

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Spaghetto allo scoglio

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Ingredients that inspire you, your favorite ingredients and ingredients that you were unable to master…

At the moment I’m working on a development project linked to a very important ingredient in Japanese cuisine: katsuobushi. In this case, the experimentation lies in the application of this Japanese technique to meat, in order to create veal katsuobushi.

I don’t have a favorite ingredient, but great respect for them all. I adore olive oil and butter, but also meat, fish and vegetables, respecting their provenance. I personally grow 190 different aromatic herbs.

No, I haven’t given up on any ingredients. I don’t think a chef can afford to eliminate ingredients for this reason. You always have to do careful research and experiment widely in order to use a particular ingredient in the best possible way.

Tapioca, frutto della passione e cioccolato frizzante

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GIUSEPPE IANNOTTI

Special cooking techniques or equipment you particular enjoy using‌ On this subject, I’d like to talk to you about the Kresios Lab project planned for launch in March. I see it as a natural consequence of the thirst for knowledge and research that has always been a feature of my journey.

Lab will be a secret room that reaches out to embrace the world, somewhere to perform international research and a place to experiment with techniques including Gastrovac, Waveco (a technology that uses ultrasounds to induce maturation), low pressure distiller, steam countercurrent, and dehydration and cooking in nitrogen.

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Tagliolino di zucchine

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Pollo arrosto

Tramezzino di rane

Pop corn di animella

Pancia di maiale e porro

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GIUSEPPE IANNOTTI

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Pizza alla napoletana

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Produce Creativity or Technique‌

I think they are all fundamental elements that need to co-exist in a kitchen. Personally, I think that using different techniques to enhance the characteristics of the ingredients in a dish is hugely important when presenting new contrasts, new taste combinations and different consistencies, for an experience that’s out of the ordinary. And it’s at this juncture that creativity too enters the fray, making another contribution that enriches the taste experience.

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GIUSEPPE IANNOTTI

Raffaello di Foie Gras

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Litchi e violette

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Mojito

The feeling when you received your first award and what motivates you?

Kresios opened in 2011, on a farm owned by my family, and brought two existing projects together (Kresios the restaurant in Castelvenere and Kresios Bottega). When I received my first award in 2012 as Best Young Chef from Guide de l’Espresso, it was a very emotional experience. I almost couldn’t believe that I’d received such an important and influential acknowledgement after years of study and experimentation as a self-taught chef. It represented another confirmation of my work and gave me the strength to carry on believing in my project.

The desire to experiment and learn new techniques that let me express my creativity when preparing the ingredients I use in my dishes is a constant feature of my ongoing professional and personal growth.

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

I’m very happy that lots of young people today want to become restaurateurs. My advice is to always be yourself, to keep your feet on the ground, to work hard and to always have the desire to learn and experiment, which in my opinion must always be present.

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MASSIMO VIDONI

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Massimo Vidoni

The Truffle Man

hite Gold or Black Diamonds… a wild product, a fungi, it is natural and something which one can’t cultivate, people have tried for generations to farm truffles, but with recent attempts in the US to recreate truffle habitats by planting oak, chestnut, however hazelnut trees have shown some success with black truffles. Dubai and the U.A.E. has seen success with the Truffle Man – Massimo Vidoni. His precious finds have served the best restaurants, hotels in the U.A.E. since 2012 with the opening his gourmet shop Italtouch and importing the finest truffles, caviar and specialty foods. With over 25 years of experience in the business. For his distinctive mark of quality, Massimo gained notoriety on CNN by importing the largest Truffle into the US.

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Since a little kid, Massimo was always been intrigued by truffles, this mysterious fungi, the intense flavor, the way it was found, his grandfather stories was really like going gold hunting, the rush of adrenaline when the truffle dog starts signaling the presence of this precious tuber. “It was a real passion, lucrative and very addictive. But more than going truffle hunting myself I have always been attracted to the mysterious underworld of truffle traders, carrying stacks of cash (50/100k euros) roaming the nights in Italy and buying handful of truffles from truffle hunters and this art of commerce really got me to start truffle dealing in a professional way” adds Massimo.

Whiles studying in business school in New York, Massimo started learning the ropes of truffle business. It was in 1992, where he worked for 6 years for the largest truffle company in the world Urbani Truffles in New York. He was importing and selling to the best chefs in the US and then decided to open his own company.

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MASSIMO VIDONI

Massimo saw an opportunity when he arrived in Dubai, Massimo adds “It looked very much like Vegas to me, and I saw many 5 stars hotels, many amazing restaurants and not one company that truly specialized in truffles. I believed that even if you are small, (and I was really a one man company in 2012) but you bring top quality truffles, you know your product well, you can discuss eye to eye with any top chefs and it would make a difference, it is now 6 years and Italtouch keeps growing thanks to the relations, the trust earned and the consistency that we established in Dubai. Thanks to the different cultures of chefs here in Dubai, truffles are been used not only in the traditional European way but is been mixed and experimented in many others ways, I am still amazed of what chefs here can create and come up mixing ingredients with truffles that I never saw or thought about.”

EX.IT catches up with the Truffle Man… You are called the Truffle Man of Dubai, could you explain and tell us what are truffles?

Truffles are tubers, of the funghi family, they grow wild, their microspores live in symbiosis with the roots of trees, and the rain activates them. There are about 2600 species but only 3 are widely recognized by the culinary world; the white truffles (tuber magnatum pico) in Latin is the king of them, pungent aroma, priced at around 7 to 8000 Euros a kilo, found mostly in Italy and parts of Croatia. The black winter truffles (tuber melanosporum) or black diamond comes second in price around 1500 to 2000 Euro a kilo but has a very distinctive nutty sweet flavor and it is vastly used in French cuisines since is a staple of French culinary history. The summer truffles (tuber aestivum) is found more widely all over Italy, Spain and France, it has a black skin and white pulp, priced around 1 to 200 Euros a kilo and is used to garnish many more popular dishes.

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MASSIMO VIDONI

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Is there a significant difference in flavor between white and black truffle?

Oh yes! White truffles have a very distinctive strong flavor, when I enter a kitchen with my bags still all sealed everyone knows that I have arrived. Chefs run to greet me, they get excited, and it’s like Santa with kids. For me, White truffles are really impossible to describe, their aroma is very different. Even after 25 years, I still can’t really find the words to describe it, here smell this one… My favorite way to describe it. You got try it to understand it. Black truffles also have a very different aroma, I like them better when they are cooked and part of a plate rather than just sliced over a dish. Both are a great gift of Mother Nature and their harvest season is overlapping just in time for the holidays in December.

What are some of your favorite ways to use truffles?

Depends a lot on the truffle species, but the best way to use white truffles for me is over pasta or risotto, the heat of the dish brings out the best of them. For black truffles instead I like it with foie gras, cooked in terrines and even over scallops.

What do you love about the flavor of truffles?

It is addictive, it’s so exclusive… I love to open the fridge to get a whiff of it, even if you have it sealed in a jar everything gets the white truffle flavor, the milk , the butter even the orange juice get affected !!! , for half year you don’t think about it, than October arrive, the fall season... and finally is truffle

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MASSIMO VIDONI

Why go to the trouble of using fresh truffles versus preserved?

It’s a chef’s decision, many chefs now have outlets or franchise in many part of the world, and it depends on the dish. Most of the best chef has signature dishes that involve truffles all year long so off season there are ways of being able to serve that dish with conserved truffles. I work with many chefs, in ways of creating dishes that are made with truffle where priority is to give continuity to the dish during off season or also in remote areas of the world with high quality and cost controlled that does not fluctuate with the market prices.

How is fresh truffles stored and for how long?

Freshness is the key for truffles, so ideally you should consume it within few days from when it is been harvested. Maximum within a week. To preserve truffles, wrap them in tissue paper, place them in a dry towel and store in a well-sealed plastic container. Every day change the tissue paper.

This will prevent the truffles getting wet.

Why are truffles expensive?

Truffles and especially white truffles are not farmed but hunted, it’s very hard to find them, usually they grow underground about 20/30 cm so you can’t see them on surface, you need to dig them out with the help of a well-trained truffle dogs. The season last only for three months between late October to late December, they grow usually on hills near the roots of trees, covered with wild bushes. On a lucky very long day, truffle hunters scout by foot the hills and they harvest only few pieces, mostly a few hundred grams, so the hard work is paid off when a nice piece of over 50/100grams is found.

Traders wander all night with his mobile phone, and drive up and down many provinces to reach more hunters as possible, they buy the truffles and when they have few kilos they bring it to the truffle market or ship out depending on the orders they have. It’s not an easy task, in recent years the rainfall is been constantly less than other decades activating less truffles spores and that has reduced the quantity of truffles, adding to it more and more chefs around the world have truffles on their menus.

Truffles are sold like diamonds, the bigger the size the higher the price, and it is not unusual to see real big pieces. When it is over 1kilo (which is very rare, but you find 2 or 3 of this monsters every few years) the price can go over one hundred thousand Euros.

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MATTIA PASTORI

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Mattia Pastori

A Classic Bartender with a twist of modern hospitality

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attia remembers his first cocktail that he made ‘M.B.C’ at the age of 19 whiles working at Pozzo American Bar in Pavia, the city where he comes from. His master told him the portion and execution of Campari, Cordial Campari and fresh passion fruit, pour in a shaker and after shaking it to serve it in a glass with ice.

Then he asked him to taste the cocktails and share the sensation and thoughts about it. He then took a peel of orange and squeeze the essential oil on the cocktail. The master asked him to try it for a second time and the cocktails was completely changed. At that point Mattia understood that even the tiniest details can change everything in a drink experience; and it’s been “Never stop to learn and try, always taste your creation, discover new flavours and the drive a be a bartender.”

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EX.IT speaks with Mattia Pastori who believes bartending is a lifestyle…

Takes us through her training and tell us how it has helped you as Barman today…

Spy americano

Training is the most important part of our work, if you continue to train yourself you will achieve new goals and you continue to grow up and offer to your guest fantastic experience What is the amount of skill required, learning to do it as an expert and the natural flair to properly pair food and beverages…

It is about to educate your palate, by tasting and retasting, and again and again. By doing and trying and explore as well by colleagues and when you have the chance and opportunity by chef it support to identify different food and drink aspect can work together.

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Scorpione richiesto questi sono gli ingredienti

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MATTIA PASTORI

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The importance to properly pair food and wine/ spirits – how it can make or break a meal?

The art of pairing a drink is important and it can break a meal, this can be traced back in history.

Greeks and Roman started to work on liquid that had the aim to support preparing for a meal, which we nowadays define as Aperitivo. The most famous was the Hippocratic wine, an ancestor of vermouth. During the time this art evolved over the years and centuries and Amari and bitter were born. Preparation that were suitable and indicated as after meal to support digestion. At the end of 1700’s beginning of 1800’s the service of this product changed, as people started to mix them and the era of the Cocktails began. From there, especially in Italy, and in the place where I do have the privileged to work now, people meet for an aperitif, a drink to stimulate the appetite. From the 1900’s, the Aperitivo made history and it became a part of the Italian drink culture DNA. Served with nibbles, until nowadays where cocktails break the ‘rules’ and are entering into the dinner time as integral part of dinners – instead of wine, and as well play a key role into the after meal moment.

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Appearance, Aroma, Bouquet, Taste, Aftertaste and Overall Impression are some of the factors considered for a good drink‌ A famous Italian bartender said, you start to drink a cocktails when the bartender starts to mix or shake it‌. It is a multisensory experience, sounds and sight first and then the taste. The drink need to be served well, garnish and glass play a key role to a cocktail. Over garnish can ruin the drinking experience for the guest, but as well can help to develop aroma in the drink, think about a peel of lemon with the Americano. The color of the drink is important too, a sharp and crispy color is invite to taste. Taste is the most complex thing because it arrives at the end of the sensory journey. Whenever I prepare a drink or cocktails, I always ask myself ‌. Do I want to give another sip right away? If the answer is yes, then you have in front of you a great cocktail.

What does it takes to be a Barman?

My parents had a small bar in a little town in North Italy, their passion to make guest happy gave me the inspiration to become a bartender. When I as a teenager, one day I saw my father training for a cocktail competition, the dedication, concentration and passion he was putting in the preparation of a cocktail, what I would define today a twist on Cardinale (mix of Campari, Vodka and dry vermouth), I consider it the moment in which I decided that this was going to be my career and life.

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Milano Breeze foto sotto

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Boulevardier

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Your passion to taste, learn and especially to share your expertise on beverage tasting continues to grow and evolve – what motivates you?

The guests are my first motivation, discover new methods of serving, or rediscover and apply the traditions of hospitality drive that motivation to do a good job every day.

The art of food and mixology pairing evolving…

Cocktail pairing will be a big trend in the next year. Consumers can now choose among different drinking experiences, and select places that offer also food menus, so they can pair it with cocktails. If we think about food and cocktails pairing in Italian culture the most usual way is during the Aperitivo, where you have a classic cocktail like Negroni or an Americano that is served with nibbles.

In your opinion which are the best cocktail?

There are no best cocktail, there is just the best occasions to drink a cocktails… and for me it has to be is the Aperitivo. I love to drink bitters (Amaro) with a touch of sweet (dolce) and my favourite one is the Negroni, in summer I prefer an Americano, s it is more refreshing. But for a late night cap it’s got to be a Boulevardier.

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ALESSANDRO NEGRINI & FABIO PISANI

Alessandro Negrini Fabio Pisani

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Photo ©Brambilla_Serrani

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Il Piccione di Miroglio - The Pigeon

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lessandro Negrini was born in 1978 in Caspoggio, Valmalenco, and he later graduated at the Sondrio culinary school.

After working at the Hotel Palace in Saint Moritz and at the Gallia Palace in Punta Ala, he got to Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia, working there for three years. He then moved to the Domaine de Châteauvieux in Genève, where he has been working for two years and afterwards at the restaurant Dal Pescatore in Canneto sull’Oglio, where he spent one year.

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Fabio Pisani was born in 1978 in Molfetta, Bari, where he graduated as a chef. From 2000 to 2005, he has worked in major 3 –Michelin-starred European maisons such as Grand Vefour in Paris, Waterside Inn in London and Dal Pescatore in Canneto sull’Oglio, Italy. It is in this last restaurant where the two chefs met and since then they are close friends in life and colleagues at work.

Alessandro e Fabio then moved to Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia, taking with them the willingness to build the future of the new generation of Il Luogo along with Stefania Moroni.

Dettaglio Photo ©F. Boli

They are now both responsible of the cuisine of this historical restaurant, building its future along with Stefania Moroni, who represents the third generation of the Moroni Family at Il Luogo.

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Sala Photo ©F. Boli

A truly unique gastronomic reality wherein creativity and art, memory tastes from the past and contemporary signs are interwoven...

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Stefania Moroni, is the heart and soul of Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia, together with the chefs Fabio Pisani and Alessandro Negrini, carries on with that unique reality created by her parents Aimo and Nadia, so able and innovative in interpreting and proposing anew the rich Italian gastronomic tradition. Today, the Luogo, member of the prestigious Relais&Chateaux Association, is known above all for the style of its cuisine, as well as for the artistic-architectural space in-progress itself so desired by Stefania Moroni, promoting an inedited blend of cooking performances, and food and wine tastings.

Stefania Moroni adds “Our cuisine is always actively involved between the maximum rigor with respect to the value of the product, its specificity, history and the liberty of a research which embraces and takes into account the requests which society from time to time proposes.”

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Spaghetti Cipollotto

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Within the confines of this Luogo, one will find dishes that have scanned the evolution of Italian cooking: top-quality and exclusive raw materials, fruit of years of research for their meticulous selection, all to bring to our attention also those lesser known or perhaps forgotten ingredients and cooking techniques. All is carried out with great respect for the original flavors, using recipes whose principal element is to appraise the uniqueness and goodness of the ingredients proposed in a singular way, richly revoking the past. A most able way, then, of preparing foods so as to bring out all the tasteful treasures which only certain ingredients can reveal.

Tortelli filled with ossobuco

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Alessandro Negrini and Fabio Pisani Photo ©Brambilla Serrani

Fabio and Alessandro have picked up on all the techniques of Aimo and Nadia, elaborating a way of preparing foods by blending the ‘memory for Italian tastes’ with the contemporary.

“Contemporary taste is born through the combining of a vast intricacy of elements. Our style of cooking is characterized by the oscillation between maximum rigor and total liberty of choice, a search for a balance between antique and modern techniques, the quality of the product, its past history, as well as that of those who produce these products. Then, there is the culture, society, and requests that come from living our daily lives” explains Alessandro.

Fabio adds “We could define memory for Italian tastes as that memory with belongs to every person living in Italy, a blend of factors which we share and are indelibly ingrained in our personal history, tied to the land, its aromas, to the differences in various territories and regions, to the pleasures of the table.”

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Controfiletto in leggera panure

Quasi un raviolo - Raw crispy cuttle

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Stoccafisso

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Pureed ‘cicerchie’

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TIRAMISUD

The rich and intense dialogue between this style of cooking and the specific-site installation, Installation-District (Gegend) of Paolo Ferrari, Artist-Scientist and theoretician of ‘in-Absence Art’, reveals the affinity between the sign of the chef and that at the base of the artistic-architectural operations that connote this Luogo-contrada, this place-city. The plotter paintings, canvases, sculptures, designs, and photographs, Didone with his 56 sittings, each one an individual work in itself, have designed and given form to the interior and exterior spaces for over 15 years, constituting the uniqueness of Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia.

Guests are greeted and invited to participate in this truly singular experience, where they can gather the tasteful urgings of the senses and of the mind, and authentically live the experience of Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia The maître Nicola Dell’Agnolo and the sommelier Alberto Piras are key members of the squad that daily animate Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia in a diverse and extraordinary way. The restaurant is on via Montecuccoli, 6, where, for over 50 years, it has been emblematic in characterizing Italian cuisine all over the world.

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It’s Italian, It’s Natural It’s MonViso ineral water is one of life’s essentials and a universal product, so the need for it is self-evident. For daily hydration, digestion, daily functioning, and athletic performance, mineral water is clearly the superior choice to sweetened or artificially-sweetened beverages. Many prefer it over spring water as well. However, don’t think one can speak of mineral water as a whole because the mineral profile varies greatly from brand to brand, reflecting the source waters. Not all mineral waters are created equal.

M Stefano Iorini

Taste of Purity Captured in a Bottle

Monviso is 100% natural mineral water which originates from a pristine subterranean and protected Alpine source away from human pollution. It is not subject to any disinfecting or potabilizing treatments, but instead undergoes natural purification and enrichment in mineral elements through the rock.

EX.IT catches up with Stefano Iorini, CEO of MonViso to know about this superior mineral water…

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Monviso Mountain

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Tell us about MonViso water, where does it come from and is the water bottled at the source?

The Monviso story begins at Europe’s highest spring, at 2042 meters from the Italian Alps’ Monviso mountain, or Il Re di Pietra – the “Stone King. For millions of years the water that flows from Monviso Mountain has fed Italy’s longest river, the Po River.

Its purity gave life to the communities that developed along its course. Monviso water’s properties have been celebrated since ancient times. They’ve given birth to legends about a source at Monviso’s foothills – of magical, miraculous water, able to rejuvenate anyone who drank it...young or old, sick or healthy. That source was a fountain of life. So if you can picture an Alpine region of exceptional natural beauty, preserved and pristine, with rippling streams and forests rich in flora and fauna, then you can picture the cradle that nurtures the waters of Monviso Mountain. In May 2013, Monviso also gained a new claim to fame: the Italian region where Monviso water sources were discovered was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. And of course, Monviso is bottled at source.

MonViso is all about quality, how would you describe the taste of both the still and sparkling water?

Monviso is the taste of purity captured in a bottle, in both its still and sparkling versions. Both versions are available in PET BPA-free bottles and in glass bottles to cater to all preferences and occasions.

Monviso is popular in households as it is in hospitality venues, and this is simply because its unique composition makes it perfect for everyone, including infants, and safe for consumption in large quantities – it’s that premium essential in any fridge and on any table.

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sodium level, why is this good for a drinking water and what are the TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) levels of MonViso?

Monviso’s Rocce Azzurre, our water’s source, is pure and light and rises from a cool, pristine alpine aquifer at just 3.8°C. Hence Monviso water is very light, with a very low mineral content (49 mg/l). Not only is it safe to drink in large quantities, but minimally mineralized water helps you avoid physical fatigue, promotes diuresis and is recommended for people with hypertension and kidney problems.

As for sodium levels, Monviso has one of the lowest sodium levels in the world. It’s specifically suitable for low-sodium diets. A low-sodium diet can help lower and maintain blood pressure within normal values, and so helps reduce the risk of developing hypertension, heart disease, kidney disease and stroke.

What is the right temperature of drinking MonViso water and why?

It depends on personal preferences, but from our experience, Monviso is mostly preferred at 9/11°C. It’s refreshing for everyone whether at room temperature or chilled.

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There are several water brands on the market, what makes MonViso stand out from the rest?

Apart from what I mentioned regarding low mineral content and low sodium content, what separates Monviso from other water brands is simply its unique source and composition, which gives it a combination of properties not found in any other bottled mineral water brand. It’s one of those products you can fully take pleasure in consuming, where flavor and purity unite as one to support health and hydration.

Tell us about the different initiatives of MonViso – Charity, Hydration for Champions, recycling program?

Through our charity initiatives and green consciousness, Monviso has become a brand synonymous with sustainable giving.

Our charity initiative “Take Water. Give Life” is a hospitality and retail sales donation program created jointly by Monviso and Al Jalila Foundation.

Al Jalila Foundation is a global philanthropic organization founded by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and dedicated to transforming lives through medical education and research. “Take Water. Give Life” is based on program participants’ sales of Monviso mineral water. It aims at generating donations for Al-Jalila’s noble cause through a donations formula as clear as Monviso: For every 1 liter of Monviso water sold, Monviso donates 1 AED to Al Jalila Foundation.

According to these regulations, water can be defined From 1 January 2017 to date, Monviso has donated as “natural mineral water” only if it originates from the equivalent of 160,052 liters (160,052 AED in a subterranean and protected source; is free of donations) to support Al Jalila Foundation’s goal to bacteriological contaminants at the source; has save lives. consistent features and composition; may have “Take Water. Give Life” also has a green dimension. beneficial effects on health; is bottled at source in To protect the environment, Monviso has also secure and sealed containers; and is not subject partnered with HomeCycle to become the first to any disinfecting or potabilizing treatments. water brand distributed in the UAE to provide onMonviso meets all these requirements. So when we demand free recycling service to its customers. say 100% natural mineral water to define Monviso, Through that partnership, Monviso collects and this is not a marketing term but a scientific fact. recycles the empty bottles, then donates to Al Jalila How does MonViso place itself in the world market? the return from sales of recycled bottles.

Monviso is 100% natural mineral water, pure at its origin and bottled at source.

It meets the official definition of mineral water based on European and Italian regulations in force.

We launched from Dubai because it has become a global hub, the scene that witnesses the latest first.

So many of the world’s new visions and massive projects are starting right here from this fantastic country...Now we will start our brand expansion in various countries in the world, so that nobody misses out on tasting purity in a bottle, by enjoying Monviso, an Alpine mineral water like no other.

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“Hydration for Champions” is Monviso’s exclusive program, dedicated only to the athletes of our dearest partners, including clubs, academies, and companies. Athletes get special rates and promotions plus the chance to join our humanitarian initiative “Take Water. Give Life”. Search this program’s social media hashtag #hydrationforchampions to learn more and view various media.

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LIDIA & JOE BASTIANICH

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Lidia & Joe Bastianich

ambassadors of Italian food and wine culture

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Text Laura Pedrazzoli

idia Bastianich is an Emmy award-winning television host, best-selling cookbook author, restaurateur and owner of a flourishing food and entertainment business. She has married her two passions in life: food and family.

Born in Pula, Croatia, Lidia Giuliana Matticchio immigrated to the United States at the age of twelve from Trieste, Italy. In 1971 she opened her first Italian restaurant in Queens, New York, and after a decade of success, Lidia created Felidia Ristorante on East 58th Street in Manhattan. She soon became the chef/owner of acclaimed New York City restaurants, Felidia, Becco, Esca and Del Posto, as well as Lidia’s Pittsburgh and Lidia’s Kansas City along with her daughter Tanya.

With 2 James Beard Foundation awards, 5 cookbooks, 4 cooking series on public television, she is considered the ambassador of Italian food and wine culture in the United States, such as her son Joseph who, from the time he was a boy, was raised on the culinary traditions of Italy and was steeped in the rudiments of the restaurant business.

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A compulsive entrepreneur...

After graduating from college Joe went to work in the Finance sector on Wall Street, but after only a year he understood that his passion laid elsewhere: in the world of food and wine. He bought a oneway ticket to Italy, and for a year explored the wine and food culture in a beat-up Fiat Croma, working in restaurants, vineyards and wineries, digging himself deeper into his rich heritage.

Upon returning to New York, he partnered with his mother Lidia to open Becco Restaurant. Soon after Joe became partners with the irrepressible Mario Batali, becoming the less-publicly-vociferous but equally important power behind some of New York’s best restaurants, including the legendary Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca, and the much storied Del Posto.

Father, restaurateur, author, musician and marathoner, Joe is also a successful TV personality: formerly a judge on MasterChef USA with Gordon Ramsay and Graham Elliot, since 2011 he has been taking part in the Italian version of MasterChef with Carlo Cracco (recently replaced

by Antonia Klugmann), Bruno Barbieri and Antonio Cannavacciuolo.

In collaboration with Oscar Farinetti he brought to the United States Eataly, the largest artisanal Italian food and wine marketplace in the world.

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The vineyards in Friuli, a labor of love...

Wine is an integral part of Joe and Lidia Bastianich’s complex lives.

Joe recognized the potential in the rolling hills of Friuli Venezia Giulia two decades ago, and since then he has been convinced that the white wines from this region can compete with the best in the world.

After finding the perfect property near Cividale del Friuli, the Bastianich family set about creating world-class wines from this promising region. “I bought the vineyards in 1997 when my eldest daughter, Olivia, was born” says Joe talking about the winery “it was a leap of faith. My family didn’t have traditional winemaking roots, I wasn’t formally schooled in viticulture, but it was a labor of love for me and my family. It was a leap into the future, I wanted my children to have something that belonged to them in Italy and to eventually call home: that house, that little city and those people. Wine is a challenge that spans generations and I like the thought that the wine we produce now will pass down to my children. Wine is the only thing that I have created that has the possibility to endure.”

The wines of the Bastianich winery reflect the tradition of the territory through hard work in the vineyards and in the winery, but at the same time show the unique personality of the Bastianich family.

The “cru” wines of the estate – Vespa bianco, Vespa Rosso, Calabrone and Plus – are born in the historic terraced vineyards in the Friuli Colli Orientali DOC area, a sort of amphitheatre between the Alps and the Adriatic Sea. The monovarietal wines of the Vini Orsone line - Friulano, Pinot Grigio, Ribolla Gialla, Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Refosco and Schioppettino - come from younger vines in a cooler zone. Both areas share similar soil, locally called ponca, the crumbly sandstone which gives all the wines their signature mineral backbone.

It is here, alongside the family vineyards, that Joe and Lidia set up their first important venture in Europe, opening the Orsone Ristorante e B&B. Orsone is a place of diverse and cosmopolitan personalities. The Ristorante features a modern Italian-American style, with a menu which brings together both Lidia Bastianich’s preferred classics and innovative combinations, adapted with a personal style in a cultural melting pot. The B&B, with five rooms equipped with every comfort, offers an ideal base to explore this corner of eastern Friuli, rich with history, culture and traditions.

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GIANNI CAPRIOLI

Gianni Caprioli

Italian Gourmet Cuisine

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Oyster

Gianni’s Favourite Spaghetti with Sea Urchin, Scallop & Seaweed

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Baked Alaskan King Crab Leg and Crispy Soft Crab

Crab Stracciatella Salad

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Lobster Burrata

ailing from Potenza and a family of cooks, Gianni has been the private chef to one of Italy’s wealthiest families, the Agnelli – owners and pioneers of Italian Automobile (FIAT) manufacturing based in Turin. Gianni cooked for the family during their travels and at home, as well as for catered banquets to prominent private guests representing a Who’s Who of Italy.

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Gianni started his career in his brother’s restaurant and trained at a hotel school in San Marino while developing his skills in homemade pastas and Romagna-style cooking. He worked under Chef Gino Angelini at the Grand Hotel des Bains in Riccione then moved to manage and train staff for the famous Rex’s group of restaurants in the United States for venues in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. which earned him a reputation for providing professional consultancy.

On his return to Riccione in 1997, he worked with another of Italy’s most revered and innovative

chefs, Gianfranco Vissani at Ristorante Azzurra.

His association with Italy’s rich and famous was established in 1998 while cooking for exclusive resort hotels including Hotel Oberosler, Dolci Hotels and Castello di Montegridolfo.

In 2000, he left for Los Angeles to open the famous Osteria Angelini. It was here that his skills were discovered by the Agnelli family – who took him as their personal chef.

Gianni’s passion, creativity and desire to share his culture with the Italian Gourmet scene in Hong Kong have garnered him a strong reputation and following since 2004.

Giando Italian Restaurant & Bar established at Fenwick Pier in 2012, has been the first concept restaurant providing premium quality ingredients directly sourced from Italy’s local farms and boutique wineries, ensuring authenticity in every dish.

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Linguini with Clams, Artichoke, Peppers, and Bottarga topped with Pine Nuts

the scraps from the butcher shops. I’d bring it home and carve out the meat from the fat and sell it back It’s interesting to learn how chefs find their passion to the same butchers. for cooking and where they grew up. Gianni Caprioli tells us how you found your way into the My eldest brother, Gino, had his rotisserie shop culinary field to become one of the most innovative and I worked there during my summer holidays.

I was 13 but I could pass for 16. It was only in and gifted Italian chef!

1988 that I worked legally in San Marino. I was I wouldn’t say I’m innovative or gifted, I’ve just still a student in culinary school but I would find worked and practiced for a long long time! It’s any job to learn and make money: 5 star hotels, part of my duty as an Italian to share our food restaurants,pizzeria… philosophy to as many people as I can!

By 19, I was partner with my brother Gino. We My late father inspired me. He was a mechanic, opened a rotisserie called Don Camillo. After one school secretary and farmer. He worked extremely year, I got a job offer in the U.S. It was my dream hard and I wanted to be like him. I grew up in family to leave Italy and work in the U.S. I didn’t know any of dedicate people who owned a farm and what we English and I’ve never left Italy until 20. It was an eating mostly came from our own cultivation. adventure.

EX.IT catches up with Gianni Caprioli…

From the day I could star to walk and talk, I started helping my father in the farm (my brothers and sisters were not as excited about the farm as I was).

I actually enjoyed my time there with my father. He would let me go sell the fruits and veggies I picked.

That was my first business at 8 years old. I started butchering by the age 10. When I would pick up

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So I’m still not sure how I found my way in the culinary world, I guess it found me? It was the only job I knew and I loved every part of it: the farming, traveling, cooking, cleaning, talking to guests, the long hours, the people from various cultures, the physical labor… After 30 years, I’m still in the same job!

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Italian Porter Chianina Beef

Duo of sustainable cod- Bacalao (North Pole) and roasted Tooth Fish

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Filled calamari, tomato sauce, almonds and tuna bottarga

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It’s a dining experience with Gianni Caprioli’s rustic Italian cuisine, focused and inspired by a combination of fresh and quality ingredients.

A cuisine very creative with the finest produce, creating a composition of flavours…

I don’t try to reinvent our food and I wouldn’t say I’m creative. They are the way they are because of history, geography. It has been developed by impeccable people, countless events in the past and we need to respect that. As a chef I cannot compete with that and should not disrespect it. My role as a chef is to bring forth the essence of Italian food - incredible ingredients gifted to us by mother nature. All I try to do is keep everything simple, letting the ingredients prove themselves, sharing how we have always done it in the past, but doing it a way that is comprehensible today. For example, our marinated pork is a combination of the respect of my view and great ingredients. I really don’t do much other than give a place...a stage for the ingredients to be respected. That’s all!

Gia Trattoria Italiana is all about staying truly Italian. Classics, historial, geography.

Giando is me. The way the food is made is reflective of my personal experiences. I pretty much have a story for every dish! It’s still Italian but I’ve put my own touches.

Fishsteria is a place I wouldn’t mind dining in every day. Kind of my dream restaurant. I love seafood!

Now I look back at it, I’ve always lived in places with great seafood (including Hong Kong, where I currently call home).

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LIDIA & JOE BASTIANICH

Gianni Caprioli worked for Italy’s rich and famous.

Taking you back in 1997 when you worked under Gino Angelini at the Grand Hotel des Bains in Riccione, then worked for the famous Rex’s group of restaurants in the US. In 1998 you worked with Italy’s most innovative chef Gianfranco Vissani and then on in 2000 to open Osteria Angelini in Los Angeles… he tells us about the experiences Gino Angelini and Gianfranco Vissani…

Artichoke Salad, grey mullet bottarga, pecorino cheese and chives

You know...they really shaped me and wired my brain the way I work today. I needed the mentorship from them to be able to do what I do today. I wouldn’t have known how to articulate my work and philosophy for food and the restaurant industry.

Gino is a great great chef but he’s an extraordinary person. He brings a great vibe in the kitchen. When you are working in a confined space for 15+ hours a day, you need to have great personalities in there to keep up the energy and momentum; he does that. Team work. That’s another thing he’s big on because it shapes each of our individual characters.

He also taught me simplicity.

Gianfranco: the importance of ingredients and their origin. That’s my philosophy today and I’ve adapted it from him.

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Flat Italian Pasta with Basic Pesto, Toasted Pine Nuts and Green Beans

Truffle Asparagus

Risotto

Beef Carpaccio with Rocket Salad and Parmesan

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Lobster Bisque

ExtraordinarY ITALIAN

Gianni Caprioli’s process of creating a new dish…

“My past experiences. I have a pretty good memory from the things I read to the things I’ve done in the past. I’ll sit in one of our restaurants way after service hours or when everyone has left and I’ll start thinking and writing new menus. I never drink any alcohol during this process. Just water, tea or coffee. I don’t like losing control of my thoughts.”

Gianni Caprioli tells us what ingredients inspires him, his favorite ingredients and ingredient that he hasn’t been able to master…

Snow Crab topped Burrata and Tomatoes

As I always have emphasized ingredients: seasonal ingredients, fresh ingredients…the most important part is the people. The people who grow them, take care of them, process them. People who have made it their lifetime work to produce great food and preserve the communities at the cost of profitability.

We need to support families, small producers and farmers who have sacrificed and committed to their work. They care and are passionate and their products are much better. Because the little things matter to them. Because they are there every day working with their team. Because they live in the same community they work in. Because they are proud of what they built as a community/family.

Because they eat what they produce. Because they want to make this world a better place in the way(s) they know how. This is why we open our Mercato

by Giando, a small humble grocery store.

Any product that is fresh and in season. Natural.

No pesticides or genetic modifications. Made and cared by people who are passionate about what they do.

Broad beans - also known as fava beans. I’m extremely allergic to it so I cannot work with it!

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Hot Dark Chocolate Strega Liqueur Pudding With Ice Cream and Whipped Cream

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Citrus Panna Cotta with Red Berries

ExtraordinarY ITALIAN

Gianni Caprioli special cooking techniques behind Last year Giando and Già Trattoria joined over 600 your signature dishes… restaurants in Italy and across the world to fundraise for the earthquake in Amatrice… Gianni Caprioli Curiosity, care, consistency. Be constantly curious adds “Italy almost never had earthquakes. It’s scary. so it doesn’t stop me from learning every day. Care Our family has friends there and they lost a lot of about everything that it takes to make a dish, to beautiful historical buildings. I had the opportunity create the restaurant. to visit Amatrice a week after the earthquake. It was If our guests comes back for the same dish because very hard to see. People lost everything (homes for they loved it the 1st time, we need to be consistent generations, cars, pets, photos…). I was told by the to make them fall in love again the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, police chief that they still have no idea what to do, a lot of people are emotional, hurt, in pain, lost.

5th…

They were just going day by day. They have all the Gianni Caprioli tells us what keeps him motivated... immediate help needed at that moment but what People. It is crazy tiring every day. If I didn’t have they really need is the financial help after: to build our dedicated team, our passionate producers+ schools, homes, hospitals, etc.” suppliers and our loyal customers, I would not have lasted this long. Their energy, curiosity, devotion, smiles, appreciations keeps me going.

Being a chef is perceived as a glamorous profession, Gianni Caprioli’s advice to chefs who are first entering the kitchen for the first time… “Be humble We have a mission to fulfill that is bigger than me, and work hard. Being a chef is a lifelong journey bigger than my team so we need a whole city to of learning. You cannot think you are good enough come together, I’m just a very small humble part and stop. That’s the day you should quit. Constantly in our shared mission: giving +sharing the best be curious. If you are not, this is not the work for you.“ honest food we possibly can.”

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LAVAZZA

Lavazza: meeting the demand for sustainable coffee Lavazza recently launched a sustainable coffee blend for the hospitality industry in the GCC. Karim, Marketing Manager at Lavazza, explains why sustainable coffee is on the rise among consumers in the region.

At this year’s Gulfood, we launched a new sustainability blend: ¡Tierra! Brasile Espresso. The new blend, targeted industry professionals, is a premium blend obtained by combining the finest Brazilian arabica coffees with washed Conillon. ¡Tierra! Brasile is mild espresso with an intense personality.

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Aside from its taste, ¡Tierra! Brasile Espresso is a sustainable coffee created as part of ¡Tierra!, a sustainability project launched in 2002. The project, in partnership with the Rainforest Alliance, aims to improve the social and environmental conditions in several coffee-growing communities globally.

But why is this important?

Consumers, worldwide, are increasingly interested to know where their products come from. Authenticity.

Integrity. Purpose.

8% of coffee drinkers globally ($6.5 billion), means the appetite for sustainable coffee In the UAE is fast growing. Sourcing has become front of mind for many coffee drinkers as the importance of sustainability is taking hold at a global, regional and local level.

The drive for sustainability is about more than just initiatives and practices. It is about making sure those initiatives have an impact, which is where brand authenticity comes in – a brand that is truly sustainable, is truly authentic. Of course, this represents a significant shift in the coffeelover’s experience. A deep connection is formed between the brand and coffee-lover based on a mutual understanding of what it means to strive for authenticity. The coffee-lover trusts the brand to act with their interests in mind, which entails protecting This is what today’s coffee connoisseurs seek, and the environment and community. they will not settle for any less. They realise that coffee is much more than a morning beverage. They At Lavazza, we value our commitment to the appreciate coffee as a multifaceted experience that environment immensely. We highlight our enriches and motivates, an essential part of one’s commitment to sustainability by showcasing the lifestyle. They care about their individual impact, ¡Tierra! Range, and debuting the ¡Tierra! Brasile and they demand the same from their favourite Expresso. ¡Tierra!, Today’s coffee connoisseurs are placing increased importance on ethical sourcing, coffee. while searching for the ultimate experience in quality.

As more and more people understand the This is precisely what they can expect when they importance of preserving the environment in which indulge in the ¡Tierra! Brasile Expresso. The blend we live, brands are compelled to do more to ensure is a concrete example of Lavazza’s commitment to they are meeting (or exceeding) global standards. sustainability and its painstaking search for the best First and foremost, connoisseurs crave an authentic coffee selections. experience that aligns with their ideals, values and lifestyles, which is precisely why brands must As the UAE community places increasing importance embrace the desire for responsible and ethical on ethical sourcing, we truly believe that the UAE is fast becoming a coffee-lover’s paradise. consumerism.

In the process, coffee connoisseurs delight in a This, coupled with research from Euromonitor sustainable coffee experience that combines quality International highlighting the Middle East represents with dedication to a better future.

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ALBERTO FACCANI

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curiosity, creativity and learning... lberto was passionate about cooking ever since he was a boy, and this self-taught passion culminated in his celebration of a dream, becoming a chef and being awarded a Michelin Star in 2004.

Considered as a dynamic person with an open mind about any cookery style, form and tradition. His immortal words as a child “When I’m older I’ll be a chef’, it is a passion that is fostered by continuous study, a boundless curiosity and a constant desire to experiment and learn that over time has opened him up to discovering the world and to becoming a member of the Jeunes Restaurateurs d’Europe group at a very young age.

A Alberto Faccani

Faccani’s cuisine is centered around the product, techniques and research, and is based on the quality and an appreciation of the base materials of the local area, as well as a knowledge of new flavours and textures.

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ALBERTO FACCANI

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a passionate discovery of different flavours, colours, textures and smiles...

Magnolia Restaurant was created in 2003 following an idea by Alberto Faccani to captivate his guests in a unique sensory experience consisting of fun, a passion for pure flavours, and harmonious combinations. Magnolia is a place where local tradition meets other worlds, where creativity meets the desire to experiment and astound, where cooking meets art, and where this harmonious blend will surprise and enchant you. This formula quickly won over the palates of critics and resulted in Magnolia being awarded with a Michelin Star in just its second year of operation.

From 2008 till 2010 he took part in the Italian TV-show “La Prova del Cuoco” on the national TV channel RaiUno.

Alberto Faccani handles all aspects of his restaurant, from the selection of base materials to the plate settings, and from bread-making to pastries, making the Magnolia “a fresh and dynamic place of enjoyment, with an international feel” where guests will smile from amazement and pleasure in equal measure when each course arrives.

In 2010, in collaboration with KitchenAid, he opened a cooking school in his restaurant aiming to teach to his clients and colleagues the philosophy behind any Magnolia’s dishes. According to the wine and food guide “Identità Golose” he is one of the 100 chefs who have changed the Italian cuisine in the past 10 years.

Along with the President Chef Massimo Bottura he is member of the CheftoChef Emilia Romagna Association which wants to enhance the regional cookery traditions.

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LUCA ABBRUZZINO

orn in Crotone, Luca spent most of his childhood in Andali, a small mountain village of presila Catanzarese, where he learnt to love the genuine and traditional things of his land, Calabria. His palate and taste buds gets use to the flavors of traditional cuisine and follows the admiration his father Antonio.

B Luca Abbruzzino

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Finishing his studies, Luca started working in the family restaurant where he started to familiarize himself and finding his way around the kitchen.

His passion encouraged him to travel, taking him in search of new flavors, new tastes and inspirations. Gaining experience in prestigious kitchens - Gennaro Esposito La Torre del Saracino in Vico Equense, Enrico Crippa at Ristorante Piazza Duomo Alba, Mauro Uliassi in Senigallia, Piergiorgio Parini, and Jean Francoise Piege in Paris.

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linguine, cozze, carote e mandorle

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sgombro, mozzarella di bufala e cetrioli

ExtraordinarY ITALIAN

Upon his return to Italy, Luca took over the family restaurant and put into practice everything that he acquired from these various experiences. His cuisine is “pure intuition” of taste but also the technique and knowledge of produce used. Accompanied by passion, sacrifice and the concept of “Tradition Calabra and creative genius”.

The inspiration of his dishes is the fruit of scenes of everyday life and tastes of once, revisited in modern unexpected combinations.

Here for some years now manages the kitchen, and the awards not slow to arrive where only five years from the opening of the restaurant il 05/11/2013 arrives the prestigious recognition of Michelin star.

2016 the Espresso guide rewards him as a young man of the year. Its cuisine is pure intuition but also taste and awareness both of the art that the raw materials used, accompanied by passion, sacrifice and a beautiful hard head, by calabrese truthful.

tonno, pomodoro e fresa

The inspiration of its dishes is the fruit of scenes of everyday life and tastes of once, revisited in modern unexpected combinations.

The concept of “Tradition Calabra and creative genius” is the leitmotif of paper , that Luca updates and revolutionize with the evolution of the market and of the seasons.

In 2013, Luca was awarded a Michelin Star and in 2016 Espresso guide named a sthe chef of the year. Today his dream is not to become a great chef, but never stop to grow and learn...

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WG MAGAZINE JANUARY 2017

WG MAGAZINE

2016 A COLLECTIVE OF CHEFS

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2016 GELINAZ! WWW.WGMAGAZINES.COM

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a feast for the palate...

GÉRALD PASSEDAT

LE PETIT NICE

REIF OTHMAN

MEDITTERASIAN CUISINE

PACO TORREBLANCA

MAESTRO PASTELERO www.wgmagazines.com

WG MAGAZINE JULY 2017

ARNAUD DONCKELE

A TRUE ARTISAN

ALBERT ADRIÀ ENIGMA

MASSIMO BOTTURA

FOOD FOR SOUL

JONATHAN BERNTSENS CLOU CUISINE

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PASSION FOR NATURE www.wgmagazines.com

PEPE MONCAYO

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