JANUARY WG MAGAZINE 2019
www.wgmagazines.com
ITALIAN MASTERS WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS1 WG January 2019 -
SA HTEIN by
2 - WG January 2019
WG
WG MAGAZINE
Bringing you a taste of the Middle East’s culinary scene www.sahteinbywg.com
WG January 2019 -
3
NOVEMBER 2018
BRUNO SERATO
INSPIRES CHANGE
GONZALO LUZARRAGA
A JOURNEY ON A PLATE
VALERIA PICCINI
A MASTER CHEF
4www.extraordinaryitalian.com - WG January 2019
FEDERICO ZANASI CONDIVIDERE
WG MAGAZINE VOL 1
PEDRO SUBIJANA
RICHNESS IN VARIETY
EDORTA LAMO
TRADITIONAL BASQUE PINTXO
JOSEAN ALIJA
CORE, HEART, ESSENCE
JOSÉ LUIS VICENTE GÓMEZ
LEGACY OF FOUR GENERATIONS www.bas-que.com
ANDONI LUIS ADURIZ NINE COURSE
SAN SEBASTIÁN CULINARY HEAVEN WG January 2019 -
5
Contemporary Italian cuisine by
World Renowned Three Michelin Star Chef Heinz Beck
6 - WG January 2019
For reservations call +971 4 8182 155 | +971 4 818 2222 | Waldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah | www.waldorfastoria.com/Dubai
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
7
8 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
From the first photographer of Rolling Stone Magazine with JIMI HENDRIX 1968 - 1970 Baron Wolman saw the music. His iconic music photography included shots on-stage with Jimi Hendrix, backstage with the Rolling Stones, and in front of the stage with Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin. Grace Slick and the Grateful Dead performed for the camera in his studio. Baron Wolman was Rolling Stone’s first staff photographer. From 1967 through the early seventies, his pictures have appeared in virtually every issue.
To order a copy, please contact Baron Wolman - baron@baronwolman.com WG January 2019 -
9
10 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
For more than 80 years, Bragard supports women and men who give the best of themselves everyday at work to ignite their client’s taste buds. Combining tradition and inovation, professional workwear from Bragard gained unparalled reputation thanks to its quality and make the biggest names of the culinary and hospitaly world proud.
BRAGARD LLC OFFICE 604 BEDAIA BUILDING AL BARSHA 1 PO BOX 214338 DUBAI UAE Tel : +971 4 395 16 11 Fax : +971 4 395 16 12 fabien.firetto@bragard.com
www.bragard.com
WG January 2019 -
11
12 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
13
Good taste isn’t expensive
S P A C E S
F O R
B E A U T I F U L
L I V I N G
conceptplus INTERIOR DESIGN
14
Suite 214, Hamsa (A) Office Tower, Za’beel Road Karama, Dubai, United Arab Emirates P.O.Box 300450, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel.: +971 4 3705269 I Fax: +971 4 2947442 - WG January 2019E-mail : info@conceptplusstyle.com I osama@conceptplusstyle.com www.conceptplusstyle.com
11
WG MAGAZINE
AWARNESS IS FINE BUT ADVOCACY TAKES YOUR BRAND TO THE NEXT LEVEL info@wgkonnect.com
WG January 2019 -
15
All new
The full range.
For your dream kitchen.
Large kitchen, small kitchen, many meals, fewer meals, quick s whatever your challenge is, SelfCookingCenterÂŽ and CombiMa Find out more: rational-online.com and ConnectedCooking.com
16 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
snacks, extensive dinner – aster® Plus have the answer.
WG January 2019 -
17
Welcome to the perfect City break, San Sebastian.
Don´t miss one of the most beautiful and awarded cities in Europe. San Sebastian is waiting for you to be discovered. BOOK YOUR NEXT CITY BREAK FROM
85€
www.sansebastianturismo.com
18 - WG January 2019
MADRID
BARCELONA
WG MAGAZINE
E X P E R I E N C E U N R I VA L L E D QUALITY Soaring above Amsterdam’s rooftops, step into a calm and composed realm of fine dining at Ciel Bleu Restaurant. Situated on the 23rd floor of Hotel Okura Amsterdam, Ciel Bleu holds two Michelin stars for its international cuisine led by chefs Onno Kokmeijer and Arjan Speelman. Attentive, amiable staff are on hand to welcome and guide you through the seasonal menus showcasing the creations of Ciel Bleu’s world-class chefs, alongside exclusive vintages from the award-winning wine list. For a rare glimpse into the workings of a two Michelin-starred team, reserve the Chef’s Table overlooking the heart of the kitchen. Visit www.okura.nl/cielbleu for more information and reservations.
Ferdinand Bolstraat 333 1072 LH Amsterdam The Netherlands www.okura.nl T +31 (0)20 6787 111
WG January 2019 -
19
Simple & Delicious
WHOLEFOOD RECIPES Available as hardcopy from thehealthychef.com E-Book versions available from iTunes, Amazon & Google Play
thehealthychef.com
20 - WG January 2019
@teresacutter_healthychef
4 Collins Street, Surry Hills, Sydney, Australia hello@thehealthychef.com
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
21
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!
22
The Pearl - WG 2019 Australia Martin Benn -January Sepia, Sydney,
partnered with SKD ACADEMY the culinary institute in the Philippines
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
23
24 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
25
26 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
BRINGING AUTHENTIC GREEK FOOD TO THE TABLE
Opens daily from 12:30pm to 5:00pm & from 7:00pm to 11:30pm Located on the park level in cluster P, JLT connected to Armada BlueBay Hotel
Contact +971 (0) 4 399 8166 MythosDubai www. mythoskouzina.com WG January 2019 -
27
28 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
DUTY DUTYFREE FREE PRODUCTS PRODUCTS & & BONDED BONDED STORES STORES
5, Vyzantiou, Spyrides 2064Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus 5, Vyzantiou, Spyrides Tower, Towers, 2064 Cyprus Tel:+357 +35722210828 222 108 28 I I +44 +44 745 745 228 Tel: 22868 680202 www.brandhouse.uk.com www.brandhouse.uk.com
WG January 2019 -
29
Editor Feature Editor Contributors
Fabian deCastro Maria Lourdes Elisabete Ferreira Michael Hepworth Laura Pedrazzoli
Photography Culinary Consultant
‘ Identifying underprivileged children with culinary ambitions...
Victoria Shashirin Aira Piva
FJMdesign WGkonnect Photography Consultant Creative Design Studio Publisher IZZY Publishing Pvt. Ltd. WG™ 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@wgmagazines.com
G
Company Registration Number U22100GA2011PTC006731 Marketing & Advertising Call: +91 832 246 3234 E-mail: marketing@wgmagazines.com WG™ Beverly Hills Michael Hepworth 287 S.Robertson Blvd Beverly Hills, CA 90211
©IZZY Publishing Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. Editorial material and opinions expressed in WG™ digital publication do not necessarily reflect the views of IZZY Publishing Pvt. Ltd. WG™ 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. ©2019 WG™ All rights reserved.
30 - WG January 2019
Cover Image Credit: FRANCESCO GUARRACINO - ROBERTO’S, DUBAI SQUID INK RISOTTO PHOTO © EKATERINS IVANKINA
G WG MAGAZINE
Happy New Year! This exciting first issue of 2019, WG will deliver a palate satisfying journey featuring the Italian Masters and the Best Restaurants around the world.
With over 30 year of culinary experience and consultancy, WG welcomes a collaboration with Chef Aira Piva as its Culinary Consultant.
Widely known throughout Italy and Europe as a noteworthy master of modern gastronomy, Heinz Beck brings his unique interpretations of the modern kitchen and thoughtfully curates ingredients, implements innovative techniques to convey simple components into highly evocative dishes. Niko Romito’s food is often described as simple. This is very true, in the sense that it is not complicated, which is not to say that it is without significant complexity. Determined to be a chef, Alfredo Russo’ cuisine is founded on absolute respect for the Italy and the Piedmontese region. Since opening Osteria Francescana in 1995, Massimo Bottura has become a leading figure amongst a new generation of Italian chefs. Having learnt from great chefs and working in some of the best kitchens in the world Stefano Baiocco has figured out what he wants to be and Francesco Guarracino thanks his childhood and the environment he grew up in, his first memory of cooking was making tomato sauce at home.
Under the guidance of the Bras family, Simone Cantafio - the Italian in Hokkaido has learnt the soul of Bras gastronomy and Umberto Bombana is truly the king of white truffle and the best Italian in Asia. With his extensive travels around Europe and Asia, Anthony Genovese discovered his culinary style. The Ambassador of the Note by Note, Hervé This recognized Andrea Camastra’s big talent, determination and diligence. Pino Cuttaia’s dream of combining techniques he learnt in Piedmont and the brilliant ingredients of Sicily would be his culinary creation while Angelo Sabatelli’s culinary philosophy is simple and less is more. Ciccio Sultano transforms product into food using all five senses with an inclination for taste and touch. Crafting a dessert with such characteristics is very difficult, Fabrizio Galla enjoys blending all these ingredients in a serious experimentation approach. At Condividere, Federico Zanasi serves haute cuisine in a fun, informal way. From a formaio to a pizzaioli, Giuseppe Cutraro loves to play with flour and Ardit Curri gives room to simplicity and pairs two cultures. Donato De Santis’ cuisine is a perfect blend of tradition and innovation. Giancarlo Morelli’s commitment, creativity and passion has helped his progressive. Giuseppe Iannotti’s passion for cooking began at the age of six and it’s something he always tried to cultivate and keep alive. Luca Fantin draws his inspiration from the changes of the seasons. With a perfect balance, Marco Martini found his way into the culinary field by necessity. For Christian Fava balance is the main ingredient of a fine dish, harmony between different aromas. And Michelangelo Mammoliti forged his philosophy, laying the foundation for what today is his way of cooking and which is based on three key words – standards, excellence and rigor. Bon Appétit
FdeCastro
WG January 2019 -
31
JANUARY 2019
CONTENTS 34
HEINZ BECK
42
NIKO ROMITO
52
ALFREDO RUSSO
58
MASSIMO BOTTURA
68
BAIOCCO STEFANO
74
FRANCESCO GUARRACINO
82
SIMONE CANTAFIO
94
UMBERTO BOMBANA
102 108
ANTHONY GENOVESE
112
PINO CUTTAIA
118
ANGELO SABATELLI
124
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANT
144
CICCIO SULTANO
150
FABRIZIO GALLA
156
FEDERICO ZANASI
164
GIUSEPPE CUTRARO
170
ARDIT CURRI
176
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANT
192
DONATO DE SANTIS
196
GIANCARLO MORELLI
202
GIUSEPPE IANNOTTI
208
LUCA FANTIN
214
MARCO MARTINI
222
CHRISTIAN FAVA
226
MICHELANGELO MAMMOLITI
230
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANT
ANDREA CAMASTRA
32 - WG January 2019
FRANCESCO GUARRACINO - ROBERTO’S, DUBAI SQUID INK RISOTTO PHOTO © EKATERINS IVANKINA
WG MAGAZINE
Porcini, truffle, aged comte Macaroon
This dish is just a small bite but with very large and powerful flavors, I really wanted to make a statement with the first dish. A really intense flavor burst to shake off the autumn chill and prepare you for the meal ahead, we would even suggest a good Scotch whiskey to offer an extra warming felling. I imagine myself after venturing into the chilled autumn forest to find the porcini and autumn truffle settling by the fire to enjoy the macaroon with a good Scotch, I imagine this to be very relaxing and want to relax the guests in preparation for the meal ahead. I chose to incorporate these flavors into a savory macaroon for a number of reasons, firstly here in Hong Kong the macaroon is hugely popular, they are everywhere, cafĂŠ, restaurant, supermarket just about anywhere that serves food. Secondly the flavors and textures just work really well, Almond, truffle, porcini mushroom, crisp macaroon, creamy porcini puree, soft comte cheese. Thirdly I feel it is interesting, I know of very few people offering savory macaroons, it is actually very challenging as you would ordinarily need sugar for it to work and that remains so, the challenge is to get the balance right whilst creating something which still resembles a Macaroon.
WG January 2019 -
33
HEINZ BECK
A HEINZ BECK MASTER OF GASTRONOMY
34 - WG January 2019
s he often says “At first my desire was to be a painter, for the love I have for art, but my family opposed: so I decided to dedicate myself to a profession that could allow me to express my creativity. Since the beginning of my career, I have always been interested in food effects on the body and the right relationship between food and health. A dish can be tasty as well as light and well balanced”. Heinz Beck is widely known throughout Italy and Europe as a noteworthy master of modern gastronomy. With his unique interpretations of the modern kitchen, Heinz Beck thoughtfully curates ingredients and implements innovative techniques to convey simple components into highly evocative dishes. He fell in love with Italian cuisine soon as he went to Rome “Italian cuisine is one of the greatest in the world and it offers such a variety of excellent raw materials that you cannot exempt from experiencing with them in order to reconcile health and taste” says Heinz Beck. A pivotal moment for Beck’s culinary development came in 1991, through an opportunity to join legendary chef Heinz Winkler, as sous chef at “Residenz”, Aschau. This incarnation gave him a chance to further his culinary skills while working under of one of his heroes, and by gaining his ‘kuchenmeister’’ one of Germany’s most prestigious culinary certifications. His experience with Heinz Winkler was so formative that he still considershim as his teacher as well as a friend to talk with about his dishes. Winkler gave him the opportunity to travel and meet different realities outside of Germany.
WG MAGAZINE
PHOTO © INTERMEDIA JAPAN
WG January 2019 -
35
HEINZ BECK
TORTELLINI WITH “PAPPA AL POMODORO” ON WILD GARLIC SAUCE AND SCAMPI PHOTO © JANEZ PUKSIC
36 - WG January 2019
MULLET SANDWICH PHOTO © JANEZ PUKSIC
WG MAGAZINE
SPAGHETTI CACIO E PEPE WITH WHITE SHRIMPS MARINATED IN LIME
Beyond an excellent career as a highly decorated chef, Heinz Beck has been heralded as a leader in Italian and Mediterranean culinary tradition. Born in Friedrichshafen in 1963, Beck is a careful observer of food effects on the body. His profound understanding of culinary culture is revealed in several of his noteworthy articles, which address more than culinary practices.
PHOTO Š DONATO MAURO ADVANCE VISUAL COMMUNICATION
For more than 15 years, he has had important collaborations with national and international scientists, as well as Italian universities, concerning the good balance between food and health. Today, Beck consults several businesses, offering the same attention to detail that his guests receive at his 3 Michelin star La Pergola in Rome, as well as in all his restaurants worldwide, a testament to the genius of Heinz Beck. A polyhedral genius of our time, in which different attitudes evolve into different arts, Beck is multi-starred and widely awarded, with prizes including the Five and Six Star Diamond Award (both conferred by the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences and the first in Italy to obtain such acknowledgement), the Gold Medal at the Foyer of Artists, an international prize awarded for the first and only time in 40 years to a chef, and the Knight of the Order of Merit from the Federal Republic of Germany. RICORDO DI FRISELLA
WG January 2019 -
37
HEINZ BECK
FILLET OF VENISON ON AN AUTUMN FIELD PHOTO © JANEZ PUKSIC
“Heinz Beck is fond of all the dishes that he creates, because there is a story behind each of them and every dish is the result of studies”
In 2010, Heinz Beck and 10 other top Italian chefs joined forces to come up with the Order of the Knights of Italian Cuisine, in order to communicate with national and international institutions and the media as a united front. In 2014, thanks to his strong and persistent attention towards health and innovation in the gastronomy field, Beck was named Chef of the Year at the 10th Identità Golose international congress, and the recipient of the Lion of Venice Career Award, conferred by AEPE during the 6th Congress Gusto in Scena. Beck’s culinary creations is based on a unique interpretation of the modern kitchen that goes beyond his undisputed culinary talent, the utmost attention toward ingredient selection and their transformation into highly innovative flavours. “Balance is the Mediterranean cuisine itself. Nature itself is a great source of influence. The seasonality of raw materials guides my choices in creating different menus.”
ICED SPHERE OF POMEGRANATE ON GIANDUJA CREAM AND CANNELLONI FILLED WITH SALTY PINE-SEEDS CHANTILLY PHOTO © JANEZ PUKSIC
38 - WG January 2019
He always finds it hard to answer which is the best recipe he has created. To Beck it is like asking a mother which is her favourite son. He is fond of all the dishes that he creates, because there is a story behind each of them and every dish is the result of studies, test and constant development. The basis of his ideas of the kitchen is curiosity. For his recipes, he draw inspiration from everything that surrounds him and emotions that gives him what he observes.
WG MAGAZINE
AMBERJACK TARTARE WITH ALMOND TOFU AND DEHYDRATED OLIVES
LOBSTER WITH RED CHICORY AND CRISP LENTILS PHOTO © MARCO SERAFINI AMICI
WG January 2019 -
39
HEINZ BECK
40 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
Beck’s profound understanding of the culinary culture is revealed in several of his books, ‘PASTA by Heinz Beck’ – his concepts of lightness and delicacy, as he goes beyond the classic tenets of Italian cooking and the extraordinary ability to enclose a ‘universe’ on a plate. Beck has always been fascinated by pasta, a complete food and basis of Mediterranean diet. As it provides complex carbohydrates, energy to slower release, low glycaemic index, good source of protein and, finally, low in fat. Apart from its nutritional aspects, pasta makes room for creativity: for this reason after his first book, “Heinz Beck”, he decided pasta was the perfect matter to write a book about. Cookery, to Beck is synonymous with evolution. Just think about how different types of cookery are varied over the time, reaching ever more complex forms. Cookery techniques encourages his creativity and allow him to create well balanced dishes without sacrificing taste. His motivation comes from seeing his guests’ return to his restaurants and seeing his pupil’s grow.
FRUIT SALAD WITH LEMONGRASS JELLY AND GINGER ICE CREAM
WG January 2019 -
41
NIKO ROMITO
42 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
A
self-taught chef, born in Castel di Sangro, a small town in the central Italian region of Abruzzo. His father had a historical pastry shop, which was open from 1970 to 2000, until it was converted into a restaurant. For Niko Romito it has always been a place of the soul: this is where he spent many years of his childhood, when he returned from Rome to Abruzzo for the holidays. This is where his passion for leavened products and sourdough comes from. He used to eat the “bomba”, a krapfen like pastry, which was the only thing he was happy to eat every morning (now the same is converted into a street food format).
NIKO ROMITO
PHOTO © ALBERTO ZANETTI
When his father suddenly passed away, his trattoria Reale was just opened, and he decided to keep it open only during the summer and then sell it in order to go back to Rome and continue his life. At that time he was studying economics at the university and he wanted to become a broker. He had only five exams to take to complete his degree and no culinary experience at all. His initial efforts at Reale was driven largely by improvisation and survival instinct, accompanied by a relentless research and a strong entrepreneurial attitude. It was the ultimate reason that made him decide to attempt a career as a chef, he realized that he had to make a choice, which life was putting him in front of a challenge which he decided to face and together with his sister Cristiana, he took over the family restaurant. It was sort of driven by an inner instinct. He was not sure at all that he had taken the right decision back then, nevertheless after the summer he didn’t close the restaurant and decided to follow this path going through a completely new experience, without any safety net.
WG January 2019 -
43
NIKO ROMITO
ALCOHOLIC MIXED WILD GREENS WITH ALMOND PHOTO © BRAMBILLA SERRANI
This aspiring broker, self-taught cook with deep ties to his territory, in just 7 years he received 3 Michelin stars, followed by several more distinctions, such as the “Performance of the Year” award from the Espresso Guide, the 84th place on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2016 and the “Dish of the Year” award, with the highest score of “5 Hats”, from the Espresso Guide in 2017. When he started his experience at Reale, he immediately realized that he needed to acquire solid technical and theoretical foundations so he took a couple of short courses of cuisine while working in the kitchen. He spent twenty days in Girona at El Celler de Can Roca (two Michelin stars at the time, now three) and realized that he needed to change direction. His encounter with Valeria Piccini and her husband Maurizio Menichetti at Da Caino (two Michelin stars) in Montemerano was fateful: the personal and professional relationship that was born there still continues to this day. He was incurably curious: every free moment he had was spent in the pages of a book or at the table of one colleague or another. All these experiences, completely different from each other, contributed to shape a new vision of his cuisine. Valeria taught him the value of working with local products and producers, the meaning of respecting the essence of raw materials and the importance of creating a familiar and respectful atmosphere inside the restaurant among the staff. From Roca’s brothers he learnt how technology and techniques can help you to transform a product according to the idea you have in your mind and the inspiration you have in that moment. He learnt the importance of being able to use equipment and tools in order to create a dish that follows your inspiration.
44 - WG January 2019
FRESH RAVIOLI FILLED WITH CHICKEN PHOTO © BRAMBILLA SERRANI
WG MAGAZINE
ONION REDUCTION WITH PARMIGIANO CHEESE AND TOASTED SAFFRON PHOTO © BRAMBILLA SERRANI
WG January 2019 -
45
NIKO ROMITO
GRATINÈ COULIFLOWER PHOTO © BRAMBILLA SERRANI
46 - WG January 2019
PIGEON AND PISTACHIO PHOTO © ROBERTO SAMMARTINI
WG MAGAZINE
“I am quite an outsider, I’ m not very into gastronomic trends. My cuisine is the cuisine I like, the one I like to eat first of all ”
Niko Romito’s cuisine highlights the purity of flavors in perfect harmony on each plate. He relies extremely on a limited number of ingredients in order to focus on radical essentiality: working in this way, the slightest misalignment emphasizes eventual mistakes. Put simply, when there’s no overabundance of flavours on the plate, all is laid bare. “My cooking is founded on study, experimentation and technique, but it is only through balance that extreme complexity translates to linearity. Every of my dishes is in a millimetric balance, and this balance is founded on different elements of nature. Flavours and volumes, as well as temperatures, structures and the ‘geography’ of the fork or spoon. How the bite enters the mouth, how it interacts with the taste buds, how it leaves the palate. Elements that prolong the aftertaste of a given dish on the tongue, leaving perhaps a single flavour in contact with the receptors for an extra second or two; elements that generate a progression of flavours according to a precise sequence. It is only through balance that acidity pushed to the max can evolve into sweetness; that a feminine touch can transmit a masculine vibe; that the sobriety that evokes the purity of certain childhood dishes can become elegantly sophisticated” says Niko.
SEMOLINA FETTUCCELLE PASTA PHOTO © BRAMBILLA SERRANI
PHOTO © BRAMBILLA SERRANI
His food is often described as simple, this is very true, in the sense that it is not complicated, which is not to say that it is without significant complexity. Simplicity is a fundamental value to me. He often says that his cuisine is not complicated, which is not to say that it is without significant complexity. In cooking, complexity can be advantageous; complication never. By virtue of this simplicity, or rather linearity, or essentiality, his food can be appreciated at the intuitive level, without having to be decoded. It is no accident that his recipes are enjoyed by both those with gastronomic training and those without. He works from the ingredient, trying to awaken its intrinsic power rather than add it. He doesn’t want the ingredient to get lost, but rather explode on the palate with all its vitality. VEAL JELLY, DRIED PORCINI, ALMONDS AND BLACK TRUFFLES PHOTO © BRAMBILLA SERRANI
WG January 2019 -
47
NIKO ROMITO
“Balance is also crucial to Niko, along with lightness and health”
He provides his guests’ with lightness rather than weigh them down, ensuring that after a good number of courses they feel good, their palates still capable of perceiving flavours and their digestion uncompromised. The ‘lightness quotient’ of his dishes, however, is not the result of calculation. He doesn’t create food that is balanced from the nutritional standpoint to satisfy a moral imperative of healthy eating, sacrosanct though it be. The techniques he uses leads him naturally to create dishes that are neither sweet nor fat: my cooking is light and balanced because only in this way can it express the ingredients to the maximum.
PHOTO © BRAMBILLA SERRANI
His dishes reflects his cooking philosophy, they speak on my behalf telling his story. He strongly believes that creativity is something you have or you don’t, but it does not remain constant; it comes in waves. His creativity finds its maximum expression when he finds the time to isolate himself in his kitchen and lets all the thoughts and reasoning that comes from his travels, from the people he meets along the way, from his students, from the restaurants, the daily experiences arouse and give him the right stimuli and feeds his ideas. In the kitchen theory and practise are always connected. Sometimes he starts with taking inspiration from the raw materials: textures, colours, flavours, everything can inspire him but he does not have a precise idea of what to do until he starts to transform the ingredient. Other times he begins from a theoretical assumption, like a chromatic assonance or a specific technique that he wants to apply to a specific ingredient (In Gratinè cauliflower, for example, he used eight different techniques for only one ingredient). Produce, creativity and technique, “all of them are very important, but the more relevant element is the concept that lies behind. Like in an orchestra, the chef is the director that has to coordinate and put together produce, creativity and technique making them work harmoniously in order to realize dishes that fulfil clients’ expectations and that are coherent with the chef’s cooking philosophy” says Niko.
48 - WG January 2019
REALE PHOTO © BRAMBILLA SERRANI
WG MAGAZINE
CALF SWEETBREAD WITH CREAM, LEMON AND SALT PHOTO © BRAMBILLA SERRANI
WG January 2019 -
49
NIKO ROMITO
ESSENZA PHOTO © BRAMBILLA SERRANI
50 - WG January 2019
LICORICE GRANITA, WHITE VINEGAR, WHITE CHOCOLATE AND BALSAMIC VINEGAR PHOTO © ROBERTO SAMMARTINI
WG MAGAZINE
“My food is often described as simple. This is very true, in the sense that it is not complicated, which is not to say that it is without significant complexity. In cooking, complexity can be advantageous; complication never”
PHOTO © FRANCESCO FIORAMONTI
Niko Romito has always moved by a relentless curiosity and a constant attitude to research, studying, experiment new things and create new projects. In the space of few years he has developed a diversified system in my monastery, Casadonna that beside Reale restaurant comprises also a professional cooking academy equipped with large workshops for the R&D into new concepts and recipes. He enjoys training and gastronomy education and, together with his team, have also created a street food chain (Bomba), a casual dining format staffed by graduates of his school (Spazio), and a gastronomicscientific protocol (Intelligenza Nutrizionale, “Nutritional Intelligence”) for application to mass catering, hospitals, schools, and canteens. He developed an unprecedented format for Bulgari Hotels and Resorts all over the world (Il Ristorante Niko Romito is now at the Bulgari Hotel of Beijing, Dubai, Shanghai and also for Milan), now he opens a bakery to produce and distribute bread in Italy and Europe (he has been studying and researching on bread for more than 15 years) and a new project is about to be unveiled.
REALE PHOTO © ALBERTO ZANETTI
The Casadonna’s system is a continuous, self-sustainable flow where a project that blossoms in one of the outer sections generates ideas that flow back inwards and take root at the Reale restaurant. All these projects are connected, it’s a pattern that goes from top to bottom, outwards from the centre, reaching a larger and larger public. Moreover, he has a team made of people who think, choose, create every day and share his goals and dreams. Sometimes he stops to listen to them, he watches them working with boundless energy and vibrant passion, and he is happy. That’s where his dream mixes with theirs. He believes that sharing a goal is the driving force that leads to the success of a project or an idea, but it is the sharing of a dream that reverberates in a disruptive way on the outside and that is inevitably perceived by those who also enjoy it. REALE - THE CELLAR PHOTO © ALBERTO ZANETTI
WG January 2019 -
51
ALFREDO RUSSO
B
orn in Turin, at the age of 13, Alfredo Russo found his culinary passion, “I was a very young boy and there is a funny story behind this because nobody in my family was involved in a restaurant or a hotel. My father was in Engineering and my mother was a teacher, completely different jobs. One day, I said, I want to become a chef and they asked me, “Chef? Why? Yes I like to be a chef, because there were three options which I had, to be a chef or a tailor or a carpenter. Three jobs with creativity, and in the end I chose to cook. It was strange because my family was not happy about this decision of mine. My parents agreed and told me go to the restaurant to clean and wash the pots and dishes because the goal was to just demoralize me” says Alfredo Russo.
ALFREDO RUSSO
52 - WG January 2019
Determined to be a chef… “It wasn’t easy because when I went to this very busy restaurant, everyday there was a lot of plates to wash, but I saw how the kitchen works, how the chefs cook and for me this was what I wanted to do. After this experience, they asked me if I had enough and wanted to leave and join my father as my father had a company that sells Engineering stuff, I said no. After school, I worked for few restaurants and some of them were Michelin star restaurants.” At 19, he was a little bit confident, and said, now I am ready to be chef. 19 years old and restaurant owners did not give him much responsibility or the opportunity, so since nobody gave him the opportunity, he decided to open his own restaurant. He opened his first restaurant at 20, his family was okay with it but did not give any financial assistance. He took up a small space with kitchen and started to cook, it did well and each night there was a line outside waiting to eat. Two years later, Michelin gave him his first star and later he moved in to another restaurant, bigger, which was he ownerd.
WG MAGAZINE
PHOTO © PAOLO CHIODINI
WG January 2019 -
53
ALFREDO RUSSO
CAPASANTA E PEPERONI THE FRANKLIN RESTAURANT BY ALFREDO RUSSO, LONDON
54 - WG January 2019
THE SMOKED FISH DOLCE STIL NOVO ALLA REGGIA - VENARIA REALE, TORINO
WG MAGAZINE
“At his Turin restaurant, Italian and regional cuisines have a place of honour – with a predominance of the Piedmontese territory cuisine that revives and renews its flavours and traditions”
ALFREDO’S OYSTER DOLCE STIL NOVO ALLA REGGIA - VENARIA REALE, TORINO
In 2004, he started to work as a consultant with Starwood for more or less 10 years as a consultant for all their Italian restaurant concepts. He opened several restaurants in Japan, Thailand, and other places. In Dubai, with Sheraton and started Vivaldi by Alfredo Russo. The Franklin by Alfredo Russo in London which is very similar to his restaurant Dolce Stil Novo alla Reggia in Turin, Italy. A bakery and trattoria in Mexico. It was in 2008, the government gave Alfredo the opportunity to work inside the Royal Palace - the Reggia di Venaria Reale (the Palace of Venaria) near Turin, it was unbelievable and he said yes. It was a great place with a large kitchen.
DOLCE STIL NOVO ALLA REGGIA - VENARIA REALE, TORINO
Alfredo’s cuisine is founded on absolute respect for the Italy and the Piedmontese region, combined with a constant search and wish for innovation. The outcome is an original creative style – his dishes evoke a sort of collective memory of taste, reinventing, amusing and surprising dishes where absolute purity of taste always stands out, emerging from a play of textures and consistencies as well as unexpected interpretations. Just like he does with ‘pasta in bianco’ – a lasagna made of three sheets of pastry alternated with a mousse of Parmigiano reggiano cheese with three different ageing times – 12, 24 and 36 months. Here the playful side is conveyed by the different degrees of taste lightness and intensity of the three Parmesan creams, ‘a crescendo – says Russo – purposely created to taste the various shades of a product ‘tone on tone’. RED MULLET WITH EGGPLANT & FRESH MINT DOLCE STIL NOVO ALLA REGGIA - VENARIA REALE, TORINO
WG January 2019 -
55
ALFREDO RUSSO
TUBER SALAD THE FRANKLIN RESTAURANT BY ALFREDO RUSSO, LONDON
“His adventures into the world has taught him about cuisine and learns to revolutionize it with his creations”
However, besides creativity, flavours are always authentic: each dish is elaborated starting from an idea – ‘From an Idea’ is the title of his first book – on which he then works until he achieves his final result which is always the outcome of a subtraction rather than too many additions. Indeed, the notion that ‘it is difficult to do easy things’ is precisely the leit motiv of Alfredo Russo’s philosophy, who explains that ‘what remains is style, not fashion. The Dolce Stil Novo’s cuisine reflects his way of being, thinking. It is truthful, concrete, real, and vital’. Such vitality also reveals itself in Alfredo’s menu, based on the seasons of the year but also on a simultaneously ‘moving’ offer which changes and varies even on a daily basis, according to freshness of raw materials available.
CAKE OF EGGPLANT THE FRANKLIN RESTAURANT BY ALFREDO RUSSO, LONDON
The continuous and unwearyingly search for purity of taste pursued by Alfredo Russo with absolute rigor, lives together with a playful spirit which is pointed out by a surprising mix of textures, shapes and consistencies of each single dish, and by a new tasting menu. Alfredo’s carte blanche is a gastronomic route of seven or nine courses which is made to measure and which is always different from the previous one. At Dolce Stil Novo’s the offer constantly varies, owing to the introduction of dishes that change on a daily basis depending on freshness and quality of produce. His adventures into the world has taught him about cuisine and learns to revolutionize it with his creations, this qualified him as the best young cook in 2004 according to the Espresso Guide and over the last few years his professionalism has won him acknowledgements at a national and international level. Over the years Alfredo has taken care of various events – the International Olympic Committee for Turin’s candidacy at the Winter Olympic Games in 2006, and the presentation of Turin and Rome at the UNESCO seat in Paris; and together with top Piedmontese chefs he managed the whole gastronomic offer of food and wine at the Winter Olympic Games in Turin.
PARMESAN RISOTTO AND ZAFFRON ESSENCE VIVALDI BY ALFREDO RUSSO, DUBAI
56 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
RICETTA ZUCCOTTO DOLCE STIL NOVO ALLA REGGIA - VENARIA REALE, TORINO
CASSATA SICILIANA THE FRANKLIN RESTAURANT BY ALFREDO RUSSO, LONDON
WG January 2019 -
57
MASSIMO BOTTURA
58 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
M
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. 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
WG January 2019 -
59
MASSIMO BOTTURA
Twelve tables in the heart of Modena tells a story of tradition in evolution...
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 re-evaluated 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.
60 - WG January 2019
FIVE AGES OF PARMIGIANO REGGIANO PHOTO © CALLO ALBANESE & SUEO
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
61
MASSIMO BOTTURA
62 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
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 spinpainted veal, not flame grilled”, which was inspired by the series.
BEAUTIFUL, PSYCHEDELIC SPIN PAINTED VEAL, NOT FLAME GRILLED PHOTO © CALLO ALBANESE & SUEO
WG January 2019 -
63
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.
64 - WG January 2019
SOMETIMES MALLARD, SOMETIMES PARTRIDGE AND EVEN BOLLITO PHOTO © CALLO ALBANESE & SUEO
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
65
MASSIMO BOTTURA
66 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
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
WG January 2019 -
67
STEFANO BAIOCCO
68 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
STEFANO BAIOCCO His passion as a chef has grown over time and the reason why Stefano became a chef is really curious. After a year of accounting school, Stefano asked himself how much of a chance he had to find a job, so he decided to change school and to choose one that guaranteed him a job. His maternal grandfather was a chef and it always fascinated him and thus was Stefano’s future was decided. Having learnt from great chefs and working in some of the best kitchens in the world with Alain Ducasse, Pierre Gagnaire, Joan Roca, Ferran Adrià, Andoni Luis Aduriz, Pascal Barbot, Raymond Blanc, Quique Dacosta, Seiji Ymamoto and Yoshihiro Murata. These chefs helped him figure out what he wanted to be. In 2004, when he entered Villa Feltrinelli the stately home on the western banks of Lake Garda, he fell in love with it and he said “this is the perfect place for me”. From there it took three years to get the first Michelin star. It was like lightning in the sky. Honestly, he did not think about it because on that day he was presenting his cookbook, when he started to receive congratulating messages, at first he thought it was a joke, he received the second and when he received the third message he realized. In 2014, he then got his second star. Stefano’s creations are all unique, inspired by a combination of the finest produce and his herb and flower garden. The herbs are selected to provide a special, unusual combination and lending each dish its own individual touch of imaginativeness. A cuisine which combines Stefano’s creative approach adding a personal touch to his dishes as he blends his ingredients – noble or poor with another ingredient. It is a composition of flavours which is complex and modest yet impeccably balanced, and a delight to the eye when presented with elegance and style. His cooking philosophy can be explained in three words: Passion, Determination, and Humility. He loves the cleanliness of flavors and the clear perception of tastes, he looks for beauty in colors and shapes and he tries to combine these elements. He lets himself be guided by his instinct, but every intuition should be put on the plate with trials and teamwork, only in this way one can reach a point that really satisfies him. “Inspiration does not come exactly from one thing, it can come from a trip, a walk, a painting, a landscape... in practice from everything that surrounds me. A walk in the garden was the reason for making a dish that we call: a simple salad (a salad of 130 leaves and herbs and about twenty different types of flowers); or the porcini tiramisu wanted to be a personal tribute to a classic Italian dessert but in a salted version” says Stefano. PHOTO © LIDO VANNUCCHI
WG January 2019 -
69
STEFANO BAIOCCO
70 - WG January 2019
CARBONARA RAVIOLI WITH CUTTLEFISH SOUP AND PEAS PHOTO © CRISTIAN PARRAVICINI
WG MAGAZINE
CLOUD OF ELDERBERRY PHOTO © RICHARD HAUGHTON
It’s all about balance on a plate with Stefano as he carries the tradition back since he was young, the ingredients he knows during his professional path and with the study and practice to learn the techniques; but balance is something that is learned only through experience. Some years ago, he did some dishes, also very tasty but without balance. The right point of flavor, acidity, textures, and even colors is important. Attracted to the whole plant world, Stefano loves working with aromatic and edible herbs and flowers. However, lately he has been seduced by some products that he has known during his travels to the East like seaweed, vinegars and vegetables fermented from Japan or spices, sauces, curry paste from Thailand. Making a selection is very simple, he taste and if he likes it then that product has the opportunity to enter his kitchen. It’s obvious that if he uses a product that comes from afar he never use fresh things but ingredients that have a long shelf life.
CHAR WITH “DIAVOLA SAUCE” AND CREAM OF WILD HERBS PHOTO © RICHARD HAUGHTON
Producing is a process that does not really interest him because it is the natural consequence of his work. Technique is the means, not fundamental, but very important that makes him reach his goal; it is more the execution of a dish which is more complex and technique is important. Creativity in his world, is essential: it is that flame that makes him get up in the morning and this gives him the motivation during the whole day that he spends in the kitchen. He was lucky enough to work with two sacred monsters of French cuisine: Pierre Gagnaire and Alain Ducasse. Both great masters, although strongly different: the first was unpredictable and visionary; rigid and square the second. Today, he doesn’t believe in inspiring himself to any of them, even if he recognizes that both have left me a deep impact. EGG TORTELLI WITH BROCCOLI AND ANCHOVIES CREAM PHOTO © RICHARD HAUGHTON
WG January 2019 -
71
STEFANO BAIOCCO
Six months later, I was asked to come to work at Alain Ducasse restaurant. My days in Paris started at 6.30 in the morning. The atmosphere was almost surreal, inhuman, not a word or gesture out of place, maximum concentration, a sequence of technically determined movements and a clinical and fanatical precision. Imperfection was banned and not even the smallest error was permitted. Paris was still asleep when I left home. The bars were still closed and there was not even newspapers outside the newsagent’s. The atmosphere in the kitchen was certainly not the easiest. There was never a “bonjour”, a “ça va”, a smile. Only eyes fixed on the ground and hands working swiftly. The afternoon break was never more generous than an hour and the whole brigade greedily consumed their siesta inside a small bar just outside the restaurant so as not to waste precious minutes.
MILK SKIN FILLED WITH YOGURT FOAM AND ROSEMARY SYRUP PHOTO © RICHARD HAUGHTON
Stefano recalls “In 1998, I left with all my belongings for France with the aim of entering the world of French haute cuisine and decided to go straight to the heart… Paris.
My first post was at the Il Cortile, an Italian restaurant where Alain Ducasse worked as a consultant and which received its first Michelin star in precisely that period. A transitional post. Just to prepare for the battle, while waiting for a proposal to arrive (sooner or later I knew it would) to work with the greatest living chef, and the most acclaimed by critics.
72 - WG January 2019
A system of work made up of strict organization and almost military discipline to make sure that everything which orbited around the Ducasse name worked impeccably and at full pace. That was the “A.D. formula”. The work was hectic and stressful. In a year, more than 300 commis threw in the towel and packed their bags. That means that on an average, almost one cook a day gave up working I the restaurant run by the world’s most famous chef. Ducasse is a man who always walks faster than his own shadow, a train moving at an impressive pace and speed. If you want to work with him, either you leap onto the train or you stay outside. This is why you need a strong character to work with Alain Ducasse. The great difference I found working in Paris was that in France, the chef has great responsibilities, a history to defend, and is much more aware of the great weight on his shoulders. A chef of a certain level is a public personality. Or rather, he is a personality in every sense of the world, a figure which represents the pride and greatness of France. For me, Alain Ducasse was not just a great school of cookery, but above all, a way of life. His motivation is fundamental in his work, and you can see it when staff are not motivated, you can also see it from the dishes. He is a lucky person, he wakes up in the morning and happy to go to work. What pushes him every day is his customers, who always expect something new from him, it’s his staff.
WG MAGAZINE
THE GOLD BAR PHOTO © MASSIMO LODA
SMOKED CREAM CHOCOLATE, PEANUT ICE CREAM AND WHITE BALSAMIC VINEGAR JELLY PHOTO © MASSIMO LODA
WG January 2019 -
73
FRANCESCO GUARRACINO
74 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
FRANCESCO GUARRACINO PHOTO © EKATERINS IVANKINA
Francesco thanks his childhood and the environment he grew up in. Raised in a family of chefs, with his father being one of the well know two-star Michelin chef, so cooking has always been a part of his life. “My first memory of cooking was making tomato sauce at home. My father had picked fresh tomatoes from the garden and taught me how to use a machine to mince them – I still remember the juice splattering on my arms. Then my sister helped by adding fresh basil, while my mother added the salt. We all worked together to create the meal. Of course, in order to turn this passion into a profession, one must be ambitious in order to achieve your dreams” adds Francesco. Originally from Sorrento, Francesco worked at some of Italy’s most prestigious kitchens. This is where he learned discipline and the attitude necessary for success. After graduating, he travelled around Italy to gain experience in the different regional cuisines. His travels took him to Rome, Florence, Sicily and Milan where he developed his passion for seasonal and quality produce which are of paramount importance, and this shines through in all of Francesco’s creations. Here in the UAE, his cuisine is focused and inspired by a combination of fresh and quality ingredients. Constantly updating what he sources to create new dishes and hidden gems from Italy. Adding “Italy is a great country with a lot of local artisans and producers that use 100+ year-old techniques for creating amazing products. My job is to showcase this excellence on a plate, balancing the flavours to satisfy my guests and myself.”
WG January 2019 -
75
FRANCESCO GUARRACINO
Dedication, passion and love for what he does, every single dish that he sends to a table, people need to taste an emotion. In his kitchen he tries dishes over and over again, always starting from the flavour, then the presentation until he is happy with it. It’s a long process, but it is a must for every dish presented by Francesco. Ingredients is king of his restaurant, Francesc says “It should be considered one of our main responsibilities as a chef to source the best. I learned it is important to go to the source - I want to know the story of a product – where it comes from, who is farming it. For me, my choices are driven by emotions”.
76 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
77
FRANCESCO GUARRACINO
78 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
“I want to know the story of a product – where it comes from, who is farming it. For me, my choices are driven by emotions”
In 2007, he won the Best Young Chef Award from the renowned Federazione Italiana Cuochi (Italian Chef Federation) “Obviously, it was a great honour and I have a fond memory of that period of my life, but in this job, those that think they have already arrived at the top are the ones who will fall. So, from that moment I felt more responsibility and continue to push myself today.” He constantly drives himself to do more and create more. He enjoys every single moment of being in the kitchen and he has one simple rule - be better than the day before! In the same year, he moved to the UK to join the Italian restaurant group Piccolino, which has 22 restaurants across the country. After two years with the brand, he joined another UK based Italian restaurant concept, the San Carlo Group, as development chef and later group regional executive chef for the entire portfolio of venues. In 2011, he moved to Dubai as executive chef for BiCE Mare, where he helped build their reputation as one of the best seafood restaurants in Dubai, receiving Pro Chef’s 2015 Dubai Seafood Chef of the Year award.
WG January 2019 -
79
FRANCESCO GUARRACINO
Today, Francesco is the group executive chef at Roberto’s where he brings his true Italian flair for fine dining. Injecting a sense of culinary theatrics, he has developed a range of new speciality dishes from around Italy, with tableside cooking to give diners an unforgettable and exceptional experience. In order to raise the hospitality bar in the UAE, and to ensure authenticity, he has brought eight Italian chefs to work with him in Abu Dhabi. Adding to his accolades, Francesco recently took home the BBC Good Food Middle East Chef of the Year award. His passion for fine food is profound. Bespoke menus, one-off dishes and a personal style are key to Francesco and he blends traditional and contemporary methods in the dishes that he creates. For him, the ingredient is the king of the restaurant. Being a chef “It is not glamorous - but let me explain what I mean. It is a hard job, I come from an old generation of chefs where you need to work harder than anyone and learn techniques by watching senior chefs. Hierarchy and respect of the role is something I was taught since I was young. I spent hours and hours in the kitchen, trying new things, learning, burning myself - while all my friends were going to parties. It’s a difficult profession and it requires passion every day. TV and cooking shows make this job look something that is not, simply answering to a head chef, but what it really requires is hard work and dedication.”
80 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
81
SIMONE CANTAFIO
82 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
SIMONE CANTAFIO Born in Milan to Calabrian parents, Simone’s story is like many other young people. At 17 he decided to begin his culinary career, where he spent 5 years at Carlo Porta, the hotel and culinary school in Milan and four years during summer he managed to get the opportunity to do his first kitchen stage at CraccoPeck restaurant in Milano, under the direction of Carlo Cracco. The atmosphere in the kitchen was full of energy, everyone ambitious as they all worked towards one goal… to make it and find perfection. Simone questioned himself how Cracco build his career and where he found his style, he discovered that he honed his skills with Gualtiero Marchesi, Alain Duccase, Alain Sanderens and he understood at that moment which master gave him his part to build his way step by step. After graduating from Carlo Porta, Simone decided to apply to Gualtiero Marchesi’s restaurant in Erbusco, Gualtiero promised to give him a place as a commis before the interview but the situation changed when he arrived at the restaurant. The only job available was to work as a service staff. Completely sad and disappointed, he thought it was pointless for him to wear the service uniform after spending 5 years studying about the kitchen. His father intervened and said “Simone will buy all the dress and you will have him for tonight as a service staff, no problem”, Simone was shocked as he was thinking of going home and forgetting all about this kitchen dream. His father explained “That there was no going back home, you need to push yourself and make your way right now, life is a sacrifice, nothing comes easy, and you must learn how it is difficult to follow a dream”. Simone took up the service job and 6 months he got his kitchen uniform. This was the start to his culinary career.
WG January 2019 -
83
SIMONE CANTAFIO
The experience at Gualtiero Marchesi was absolutely magic, with everything new to his eyes, new things every day and being in the same kitchen with the great master was a real honour for him. Gualtiero took him under his wing, taught him to be professional, to love his job and gave him something to remember “A chef is not just a job, it is a lifestyle and you must build on it day by day until the end of your life”. Three years later, Gualtiero Marchesi suggested that he goes to France (once Gualtiero knew his chefs were ready to go to the next level he would suggest to the chef where to go, the same like he did with Carlo Cracco, Enrico Crippa, Paolo Lopriore, Davide Oldani and several more chefs) to do his next stage. THE FILLET OF PLAICE POACHED IN OIL OF BLACK OLIVES, CAULIFLOWER AND QUINOA CRACKER, SAUCE WITH CUMIN TOUCH
Gualtiero told him “Simone, now is time to grow up and build your strong character, you must have the French 3 Michelin star experience.” Simone stepped up, ready to leave Italy and was ready for France. “Go find your way, study and make your career brilliant, and my door is open for you when you want to come back…“ Gualtiero wrote in a letter which he always keeps it close to his heart, the memory of this beautiful person who opened the door to the world of gastronomy for him which grateful and will never forget. France was the next stage at 21 with Georges Blanc at his three Michelin star restaurant in Vonnas, he started out as a commis but had a problem as he did not know any French, he started to learn French and he started from scratch and from the bottom, from cleaning to peeling mushrooms, the cabbage, etc. since he could not understand what they were saying in the kitchen, he listened to what was said, started to repeat what he heard and in 6 months he was able to learn French. With Georges Blanc at one of the best classic French restaurants, besides learning how to make sauces, cooking meats and fish, he learnt the French hierarchy and strict rules. Laguiole was his next destination and Georges Blanc helped him and contacted Laguiole and he was given a chance to try out for a few days, this was the beginning at Bras Laguiole France, and now it is almost 10 years that Simone works for this great and amazing family.
GREEN ASPARAGUS OF MME. NANASHA, MARINATED WITH THE ESSENCE OF BASIL LEAVES, GRILLED SEA SNAILS AND BRUSHSTROKES WITH REDUCTION OF WINE AND MUSCOVADO SUGAR, BARLEY SALAD WITH PESTO
84 - WG January 2019
Under the guidance of the Bras family, Simone learned the soul of Bras gastronomy. Every year at the beginning of the season, Bras family spend 3 days to introduce the Bras philosophy to new staff, this moment has a deep meaning.
WG MAGAZINE
COOKED ON LIVE FIRE FILLET OF ANAGO FISH FLAVORED WITH FRESH SANCHO LEAVES, RED CABBAGE COOKED IN PAPILLOTTE AND FINISHED ON THE GRILLED, SAUCE WITH HOKKAIDO SAKE
WG January 2019 -
85
SIMONE CANTAFIO
86 - WG January 2019
EVER GREEN... BLANCMANGE OF APPLE AND YOGHURT, SAUCE WITH GREEN HERBS AND AROMATIC SALAD OF YOUNG HERBS FROM THE VEGETABLE GARDEN AND THE FOREST
WG MAGAZINE
Under the guidance of the Bras family, Simone learned the soul of Bras gastronomy... Both Michel and Sébastien start off with “If you are here to just take our recipes, have the Bras Brand on your CV, then please leave here right now. At Bras, it’s about passion, love for guest and nature, if you are here to learn and make a full immersion in our philosophy, stay with us and be open a 100% to live this moment in Aubrac land.” He fell in love with the Bras family, it was not only about the kitchen or service but about nature, respect and the real meaning of hospitality. Their beautiful minds and great thoughts behind every dish. People waking up 3 o’clock in the morning to give supply the best vegetables, best fish, and best product. “I learnt to respect the people around me and of course Michel and Sébastien taught me the kitchen. Sébastien taught me how to cook foie gras correctly, how to make the perfect lamb and how to manage the fire during the service, while Michel thought me how to choose best product in the market at 4:00 am, how to choose the best leaves in his garden, how to make a combination between the vegetable world and the rest of the elements on a dish, how to give sense to my job and life. Michel taught me how to translate nature in a dish. This is what I always dreamed of.” As Chef Director of Masion Bras Toya Japan, Simone lives in the middle of a magical place on the island of Hokkaido, in the north of Japan, near the village of Toya, on the top floor of a building which kisses the skies and sits proudly overlooking a lake, there is another culinary expression of the Bras philosophy. The restaurant offers a different interpretation of this ‘cuisine of the moment’, still based on the same principles: the use of local produce, deference towards traditions and a profound respect for nature. Two countries, two styles of cuisine, guided by one concept and one standard of excellence, which enables Sébastien Bras to build culinary bridges between Laguiole and Toya, based on wonderful encounters and discoveries.
SÉBASTIEN BRAS, SIMONE CANTAFIO AND MICHEL BRAS
WG January 2019 -
87
SIMONE CANTAFIO
SOBETSU VILLAGE TOMATO, SLICE & MARINATED WITH BASIL OIL, HOKKAIDO SEA URCHIN, FRESH TOMATO CONFIT PASTA AND SOUR TOMATO POWDER, FRESH MOZZARELLA FROM TOYA FARM
Toya, Japan two countries, two styles of cuisine, guided by one concept and one standard of excellence...
The cuisine at Toya highlights the purity of flavors in perfect harmony… “When you have the chance to get the best product from the Hokkaido, you can feel the passion of the farmer, you can see how vegetable, fish, and animal grow up in this land. It is all about respect. The balance is inside him, the combination of what he sees, taste, feels, learns and then he chooses the element. After that he thinks how to support the texture, the taste and preserve his nature, as there is no point for him to destroy them essence, and the balance comes from respecting the nature and the suppliers.
LAND AND SEA OF HOKKAIDO BOT EBI SAUTEED WITH “NIAC ORANGE JUNIPER”, CAULIFLOWER OF OUR GARDEN, GRILLED GOLDEN, MOUSSELINE OF SHELLFISH AND ORANGE
88 - WG January 2019
His approach in the kitchen is to follow his heart, recalling Michel Bras’ answer to one of the journalist last year “Why do you have an Italian chef in your restaurant in Japan?” Michel’s reply was “We choose Simone because he is cook and he works the kitchen with his heart, after that fallow with the technique.” I believe that love in the kitchen can change a recipe. I saw this with the cooking of my mother and grandmother, the something special which can be found in all their dishes – we call it Love.” As a young chef, it was more of the trying to make a beautiful dish, an amazing art dish but growing up with Michel Bras, he realized that the kitchen is not only about visual but it’s much more deeper than that. With a focus on ingredients, he realizes that guests know what they are eating and it’s important to work with the best of everything, ingredients, cooking techniques, the service, wine and the hospitality.
WG MAGAZINE
THE BOTAN EBI SHRIMP FISHED IN HOKKAIDO, GENTLY SAUTÉED WITH LARD OIL, AVOCADO CREAM AND LIME, SEASONING OF DEVILED BEETS
WG January 2019 -
89
SIMONE CANTAFIO
90 - WG January 2019
LAMB’S SADDLE OF AKABIRA-HOKKAIDO, CHICKPEA HUMMUS AND LAMB MILLEFEUILLE CONFIT AND RAS EL HANOUT TOUCH
WG MAGAZINE
“A chef should never forget where he comes from and should be proud to tell his story even if he is cooking in a French restaurant. My blood is purely Italian and you can feel this in all his dishes, the soul is there.”
GARGOUILLOU OF YOUNG VEGETABLE SEEDS & HERBS
He has his own process to his creations where the dish starts from within him, the next is research about the ingredients where they come from, and how it is grown or produced, and then he puts these ideas in his special book. He starts with all the preparations by himself as learning from Gualtiero Marchesi ‘lead by example as it is the best way of being taught’, the team is not involved in his first steps as he takes responsibility for his creations. Once sure of his recipe, his team has the first take on the final dish and then the sous chef, restaurant manager, sommelier to taste the dish. After the feedback on improvements which he is open to respect and accept, passed this point, Simone is able to tweak the dish if require and then he puts it on the menu. “I always believe in the Bras philosophy and having lived in Laguiole for 4 years, I felt the richness of the land, it was for sure not truffle or caviar or lobster but it was the perfection of simplicity, if you can create a great dish from what nature give you, you can preserve nature of the ingredient which is something special, and then I learn the meaning of this concept - less you have, more deep will be your expression, because you must care, respect your ingredient.” Hokkaido is one of those magical places for brilliant ingredients, from fish to seafood, fruits and vegetables to meats and especially wild deer. Vegetables is one of his favourite ingredients as it gives him the best feelings cooking them, he calls it the ‘vegetable soul’, as he listens to them before you start cooking, adding pieces of butter to a green cabbage or put a carrot under sea salt or make a sauce with the essence of summer tomatoes, this is his happiness as he finishes the dish with herbs from the garden, it is magic to him.
MICHEL BRAS AND SIMONE CANTAFIO
ENCLOSED IN A MUSTARD LEAF, THE ESCALOPE OF SWEETLY COOKED FOIE GRAS, PEAR AND MUSTARD PURÉE, YOUNG MUSTARD LEAVES
WG January 2019 -
91
SIMONE CANTAFIO
His approach to a good dish is having great balance between product, creativity and technique. With great product you have 70% of the job done, love and creativity goes in next and at the same time the knowledge, using the right technique to create a high level dish. It is a mix of these three to a great start in a great kitchen. Simone was lucky to grow up in a brilliant surrounding, where his mother and grandmother gave him that value to love, share with others and to always be simple but like is not always colourful there are also dark moments in life. One of them was in 2012, when his mother and both grandmothers passed away, it was a difficult time for him yet he to focus on his kitchen. He recalls one day when he told his mother “I will do my best because you gave me your best” this is the motivation to grow to be strong. He always thinks his mother and grandmother are besides him, supporting him when he is cooking. He always adds a special touch to his dishes, this gives the last energy to his dish, for him it’s his angel touch, full of meaning, something about his kitchen and love. At 32, he thinks the best is yet to come, he loves what he does, he feels this in his lifestyle and happy to be a chef as he couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Growing up and finding his best is his goal every day. For him, perfection does not exist as he is always doing his best to arrive to it. This is Simone Cantafio, his secret, his passion!
92 - WG January 2019
LIKE AN AUTUMN CHEESE CAKE CRUNCHY WITH WALNUTS, CREAM OF WHITE CHEESE, ROASTED FIGS ICE CREAM
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
93
UMBERTO BOMBANA
H UMBERTO BOMBANA 94 - WG January 2019
THE KING OF WHITE TRUFFLES
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 Michelinstarred 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. 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 Ritz-Carlton, the chef also shared his expertise at sister properties in Laguna Niguel, California, Boston, Osaka, Seoul and Singapore.
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
95
UMBERTO BOMBANA
Recognition for 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”, 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.
96 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
BLACK TRUFFLE ICE CREAM - CHANTILLY CREAM, CRISPY HAZELNUT AND PISTACHIO
WG January 2019 -
97
UMBERTO BOMBANA
With the closure of Toscana and The Ritz Carlton Hong Kong in January 2008, Bombana took some time to reflect on his culinary vision. In the summer of 2009, he and 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, 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. 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, 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.
98 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
99
UMBERTO BOMBANA
100 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
“Bombana’s vision in his restaurant - to offer his customers an unforgettable culinary experience and an artistic journey”
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 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 Umberto 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 Bombana’s vision in his restaurant - to offer his customers an unforgettable culinary experience and an artistic journey.
WG January 2019 -
101
ANTHONY GENOVESE
A
ANTHONY GENOVESE
102 - WG January 2019
lthough his origins are deeply rooted in the sunbaked mountains and dramatic coastline of Calabria in southwest Italy, Anthony Genovese spent much of his early childhood in France. This is also where he first embarked on his culinary education. After attending the Ecole HoteliĂŠre de Nice at the age of sixteen, Anthony worked in a number of Michelin starred restaurants across France, including in Monaco, Marseille and Nice. The bond with his homeland eventually lured Anthony back to Italy, where he embarked on what he looks back on as his first important professional experience, at the three Michelin starred Enoteca Pinchiorri in the heart of Florence. As a young chef, Anthony then travelled extensively around Europe and to Asia, where he discovered another side of himself and his culinary style. Whilst passion for cooking had always been ingrained within him, it was an understanding of oriental cuisine that Genovese developed during these travels which allowed him to define his unique culinary identity. He spent time in Japan and Malaysia in particular, before going back to Italy in 1997 to take up the role of Head Chef at the restaurant Rossellinis in the Hotel Palazzo Sasso, in Ravello. Here he gained his first Michelin star, and ran a kitchen firmly rooted in tradition and his classical training, yet also combined with creative flair, international influences and a dedication to high quality produce and ingredients.
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
103
ANTHONY GENOVESE
104 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
“Over the past ten years his adventure in the capital city has garnered two Michelin stars”
The turning point, however, came in 2003. Together with his friend and colleague Marion Lichtle, Anthony decided to open a new restaurant of his own in Rome. Il Pagliaccio drew inspiration from travels, both in the decor and in the cuisine, yet is ultimately a celebration of Italian gastronomy. Over the past ten years his adventure in the capital city has garnered Genovese two Michelin stars, while his quest for new ideas which simultaneously impress and surprise the lucky guests of Il Pagliaccio continues to thrive. Located in Rome’s historic center, Il Pagliaccio takes its name from a painting given to Anthony by his mother, which hangs in pride of place in the restaurant. Il Pagliaccio literally translates as “The Clown,” and refers to the mastery of different emotions the circus character can provoke. A unique concept, it seeks not only to please its guests with delicious food, but to stir emotions of joy, curiosity and nostalgia through its dishes. Anthony Genovese’s two Michelin starred restaurant Il Pagliaccio brings Italian fine dining into a new era. His current concept of cooking and food has essentially been developed from his own personal experiences. For starters, his family and culture are a mixture of both French and Italian. But thanks to curiosity, the desire to learn more, and travelling around Asia. He finds his dishes reflect all these different cultures, sometimes in subtle ways and sometimes more powerfully. He uses a mixture of preparation styles and ingredients from all over the world and bring this to Rome in my own way.
WG January 2019 -
105
ANTHONY GENOVESE
“Produce, creativity and technique are very important. “Each voice depends on the other and together as they are the right balance”
Working with Annie Féolde was such a great honor for him. She taught him so much about food and cooking and helped him develop hugely. Thanks to her, he learnt so many things that are fundamental for him today. The experience at Enoteca Pinchiorri was a crucial step for his career and he still keep it in his heart. No two dishes are the same - creating a dish is a process that develops in different ways. “Basically my cuisine follows the seasons, so I elaborate dishes that are related specifically to the time of the year we’re in, while also drawing on flavor combinations I’ve found on my travels. We do some experimentations in the kitchen, I always talk to my sous chef and with the rest of my team before creating a new dish, and it can take a long time to perfect. Teamwork is very important in my work because each different palate and every experience can lead to the right idea” says Anthony. For him, produce, creativity and technique are very important. “Each voice depends on the other and together as they are the right balance for the pursuit of perfection. Without creativity it is difficult to create new dishes, but the technique helps us to create the dish in the right way, with a balance between flavours and textures.” He always seek perfection. He loves his job and always want everything to be at its best, so he tries not to rest on his laurels. The two Michelin stars and the other awards don’t make him complacent, on the contrary they encouraged him to do better and better. Being a chef, the job is never done – there are always new ideas to try, new flavor combinations, new dishes you’d never imagined before.
106 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
107
ANDREA CAMASTRA
108 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
B
orn in Bari, Puglia in a mixed FrenchItalian family. Andrea was brought up in the culinary tradition of Italian cuisine. His love and respect for natural products come from Bari, a place where fresh seafood is eaten raw and the town of Queen Bona Sforza. Started working in the kitchen at the young age of 10, Andrea didn’t want to be a chef but since his father passed away, he wanted to bring some money home. Half of his family has been in the F&B industry – hotel directors, bakers, pastry chefs and guess it was his destiny to be a chef.
ANDREA CAMASTRA
Having gained his experience in the best kitchens and still broadens his knowledge about Polish cuisine. Interestingly, his relations with Poland is personal – he fell in love with Poland and a Polish girl. Although going to culinary school, working with my family members as baker, in pastry but today he applies new methods to everything, obsessed with precision, perfection and has a very intimate relationship with his job. “It may sound strange to you but I pretty much function naturally. I don’t push myself to create and for sure I don’t sit down for hours trying to come up with dishes. It comes very randomly and instinctive. I believe that when it is natural, it is creative because it comes out of fantasy or if we create a new technique, we will build a dish around it. For me the most important word for creation is spontaneous” says Andrea.
WG January 2019 -
109
ANDREA CAMASTRA
Hervé This recognized his big talent, determination and diligence and named Andrea Camastra the ambassador of “Note by Note” cooking and the successor of Ferran Adrià. He doesn’t have a mentor but there are two people who means a lot to him - Pierre Gagnaire, who is a good friend and a fabulous man and chef; and Hervé This, the legendary scientist who invented molecular gastronomy in 1986 and the inventor of the new note by note method that he gave Andrea to change the gastronomy world again. Hervé is the person who drives Andrea’s actions. His cuisine highlights the purity of flavours on each plate. He generally does what he feels is correct, the palate is his is best friend. First with his scientists in his kitchen lab, where they picture the flavours in their brains and then put it to practice. The secret is not to put too many strong flavours in one place, only a few but very intense, elegant and defined, and to do so with the use of the equipment in the laboratory.
“If you love what you do the road is much shorter”
It is the passion, commitment, love, frustration and artistry which is his greatest influence in the kitchen. The desire to make things happen that pushes him to do always more. He is in the kitchen every day for 17 hours, there is no other place where he would want to be in as he feels comfortable in the kitchen.
110 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
111
PINO CUTTAIA
B
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.
PINO CUTTAIA
112 - WG January 2019
Everything started due to a glass of champagne. Pino worked in a factory and every morning he had to wake up at 4.30 a.m., he worked 10 hours a day with the machines, without talking to nobody. New Year’s Eve 35 years ago, a friends of his proposed that he goes to work as dishwasher in a restaurant, his friend flattered me in every way he could, but the magic word was “champagne”. He entered the kitchen for the first time through the service entrance, it was something written in his destiny. He immediately was impressed by the smell, ingredients, and preparations. The work was hard, frenetic, and worked till sunrise, but it was different from working in the factory. Although the owner was strict, paid attention to everyone but he weren’t a number but a person. This impressed him, or rather fascinated him. He liked the working environment and for this reason he went back. At first he started cutting onions, but then realized that he was free to decide how to cut them. He discovered freedom and creativity and felt important as he was free and could express his creativity, he was happy.
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
113
PINO CUTTAIA
MEMORIA VISIVA
POLPO SULLA ROCCIA
114 - WG January 2019
COCKTAIL DI CAPESANTE
NUVOLA DI CAPRESE
WG MAGAZINE
“The awakening of memories takes place through taste and this is what bring me back to tradition”
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. Traditional cuisine from Sicily, Sicilian produce… “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” says Pino. He believes that at the base of his kitchen there is the game. This is what brought him 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, he wanted to give a new elegance to a poor dish. A dish, arise from a sign, that for him is often tied up to the emotion of memories, but then he had 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. SOLE E VENTO
WG January 2019 -
115
PINO CUTTAIA
RISONE ALLA MARINARA
Ingredients is an essential quality for him, as 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 him, 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. A special equipment is 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” says Pino.
“Even if it may seem an unusual tool, I use barber’s scissors in the kitchen because they cut perfectly.”
116 - WG January 2019
With the precondition that the equilibrium between produce, creativity and technique, these three characteristics is what gives birth to a good dish, he says “that every one of us has great affinity with one of these in particular”. For him, it’s the case of the creativity. Being creative, gives him the opportunity to play, to imagine, to feel free. The kitchen is disciplined and the kitchen is in order. Creativity allows him to go beyond the unexpected and to see something more, to create an illusion. Opening Ristorante Madia was living the situation in a positive way. Positive feelings that always turned to all the people who worked with him and to the beloved ones, the true happiness which arises from the group. His first award in 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 him. Simply doing what he loves to do is what motivates him.
WG MAGAZINE
CORNUCOPIA DI CIALDA DI CANNOLO, RICOTTA E ARANCIA
PIZZAIOLA. MERLUZZO ALL’AFFUMICATURA DI PIGNA
WG January 2019 -
117
ANGELO SABATELLI
ANGELO SABATELLI It all started 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 for the entire family. It was fascinating to watch his grandmother, aunties and his 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, it was a huge party where food was big and was celebrated, this is where his passion for cooking started within those walls. He believes that his curiosity for a non-granted or simplified answer has done the rest. 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 take part in a cooking competition. This hard work paid off and he won the 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. He then travelled to Rome to work at Il Convivio, then moved to Indonesia at the Hyatt Aryaduta and later 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.
118 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
119
ANGELO SABATELLI
120 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
Without the fundamental basis nothing can be innovative, to be able to innovate one needs 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” says Angelo. His culinary philosophy is simple and 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”. At a food event in Dubai and before it started the Hotel Executive Chef wanted to see the menu he was serving, he looked at the pigeon dish and said, that’s it? Angelo replied, what do you mean? The executive chef answered, from where I come from we put starches, vegetables, creams and so forth to a main dish. Angelo’s reply was, try the dish first and then tell me if it needs anything. After trying it, he 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 he used to it were there to simply compliment the main ingredient. All this to say that his cuisine is based on the produce and simplicity. When he plans a menu, he decides what will be the main ingredient, then he looks for the best quality he can get and what he wants to achieve with it. He starts looking for right cooking technique that best enhances the ingredients and brings out the taste he want, then he works on complements of contrasts and temperatures. Without a good ingredient, the dish can be done but it will never taste great, it will always lacks depth of flavour, with a great ingredient a little creativity and the right technique will always produce a fantastic dish.
WG January 2019 -
121
ANGELO SABATELLI
At 23, he received his first Michelin star when he was working in the restaurant in Rome and now receiving a star for his own restaurant is a great feeling. “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 the spotlight on us which means we continue to do what we were doing well and improve it to a higher standard. Today in our new location we have even improved more, we have a new restaurant which reflects much more of what we do, our standards are high and will continue to pamper our guest even more. I have been always curios of many things, food has been a big part of my life and this is what makes me happy every day and I want to do more and more. My staff sometimes 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” says Angelo.
122 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
123
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
PHOTO ©ANTONIO SABA
124 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
HEINZ BECK La Pergola Rome Chef of La Pergola since 1994, Heinz Beck bases his cooking on excellent raw materials, the principle of a kitchen always healthy, full of taste, recognizable and on mastery of innovative techniques in the full respect of Mediterranean traditions. La Pergola, three Michelin since 2005, is located on the Roof Garden of the Rome Cavalieri Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, from where the panorama of the city extends as far as the eye with the domes and the most famous monuments. The restaurant is decorated with frescoed ceilings, prestigious furniture, tapestries and paintings of the eighteenth and fourteenth centuries. The wine cellar of “La Pergola”, with its 3,500 labels for a total of approximately 70,000 bottles, is considered one of the most prestigious in the world for the rarity of exposed labels and refinement of its surroundings. The cellar receives since 2001 the “Grand Award”, the exclusive recognition of U.S. “ Wine Spectator”, the first global magazine dedicated to the culture of wine.
WG January 2019 -
125
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
ALBERT ADRIÀ TICKETS Barcelona Albert Adrià was once pegged as “the greatest unknown cook in the world” by Joel Robuchon, a man who himself carried the label of “greatest chef of the century” and who named Ferran “the greatest chef on the planet.” Albert Adrià is the other member of the Adrià saga. Born in Barcelona in 1969, he was just sweet 16 when he decided to drop out of school and join his bros’ El Bulli, shuffling relentlessly from the pastry frontline to the lead of El Taller, their research lab n Barcelona. Burnt out by the stressful life he was living day after day and night after night, in 2009 he decided to tune out of fine dining to explore new directions, in the purest form of genius disguised as an inspired restaurateur, with Tickets in Barcelona, the first of a series of modern, most enjoyable and highly ambitious restaurants that Albert launched with his hermano Ferran, from 2011 on (41, Pakta, Enigma). Smartest kid(s) on the block.
126 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
127
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
SALON BELLES BACCHANTES - PHOTO ©LAURENCE MOUTON
128 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
GUY SAVOY RESTAURANT GUY SAVOY Paris Cooking is the art of instantaneously turning produce suffused with history into happiness... Guy Savoy’s sense of balance on the plate is without a doubt, it is a reflection of the rigour of his childhood. A rigour that he found in his gardener father who woke each morning at the crack of dawn to tend his garden and fruit trees in the best conditions, who showed such concern for a job well done that he lit fires in the early morning to keep the frost from damaging his newly sprouted plants. A rigour he found in his mother who ran a little restaurant and who peeled all the vegetables for lunch each day so her guests could enjoy the freshest possible produce. Savoy’s parents’ rigorous work ethic nurtured in him had a profound respect for the ingredients he uses, and gives him a strong balance in my cooking. Savoy’s cuisine is a combination of seasonality, with harmony and contrast, which is full of flavours – complex with an impeccable balance, a true dining experience. His desire for a flavour or an odour has always guided the dishes he creates. With a flavour or an odour in mind, he works the ingredients until the reality corresponds to what he has imagined.
WG January 2019 -
129
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
ANDREAS CAMINADA SCHLOSS SCHAUENSTEIN Fürstenau Swiss chef, Andreas Caminada is the youngest three-star chef in Europe. Caminada’s Swiss restaurant Schloss Schauenstein offers a unique culinary experience, which revolves around clean flavors, bright colors and fresh ingredients, which stimulate every sense, each element plays its role and a feast on the palate. Passsion, commitment and unbounded ambition are the ingredients of Andreas Caminada’s recipe for success. And recognition of his talent comes in the form of three Michelin stars and 19 GaultMillau points. To cap it all, his Schauenstein Castle restaurant is one of the world’s top 50 and no longer a closely guarded secret among gourmets. Andreas Caminada’s philosophy is easy to grasp - “Eating shall be a journey involving all senses, leaving a lingering impression.”
130 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
131
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
PHOTO © PIERRE MONETTA
132 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
ALAIN DUCASSE au Plaza Athénée Paris
Alain Ducasse tells a personal and radical story, continuing the work he began twenty-five years ago. He represents the naturalness cuisine, inspired by the fish-vegetables-cereals trilogy, with the help of his chef of Romain Meder. Healthier and more natural, more respectful of the Planet, it delivers a free and nearly instinctive interpretation of Haute Cuisine, revealing the produces’ original flavour, from the noble to the humble, all exceptional. Turning his back on traditional presentation, wines are now classified by generation. 10 years, 15 years, all the way up to 55 years! A beautiful way to choose wine, defined by an event that marks a life and their celebration. The dining room is a gem- where all is softness of curves, materials and contents. Everywhere is wonder in the remarkable quality of the pieces created with an absolute attention to every detail, a formidable representation of the craftsman’s expertise. The hand of Man at the service of Beauty transcending matter and form.
WG January 2019 -
133
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
JOAN ROCA El Celler de Can Roca Girona Joan Roca was just 9 years old when he decided to put on his first chefs jacket and help his mother in the family traditional restaurant and house. Today Joan Roca runs with his own project along with his two brothers, Josep the sommelier and Jordi the pastry chef. El Celler de Can Roca is the authentic creative triangle formed by the three Roca brothers, with continuous research committed to innovation and creativity, enhancing traditional flavors with cutting edge techniques with an original balance. Through a transversal vision of the creative process, Joan Roca’s restaurant project dialogues and engages both with science and peasants, technology and sensitivity, product and sensorial anthropology. El Celler is a free-style restaurant, committed to the avantgarde, but still faithful to the memory of different generations of the family’s ancestors dedicated to feeding people. El Celler de Can Roca’s commitment to cuisine and to the avant-garde, and its link to academia, has led it to defend the dialogue between the countryside and science, a total dialogue.
134 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
PHOTO ©EL CELLER DE CAN ROCA
WG January 2019 -
135
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
PHOTO ©SERGE CHAPUIS
136 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
ANNE-SOPHIE PIC Maison Pic Valence To understand her cuisine, one must understand the woman. While she may at first seem reserved, fragile or even distant, she is actually very passionate, sensitive, free-spirited and enterprising. Her path testifies to an exceptional strength of character, because she needed a lot of conviction, perseverance and faith to make a name for herself as a selftaught woman in a decidedly male-dominated field. She was guided to the culinary arts by her sense of smell and her palate. As a little girl, she delighted in the fragrances wafting from the kitchens where her father worked. Anne-Sophie is always on the move. She’s always looking for complex new flavour combinations. She likes to research rarer flavours – such as bitter, acidic, iodised, roasted and smoked – with the goal of taming them. She continually revisits ingredients, cooking methods and techniques to offer her guests a distinct and often surprising gustatory experience. There are nevertheless some unchanging things within this momentum: audacity, a search for balance, aromatic complexity and delicacy. That is where the beauty of the moment can be found: the balance between aromatic power and delicacy of expression. The flavours in her dishes do not reveal themselves all at once. They emerge subtly when you take the time to listen and look for them. Her signature style cannot be found in a single dish but rather in her creative approach, in her way of seeing and being present in the world, in her heightened sensitivity. The tasting of a dish is by nature an ephemeral experience, and that’s what makes it unique.
WG January 2019 -
137
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
MASSIMO BOTTURA
Osteria Francescana Modena Massimo Bottura is chef-patron of the three Michelin starred Osteria Francescana in Modena currently ranked number 1 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Over the past twenty years, he has consolidated his reputation as one of the world’s most creative culinary figures. He has written an acclaimed cookbook – Never Trust a Skinny Italian Chef - and starred in several television series. Bottura’s second restaurant, Franceschetta58, is a contemporary osteria in his home town. Though it’s taken him a while, Massimo Bottura is a trail blazer among a new generation of Italian chefs. His work both as a visionary and restaurateur confirms him as one of the world’s most creative culinary forces. In 1995, Bottura opened Osteria Francescana in the medieval city center of Modena. His concept was to juxtapose culinary tradition and innovation with contemporary art and design. Bottura then spent a summer at El Bulli with Ferran Adrià, which encouraged him to continue pushing boundaries and re-writing rules with his cuisine. 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 extraordinary ingredients and classic dishes are re-evaluated 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.
138 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
Photo ©PAOLO TERZI
WG January 2019 -
139
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
140 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
SÉBASTIEN BRAS LE SUQUET Laguiole
Sébastien Bras reinvents his cuisine every day. A cuisine of the moment, the fruit of constantly simmering ideas as much as formalised creative thought processes, nourished by an image, a memory from a trip, a stroll in the garden at Lagardelle, an encounter with an enthusiast or quite simply an Aubrac landscape. Sébastien has always lived in the kitchens of the family restaurant. He entered them on the day his parents returned from the maternity ward! More than a heritage, it is also his natural playground. Sébastien Bras creates “spontaneous cuisine of the moment”, instant, alive, sensual, which appeals more to the heart than the head. But make no mistake, it is also the result of much research, work, testing, maturity, history. The taste for cooking is all about balance; an open mind, a lot of hard work and the sum of one›s total experiences. There is no substitute for experience. You cannot be, without having been. Nature is the defining influence, for she decides what she provides! His cooking follows the rhythms of nature. Very often, the surprises which their garden at Lagardelle springs on them early in the morning enable him to create according to the morning dews and the seasons. Aubrac is also Sébastien›s foundation. Its products determine the essentials of his cuisine. Sébastien demands that Aubrac be viewed in a contemporary light, where «rusticity» is not a reference. An Aubrac which he conjugates with his travels, “indispensable to open my mind, my heart, my senses.” Leaving, in order to return enriched, effectively...
WG January 2019 -
141
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
ANDONI LUIS ADURIZ MUGARITZ San Sebastián
Andoni Luis Aduriz is undoubtedly one of the most influential chefs of our time. Throughout his career, he has remained highly committed to culinary evolution, making him somewhat of a rebel in the kitchen. Aduriz intends a meal at Mugaritz to shock and surprise as well as delight with ‘trompes l’oeils’–culinary tricks of the eye. Mugaritz delivers a gastronomic experience of 24 dishes. Pleasure is experienced in an unpredictable melody where sensory harmonies, emotions, and culinary messages lyrically intertwine. At Mugaritz, eating is a path to experience, a path scattered with histories, aromas, textures, flavours, games, memories, desires and numerous other pleasurable stimuli. That is why he creates and suggest forms of service that prompt situations in which his diners can give free rein to their senses and interact with only the barest of rules for engaging on a culinary voyage. An aim to break the barriers imposed by customs. Named after a border oak tree that grows in the hills around San Sebastian - Mugaritz takes attention to detail to new heights. From the specially created barbecue smell that emanates from the restaurant, designed to remind approaching diners of their childhood, to the way the table is set (or not) – is done for a very specific reason – to transcend the dining experience to new and unexpected heights.
142 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
PHOTO ©JOSÉ LUIS LÓPEZ DE ZUBIRÍA
WG January 2019 -
143
CICCIO SULTANO
144 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
CICCIO SULTANO PHOTO © MARCELLO BOCCHIERI
A cook who transforms product into food using all five senses with an inclination for taste and touch. Tasting and touching creates and evolves first impressions. Then the mind comes into play, but not before there is a direct contact – a certain physicality – that reflects movement between sea and land, memories of home and travels abroad, high culture and popular culture, a monumental past and present, encompassing the heart and the mind, listening and reasoning, always with notable finesse. In loving an ingredient comes a desire to transmit feelings, because one who loves, loves out of respect. We aren’t afraid of change because our roots run deep - Ciccio Sultano His kitchen and dishes are derived both from nature and from man. Products are selected with maniac care, from farmers and purveyors worthy of this name that he has discovered, sustained and encouraged, culminating in a trustworthy and knowledgeable network. Just like a good wine that is made first in the vineyards, then in the cellar. For Ciccio, above all else, lie three primary ingredients: oil, wheat and salt. Without them he wouldn’t be Sicilian, and he wouldn’t be a chef. It is this trifecta that gives importance to the logo that represents him. His restaurant has the aura and history of an old Sicilian house, ancient enough to be baroque and bourgeois. Found inside Palazzo La Rocca, the same walls that provided the set for the film Divorce Italian Style with Marcello Mastroianni. When he finishes the discrete renovation that he has undertaken, it will be ever the more inviting: an architectural space, perfectly legible and modern, underscored by the light, by the colors of the walls, and by the rationality of the furnishings designed by Fabrizio Foti. In this warm and welcoming space, he cooks and entertains alongside his wife “With her – thanks to her – the restaurant is the pulse of my life. Gabriella Cicero plays the key role of general manager, organizing and directing with a seemingly inherent knowledge of what is about to happen. Such wisdom could be defined as someone consciously in tune with the situation but in reality, having embraced this project of mine, it encompasses much, much more” adds Ciccio.
WG January 2019 -
145
CICCIO SULTANO
Having the fortune to bask in his name - one of international recognition and respect – the work of Copystudio became one of defending originality. Nomen omen, as the Latins would have said: a name is a privilege, a name is a destiny. Thus was born the decision to combine three elements, three signs that together would singularly define Sultano’s personality. Wheat, oil, and salt. All of the rest resides in a fourth element, at once present and invisible: the wind. Leaving aside the easy seductions of exoticism, or worse, of folklore, and added another level of concreteness giving way to the brand’s emblem: the signature of Ciccio Sultano, nakedly handwritten, a stark sound of five syllables. All of which aligns in a calculated theory, a culmination both existential and professional, insinuated by a formula used by another great exponent of Italian cuisine: form is material, and material is form. The power of Ciccio’s cuisine unfailingly translates into knowledge and consciousness. Every day, we set out to create the extraordinary from the ordinary, from roots and seasons that in Sicily are like authentic gifts. His perfect culinary approach that blends tradition and innovation; traditional cuisine of Sicily and passion for Sicilian produce… “Taking the past and transforming it into the present. Imagining this transformation up until the point that you identify the recipes of the past with the same spiritual predisposition with which you listen to a fairy tale. In short, bringing them to life, assimilating them and then, of course, translating them into a personal and contemporary language. Tradition is none other than yesterday’s innovation, in a process that is constantly repeated. I have always compared the meeting between tradition and innovation to the way the land and the sea caress each other. The point at which they touch is the shoreline. To do something truly new, you have to know how to betray tradition while underlining it. As a chef, my job is to walk barefoot on the shore.
146 - WG January 2019
OSTRICA DI CAMPO
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
147
CICCIO SULTANO
TRIGLIA , LATTE DI MANDORLA E CHINOTTO
148 - WG January 2019
UOVO, PANE E MARSALA
WG MAGAZINE
“My kitchen goes beyond cultural and culinary common places and delivers innovation: future traditions. And it does so often starting with memories”
TIMBALLO DEL GATTOPARDO
Aside from the philosophical part, Ciccio recognizes his role as a free thinker. His kitchen is a kitchen in movement, silent with accumulation of knowledge, emotions and discoveries. He is not one that follows the currents, but swims in a sea of two horizons: one is Sicily, and the other is the clientele who sits at his restaurant. When he says Sicily, he doesn’t intend to partake in a parochial nor traditionalist discourse. Sicily is a central point for historical, geographical, and climatic reasons. It is difficult to think of it as “just an island” given the incredible cultural and culinary richness that places it above and beyond other places. “We are, and history defends us, in a central position from which to depart and return. A fertile land when considering the possibilities of research that it offers. In honor of this realization, I’ve created a menu dedicated to Dominations. At the center of the Mediterranean, at the point of contact between Europe and the Southern hemisphere, between the West and the East, Sicily has been a capital of taste and ingredients for centuries. From the Phoenicians to the Byzantines, from the French to the Austrians, from the Neapolitans to the Piedmontese, they each took but also left us something more. We are many things, and from there comes originality and, in a sense, the inescapability of the point of view and experience of being Sicilian” says Ciccio. In inspiration, there exists no recipes, no instructions for use. He believes that chefs are divided between those who create and those who copy. Sometimes it depends on a meeting between friends, others by a reading, a trip, a taste or a smell. However he starts from three real and symbolic ingredients: oil, salt, wheat. There are those who turn their own best dish into a signature, a “logo”. His logo is this trilogy of fundamental ingredients. In front of the project of a new dish, the process revolves around principles of identity, belonging and responsibility. It must be, therefore, first his, then Sicilian, and finally respectful of the expectations of those sitting at the table. FOCACCIA RAGUSANA
WG January 2019 -
149
FABRIZIO GALLA
H
FABRIZIO GALLA
150 - WG January 2019
is inspiration comes from the desire of making his customers live a unique experience while savouring his creations and allowing them to dream and enjoy themselves… his culinary journey started 30 years ago, at just 15 he started working as an apprentice in one of Turin’s historical patisseries, famous for its minute petit fours, weighting 8 grams each. From there, he worked in pastry for 10 years, after which he moved to restaurants for 5 years, where he embraced both sweet and savoury preparations. Part of this experience was also spent in the family’s restaurants, a traditional trattoria from Piedmont with a 161 years history. He found his path immediately, the day he started attending Turin’s pastry institute Arte Bianca, it was the first time he saw a sugar sculpture, of the city’s iconic Mole Antoneliana, which was taller than him. He was literally blown away as he had never seen anything like this before and had never thought sugar could be used that way.” During these years, he met some Italian professionals who encouraged him to participate in competitions, a passage that has highlighted the path to becoming a true professional. He took part in 5 pastry world cups, where he always made the podium, and at the 2007 coupe du monde de la patisserie, his cake “Jessica” won the prize for best chocolate cake. Competing allowed him to really dig deep into his profession but then also learnt that the biggest contest takes place, every day, in his lab and business.
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
151
FABRIZIO GALLA
152 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
“Do everything, even the simplest thing, in the best way possible.”
Fabrizio’s philosophy is very simple: do everything, even the simplest thing, in the best way possible. If I say that a dessert has vanilla in it, the flavour of vanilla has to be there, present and true, something some might see as banal while it’s not at all. Crafting a dessert with such characteristics is very difficult, he enjoys blending all these ingredients in a serious experimentation approach, aimed at creating a good dessert that to him has to be beautiful, elegant and divinely delicious. To do this, he fully relies on his experience, year after year, attempt after attempt, and he believes to have mastered the fundamentals needed to obtain a balanced dessert. One of his creations is a cake inspired by Jessica Rabbit, the best is of signature dessert, “Jessica”, a boasting chocolate, tiramisu, mango, passion fruit, Tahitian vanilla, gianduja and Himalayan pink salt. All the flavours are very different from each other but, after six months of trials, he was capable to achieve a perfect balance in which all ingredients express themselves in sequence, individually, without interferences. Ten years ago, he had the chance to work with Iginio Massari, who allowed him to understand what is needed to do to become a true professional. Massari mentored him through 3 world championships, instilling in him a unique work ethics which taught him how to work like Sherlock Holmes. Focusing on details, the research of perfection, of perfect consistencies, unique flavour combinations capable of pleasing the most diverse palates. In fact, during an international competition, the winners are not only those with the most appealing recipes but also those who make fewer mistakes.
WG January 2019 -
153
FABRIZIO GALLA
Not obsessed by ingredients but motivated by them. His work is constantly evolving, as are the ingredients he uses. He keeps looking for the best the market has to offer so that, by combining it with the best techniques he can keep achieving optimal results. Inspired by Calamansi or Calamondin, a citrus fruit with a good acidity, it’s a nice aromatic component that tends to be slightly bitter, not easy to work with, but he like the challenge. Also working with vegetable powders, which he use to substitute colourings, and Callebaut’s new chocolate “Ruby”. He selects his ingredients thought collaboration and dialogue which he entertains with producers and manufacturers, with which he develops new products. Recently, for example, he created some aromatic citrus fruit pastes made with zest, selected sugars and a small percentage of essential oils, new in a marketplace offering only synthetically flavoured pastes. True to his roots, to Piedmont, hazelnuts are at top of his list, but he also works with chocolate a lot.
154 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
155
FEDERICO ZANASI
E
ver since he was a child, Federico has always been mad about cooking. But at that time it wasn’t so trendy to be a chef and there were no proper schools of cooking, so after middle school he went to a hotel management school which was, at the time, the nearest he could get to the line of study he wanted to follow. After gaining his diploma from hotel management school, he gained experience in restaurants in the Modena area, so as to become acquainted with local and regional cooking. From there, he travelled abroad, not only to learn languages but also to come into contact with other gastronomic cultures different from our own. From 1991 to 2004, he lived abroad and spent some time travelling, particularly in America and Spain, rising to challenges and learning dynamics that were different from those of Italy, both in terms of content and service. He returned to Italy in 2005, still with a great desire for professional growth. It was at this time that he came in contact with Amerigo 1934, his first experience in a Michelinstarred restaurant.
FEDERICO ZANASI PHOTO © ANDREA GUERMANI & ANDREA MARTIRADONNA
156 - WG January 2019
Sending his CV to Moreno Cedroni which led to a 10year experience, give or take, with various interruptions for seasonal work: at the Madonnina del Pescatore, the ‘two star’ restaurant of Moreno Cedroni in Senigallia, at the Clandestino in Portonovo until 2007, with the experience at the Trussardi alla Scala Restaurant in Milan, with Berton. In 2009 a new phase of his professional life commenced as he began to deal directly with the creativity aspects of the dishes proposed and, as a consultant, he also took part in the opening of Cedroni’s new creation: the ‘Clandestino’ in the Hotel Maison Moschino in Milan, assisting the Executive Chef, Antonio Bufi, in the training of personnel for six months.
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
157
FEDERICO ZANASI
158 - WG January 2019
FEDERICO ZANASI AND FERRAN ADRIÀ
WG MAGAZINE
“An expression of a new flavour philosophy, a new way of consuming food Housed in the new Lavazza headquarters in the heart of Turin, a symbol of a city that wants to be a leader in haute cuisine”
As a person, Federico is a great believer in the importance of reading up on everything: reading and understanding. “If we speak about Italian cuisine for example, it is important to study its history right from its origins, to be familiar with its major personalities, investigate its traditions, particularly its regional traditions, abounding with unique and distinctive ingredients that characterise it... The chef must seek out and gather as much information as possible in order to have as many ideas as possible at his fingertips to apply to his dishes, together with a solid knowledge of technique and perfect methodology” says Federico.
L’INTERNO DI CONDIVIDERE
It was in 2016 that Federico first met Ferran Adrià, this meeting was faciliated by Bob Nato, a great photographer who recently passed away and who was very close to the Lavazza family. Bob told Federico, that Lavazza was thinking of opening Condividere and that they heard about his cooking and they wanted him to meet with Ferran as Lavazza has an excellent relationship and working with Ferran since 2000. So the first meeting was arranged, during which Federico had to cook for him. This marked the beginning of their partnership and the rest of the story is public knowledge which took shape in what is now Condividere. “At Condividere we have become the result of all these efforts. We serve haute cuisine in a fun, informal way but quality is always key, and this is the fruit of careful study and experiment geared to ensuring that the customer enjoys a direct, simple but unique experience. Our aim is to put our untiring research and reading to good use, in a pleasant way” says Federico. L’INTERNO DI CONDIVIDERE
WG January 2019 -
159
FEDERICO ZANASI
When Federico creates a dish, he starts from examining an ingredient, this is the principle and the first step for each dish. From this analysis he finds the way to enhance the value of this specific ingredient and to italianise it, because according to his philosophy this is where one begins, from the flavours that are familiar. Then through teamwork behind the scenes – the chefs are all very proficient and experienced – they enhance the characteristics and the flavour potential of that particular ingredient and they develop a recipe in the real sense of the word, using experience and their background. “Let’s take the tomato, for example. How do we work with it? Raw or cooked, in sauce, frozen…. we try various things and from a basic idea we begin a journey that ultimately leads to the decision on how to serve it in the dish, thanks to the great knowledge of Italian gastronomic history that we have built up” says Federico. The philosophy underlying Condividere is unique. First, concentrating on Italian gastronomical heritage, which is immense, and allow it to inspire, but without going over the top.... It all begins with a systematic study of the Italian raw materials, from the story of their origin, from the description of their history and their evolution. Condividere’s gastronomical experience is based on this approach: referring to a real Food Democracy the aim of which is to create a pleasant atmosphere of informal sharing which makes everyone feel at ease. “The cuisine we seek to offer is current and contemporary, wide-ranging, versatile, in which the creation of a dish is never banal.”
160 - WG January 2019
BRIOCHE MODENESE
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
161
FEDERICO ZANASI
GELATO AL PARMIGIANO BOB NOTO
162 - WG January 2019
DOLCE
WG MAGAZINE
Condividere means ‘sharing’ – which comes from the Latin word CUM DIVIDERE. It is much more than just a name: it is a philosophy, a more light-hearted way of approaching life, together.
TAPPO LAVAZZA
“Italian traditional cuisine reinterpreted in a light-hearted and contemporary key, a veritable “hybridization of taste”, served in tapas-style, putting the focus on sharing”
At Condividere, food is shared: it is placed in the centre of the table so that everyone can dig in, family-style. The diners serve themselves with the aid of tongs and eat with their hands, although cutlery is always providentially provided, just in case. The approach to the food is immediate, physical and convivial. The idea of sharing was very far removed from Federico’s philosophy. He learned it from Ferran who started this new trend of Italian haute cuisine for sharing.
FEDERICO ZANASI, DANTE FERRETTI AND FERRAN ADRIÀ
Italian cuisine, a lively informal atmosphere, haute cuisine in a democratic key, a new cliché to be shared. Federico is in frequent contact with Ferran to update him on how the restaurant is going, but they are completely autonomous in terms of decision-making, in the choice and selection of the recipes. They only consult him if they are in doubt and in order to discuss future projects. Condividere is an Italian restaurant so it is fitting that it should be managed by an Italian in order to guarantee that its menus and service are 100% Italian - or rather, 100% Mediterranean. GOFRI DI FARINATA
WG January 2019 -
163
GIUSEPPE CUTRARO
164 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
GIUSEPPE CUTRARO He never knew that he wanted to become a chef, it was the job that chose him. A sharp boy, however the choices of adolescence sometimes shape your whole life. His mother was firm however she would go to work, before seeing him off to school but he would sneakily go back to bed till late and go out just to come home and play the part. In the Quartieri Spagnoli, they would stay up till late in groups of friends around Piazza Plebiscito where they talked about nothing and everything, ball or ride their motorcycles all the way to St. Martino, so this made it difficult for him to wake up in the morning. After a while his mother noticed this and enrolled him to a course offered by the city council for adolescents at a risk of him choosing the wrong path. This is how he was introduced to the culinary world. The course he was subscribed to was that of a confectioner. However, when he asked if after this formation he would be kept to work they said no and he refused the job. He wanted money and was not interested in the job. The second option was that of a fornaio aid. He wasn’t happy about this as a pizzaiolo in Naples works till 2-3 in the morning. However, the man who had the pizzeria also offered him a small wage and this he found enticing. And that was that! He started from the bottom, cleaning the pans, the kitchen tiles and little by little they would give him space to do something else. However it was impossible for anyone to let him come near to making a dough. PHOTO Š FABRIZIO SAYA
WG January 2019 -
165
GIUSEPPE CUTRARO
“I love to play with flour. New dough, new methods of working it, yield different outcomes. No piece of dough comes the same”
Then at 19, he left Naples to follow the American dream. He worked in New Jersey for 2 years and didn’t know a word of English. He found it difficult to bring a new form of pizza to a patriotic mentality like that of the Americans and their American Pizza. After a while, the people started to appreciate the pizza. He wasn’t on top of his game there, as it was at his first experience. But the guys he worked with would call him “il maestro” and this gave him the encouragement he needed to fuel his ambition. Giuseppe is the only child and he grew up without a father, and a after a few months he started to miss his mother. He returned home, but something in him had changed. He then went to Malta which was much more difficult. They would see a simple pizza marinara and would gaze in awe for the basic, until they started to appreciate the dough, the sweet salty tomato sauce and the good quality oil. From there he moved to Switzerland and stayed there for 5 years and then he came to Paris and started to work for the Big Mamma Group. This experience helped his style by learning to see what the clients are used to eating and try to pair this with what he knows to do. For example: everyone dreams of going to Naples to eat a Pizza at Via Roma or Piazza Plebiscito with the view of the Vesuvio. And who has the fortune of doing this amazed by the goodness of the pizza. But if you take the same pizza to another country, things change. People generally prefer it crunchy and cooked well, whereas in Naples the dough is just golden and very thin. His mentor is travelling the world, different places, different cultures, different kitchens and the more you broaden your views on the culinary cultures, likes, preferences, uses etc. “I think my mentors are all those unrecognized pizzaioli that live around where I live who I’d go to eat a pizza at every Sunday. Or the old signiore who still makes pizza fritta only around Christmas time for all the quartiere with his huge frying pan out in the vici di Napoli” says Giuseppe.
166 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
167
GIUSEPPE CUTRARO
The dough… “I love to play with flour. New dough, new methods of working it, yield different outcomes. No piece of dough comes the same, sometimes it’s the room temperature, sometimes it’s the water, sometimes it’s due to humidity. No person can make the same dough twice let alone two persons. You always need to take your time with food and let it take its course without hurry. To begin with I always select my ingredients depending on the season. I think nowadays a lot of chefs are opting for this. Everybody wants good food. When you select seasonal ingredients you already have more flavors as their sugars are naturally matured and thus more flavorful. You always try to pair ingredients like spicy with fresh, something fatty with something slightly acidic so it cleans the palette. And something soft with something crunchy.” Culturally food plays a great part of who he is, he comes from Naples where on Sundays it means sitting down at the table at 3pm and you finish eating ar around 7pm. It all starts with the ‘primo’ which is a pasta dish and ends with ‘caffee napoletano’ boiled in a ‘caffetiera’ on top of a burner. His ambition is his biggest motivation, he is not a person that settles. He is always in search of something better. This brought him to where he is. He started as a fornaio in Naples and knew that it will be hard to ever be a pizzaiolo there. Pizzaiolo in Naples is a very highly esteemed profession and thus either you are born in a family of pizzaioli or you have to wait for a pizzaioli to leave the work due to old age. It is difficult to find any professional pizzaiolo who would tell you his secrets. Therefore, he chose to go out of Naples and from there he changed places as soon as he saw there was nothing more to learn or offer.
168 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
PHOTO © FABRIZIO SAYA
WG January 2019 -
169
ARDIT CURRI
170 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
ARDIT CURRI Son of an engineer father and a pharmacist mother, he lived in Albania until 16, where at 13 years old he already worked as a waiter in various restaurants of the capital and where he already began to be interested in the world of gastronomy. At 16,he decided to leave for a better future and it was then that he chose to follow in his big brother’s footsteps (now his right hand in the kitchen) who already lived in Italy since 1997. Almost immediately, he left him to move to Arezzo to follow his studies at the hotel school at Cortona where he encountered his professor of gastronomy (Gianfranco Giannetti) who made him fall in love with gastronomy and food as its raw material even more. He then moved to San Gimignano where, during the school holidays, he worked at the restaurant “Perucà” of the Pernarella family. He continued to work for the same family where, after a short while, he took over the reins of the kitchen. It was a historic restaurant opened in 1990 which offered - and does so to this day - a combination of traditional tuscan cuisine styled with refined adroitness. In 2014, they decided to open a second restaurant, it too in San Gimignano, named “San Martino 26”. Here they continued to remain true to the region with gourmet offerings of recipes based on research, study and the endeavor to reinvent traditional cuisine interpreted from Ardit’s point of view, as well as to give room to simplicity and try to succeed in a pairing of two cultures; that of his origin and the one added to it.
WG January 2019 -
171
ARDIT CURRI
172 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
It all begins in 1990 in San Gimignano, where, riding on the wave of youthful fervor which unites great passions and makes everything look much simpler, Fabio and Lidia Pernarella, driven by a great love for good food and drink, decide as their first and completely autodidactic endeavor, to open a pizzeria with rotisserie. By origin from the Lazio region on Fabio’s part and Tuscany on Lidia’s, they begin to create traditional food in a simplistic style, rich in taste and aroma, elements which they try to combine and bring to life in their pizzas, which - in turn - after only a short time begin to collect much approval and success. So much success that, after very little time, one pizzeria turns into two, but the changes do not stop there, because in the very second locale, slowly but surely the pizzas are abandoned and in 1994, the family’s first “restaurant” comes into existence. From this moment on the Pernarella family’s story is enhanced by many shades and tastes perfumed by food and wine. The level of professionalism grows with sommelier and cooking courses, all the way up to gourmet level. Curious and enterprising by nature, husband and wife keep on transforming their initial passion into a beautiful and proficient drive dedicated to their restaurant’s class and hospitality. So much so, that their two daughters, Elisa and Emma, also get swept up into this not exactly easy line of work from a young age and are both now ready to enter the game as serious protagonists themselves, as well. ANTIPASTO
WG January 2019 -
173
ARDIT CURRI
ACCIUGHE
“Ardit from the kitchen, expresses all of his considerable talent on ever changing dishes”
After other changes and adventures, arrives Ardit Curri fresh from hotel school in Capezzine die Cortona - for an internship. A very young chef, who, in a very short time, demonstrates considerable talent in the kitchen. Thanks to his capability and to the wonderful love story between Ardit and Elisa, the family decides to a take a leap of faith and bring a further restaurant into being, dedicated to even loftier ends. So is born the restaurant “San Marino 26”, which gets it’s name from the street and street number on which it is situated. A very beautiful environment, where tiles, arches and lightning fixtures directed at art works combine to make the place cozy and welcoming. Equipped and furnished in refined style, it offers avant garde cuisine firmly tied to the tastes of Tuscany but free to soar when it comes to technique and imagination. Ardit from the kitchen, expresses all of his considerable talent on ever changing dishes and with careful attention to the seasons, succeeds in conquering the most demanding palates. In addition to this many layered cuisine, complementing wines - given the region - are not missing. They can be found in the wine menu in great number, from Tusany, the rest of Italy and beyond. Attentive and professional service go on to complete a place of undoubted quality where elegance and hospitality join in one single and beautiful venture.
174 - WG January 2019
SPAGHETTI
WG MAGAZINE
RAVIOLI
STRUDEL DESTRUTTURATO
WG January 2019 -
175
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
JOSÉ AVILLEZ Belcanto Lisbon
PHOTO ©NUNO CORREIA
Considered one of the great Portuguese chefs, José Avillez stands out due to his enterprising spirit and his willingness to go one step further. Here one can enjoy Portuguese cuisine revisited in a sophisticated atmosphere that still provides some of the former romance of the Chiado district. José Avillez looks at haute cuisine as a form of expression. At Belcanto he shares his inspirations, emotions and concerns through his culinary representations and illusions. Each dish tells a story and sets out to stir the emotions of those willing to try it.
176 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
Hof van Cleve Belgium
PETER GOOSSENS
Peter Goossens prefers to savour what is exceptionally delicious. And he not the only one. Living in a country full of good food and partygoers. That’s a part of the tradition. Finesse is the message here. Preferring local products, which is part of the DNA of Goossens kitchen. Goossens love a kitchen with individuality. Local products are the tool, to do their taste, scent and texture the best possible amount of justice is a wonderful, daily challenge. He does, also use products from other countries. Especially when they can provide significant added value to my creations. Some ingredients deserve all of the attention because of their unique nature and culinary capabilities. They complement the ensemble, and their subtle nuances and diversity result in extra culinary pleasure. Because this is what it’s all about, at least for Peter Goossens.
WG January 2019 -
177
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
PHOTO ©S.DELPECH
178 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
ALAIN PASSARD Arpège Paris
Alain Passard creates Arpège, formerly L’Archestrate belonging to his mentor, Alain Senderens, located on the corner of rue de Varenne and rue de Bourgogne. He baptizes it in tribute to his second passion, his love for music, and he opts for an Art Deco style interior, an atmosphere of which he is particularly fond. Alain has been viscerally bound to his burners for the past 30 years. He seeks relentlessly, with each movement and with the utmost respect, to bring out the best in his subject. By preserving its color, essence, hues and scent, he restores purity to the product. Roasting is no secret to Alain Passard. The talent that his grandmother passed down to him and this passion for the flame were the key ingredients behind the long-time success of his slow-cooked choice meats. Today, he applies this fascination and know-how to the vegetables he roasts, grills or flambés…Working the art of open flame stays crucial :”Learn how to travel delicately with your pan on the open flame guaranties texture, taste, color, light and transparency with your vegetables” Alain plays particularly with colours, perfumes, savoury of the vegetable kingdom. Working with vegetables is, in a way, an incentive to replant the earth, to tackle a new language, a different vocabulary. Since the opening of his restaurant, he receives his third Michelin star. Alain Passard’s quest for perfection is no less intense in the decoration of his dining room than in the heart of each course; he craves continual harmony.
WG January 2019 -
179
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
PHOTO ©THAI TOUTAIN
Restaurant David Toutain
Paris
David Toutain has dreamt his restaurant to be creative, friendly, laid back. A place flooded with light, dressed in noble materials: oak, concrete and glass. A unique, atypical place which offers a warm welcoming.
DAVID TOUTAIN
Right in the middle of the main room, a solid oak community table, a soft memory of the chef’s childhood in Normandy country side. The space is divided into two levels .The main dining room and the mezzanine: “salon ô” with its books, blackboard and the chef’s office. The furniture, as well as the tableware have been carefully thought through to create global harmony. Each element comes from a special workshop and from an unexpected encounter. The restaurant is just like its chef: authentic and generous.
180 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
STEIRERECK Vienna
HEINZ REITBAUER
The cooking style of Heinz Reitbauer reflects his respect and appreciation of raw ingredients and products. He has constructed his own cooking identity on these foundations and through his embracing of the national and regional cooking styles of his native Austria. This style consists first and foremost of the meticulous creation of small moments of surprise for the diner, be this through the discovery of a previously unknown ingredient or the resurrection of one long forgotten. Heinz claims the key to his success is the longstanding, intricate and ever expanding network of farmers, gardeners, foragers, botanists and food enthusiasts he has nurtured over the years who never cease to provide him with inspiration and motivation.
WG January 2019 -
181
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
PHOTO ©OAXEN
OAXEN KROG Stockholm At the heart of Oaxen’s cuisine has been a collaboration of creatively utilizing sustainable local elements and ethically produced ingredients. As the status grew, Magnus was recognized as the forerunners of New Nordic Swedish cooking. The tavern cultivated and grew into one of the most highly rated eateries in Sweden.
MAGNUS EK
182 - WG January 2019
Oaxen Krog has not been just about the food, but the imperative and natural journey from farm to table. They use local ingredients exclusive to the Baltics, and even have reserved permission to pick certain herbs on the island. Magnus regularly forages through the woods to gather products for his menus. Nature is an important element in Magnus’ gastronomy as he also grows his own herbs and vegetables nearby. Using the ingredients that grew in the woods behind the restaurant and out on the waterfront. Whilst Magnus explored and researched the island’s wild herbs as well as the small local farmers and producers, he cooked on stones, and he even invented a smoking apparatus.
WG MAGAZINE
NARISAWA Tokyo Chef Narisawa’s “Sustainability and Gastronomy” - This is the theme of Chef Yoshihiro Narisawa. He is a pioneer of cuisine connected to the preservation of the natural environment. Having travelled to his producers fields, having stepped into the earth, and having built a relationship with the natural world, he has created dishes such as ‘Soil Soup”, “Water Salad”, “Essence of the Forest”.
YOSHIHIRO NARISAWA
Through these signature NARISAWA dishes, natural ingredients such as wood and soil can be eaten, through this experience, the consumer gains a new relationship with the natural world, and with environmental concerns. “Innovative Satoyama Cuisine” a food culture built on the richness of the natural Japanese environment- the satoyama and the respect of the one’s ancestors. A unique genre, not traditional Japanese cuisine, nor French: an original, NARISAWA cuisine, spreading its call to the world.
WG January 2019 -
183
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
PHOTO ©ANTHONY LANNERETONNE
RESTAURANT MIRAZUR Menton
MAURO COLAGRECO 184 - WG January 2019
Mauro has imposed a style of its own in the interpretation of the product and the contrast of flavors. A style that is not rooted in the Italian-Argentine cultural heritage and that doesn’t refer to the great Chefs with whom he worked in France. Mauro Colagreco feels free to express himself by following his intuition that leads him to dig into the local culture on both sides of the border. In Mirazur nothing is fixed. If the menu changes on average every two months, the audacity of Mauro Colagreco is based at his ability to do ephemeral dishes invented for a service, two days or a week. Just because he sees a product that inspires him, Mauro decides to display it on a plate. The creation is born, a symbol of freedom of expression and inspiration of the moment.
WG MAGAZINE
PHOTO ©DEIDI VON SCHAEWEN
AQUA Wolfsburg
SVEN ELVERFELD
Elverfeld’s very independent cuisine distinguishes itself by its sophisticated harmony of aroma, characteristic flavor and texture. Quite often his dishes reconnect to a personal memory and tell their own story. Modern technology and cooking methods based on solid grounded cuisine coalesce to a sophisticated pleasurable experience. In the process, he not only swears by the topmost quality of all ingredients he employs but by a pronounced regional reference of the products. His philosophy: “Attain your goal with commitment and love for detail” has proven itself successful, bringing him a great many distinctions in the last few years and confirming his concept. With the highest award in the Guide Michelin since November 2008, he became the first three-star chef in northern Germany.
WG January 2019 -
185
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
PHOTO ©VILA VITA PARC
OCEAN RESTAURANT
Algarve
Hans Neuner’s mantra of ‘keep it simple’ might initially seem at odds with the normal Michelin philosophy, his seasonally changing menu is technically perfect and exacting, and showcases a remarkable and incredibly distinctive light touch.
HANS NEUNER
Ocean won its first Michelin star in November 2009, followed in November 2011 making it one of only two restaurants in Portugal to hold the honor of two Michelin stars. Hans prides himself on creating light, modern, fresh and individual food with a local signature, placing a strong focus on fish and seafood from the Atlantic, and fruit, vegetables, meat, game and wines from the heartland of Portugal. With spectacular Atlantic views, Ocean offers the perfect combination of sublime food, seamless service and an atmosphere of casual elegance, and has held two Michelin stars since 2011 - a tribute to Hans Neuner and his team.
186 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
PHOTO ©DANIEL KRIEGER
LE BERNARDIN New York
“For me, food is about memories, feelings, emotions, and so is Le Bernardin, and that’s why it’s not just a restaurant.” Eric Ripert is grateful for his early exposure to cuisine. His family instilled their own passion for food in the young Ripert.
ERIC RIPERT
Ripert seized the opportunity in 1989 to work under JeanLouis Palladin as sous-chef at Jean Louis at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. Ripert moved to New York in 1991, working briefly as David Bouley’s sous-chef before Maguy and Gilbert Le Coze recruited him as chef for Le Bernardin where he took over after Gilbert’s untimely passing in 1994. Maguy Le Coze began working closely with Chef Eric Ripert, a disciple and close friend of Gilbert, who took over the kitchen to continue preparing the freshest seafood with the simple philosophy that the fish is the star of the plate.
WG January 2019 -
187
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
CARME RUSCALLEDA
RESTAURANT SANT PAU Sant Pol de Mar Carme Ruscalleda developed her innovative gourmet style alongside the local environment. The sea life in the Mediterranean is not the same as in the North Pacific Ocean which helps with crafting food. She also utilizes the specialized crops from the local wild mountains. From these inspirations, Chef Carme creates dishes with refined balance of the natural flavors that come together with different contrasts and textures. The regional nature and the variety of food products she can create, plus the enormous amount of gastronomic discourse among her colleagues are my biggest inspirations in the kitchen. Especially after 11 years in Japan with our Asian cuisine influences. This is where originality is perceived. A very nouveau cuisine made fresh and uninterrupted, with pure, clean flavors, contrasts and gastronomical diversions. It is a personal, creative and honest cuisine. It is a cuisine that also defends the values of healthy food without sacrificing gastronomic pleasure. Carme Ruscalleda often communicates her food with themed dishes by serving them as a leitmotif, explained in the menu, creating a literal concept with your meal through a tasting menu, a cheese of the month, and a wine cellar.
188 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
189
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
PHOTO ©PHILIPPE VAURES
190 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
YANNICK ALLÉNO PAVILLON LEDOYEN Paris Yannick Alléno advocates a French cuisine that draws its strength from its heritage but is also ambitious in its creativity. He has developed a visionary approach to the culinary arts in which know-how and excellence are combined with audacity that pushes boundaries to better experience new flavors and exalt tastes. He is Chef at the Cheval Blanc in Courchevel, and goes beyond borders on his endless quest for the quintessential in all things. Passionate about French cuisine, Yannick Alléno has pioneered new research on modern sauces and introduces these new techniques into each dish. Creativity, passion and pursuit of culinary excellence… Offering an exceptional dining experience, guests are invited to choose one key ingredient – vegetable, meat or fish - for their main dish. Guided by this choice, Chef Alléno then constructs the entire meal around the core dish, including the starter and dessert. For example, the poularde topped with seeds poached with Jura wine stock and panais extract will be best served with the duck foie gras poached with Rivesaltes wine and pear in a sugar crust as a starter, or the crab meat in squid leaf to end the orange bead cinnamon foam for dessert.
WG January 2019 -
191
DONATO DE SANTIS
192 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
DONATO DE SANTIS It was more of a necessity than passion as Donato did not find the true meaning of becoming a chef, it was rather a good excuse to step out of his neighborhood which was a dangerous place for a 13 year old boy as growing up in the outskirt of Milan in the late 70’s and having the opportunity to travel was a huge achievement. The cooking school in Milan turned out to be his ticket to the world. Being lucky to live as an apprentice cook at the Antica Osteria del Teatro in Piacenza was a tremendous experience. With strict supervision of maître/owner Franco ilari and chef/partner Georges Cogny, Donato entered the “true” world of high class cuisine working 12-14 hours a day in a hot a steamy kitchen. The experience at Piacenza gave him his international exposure, as a young chef, he was blessed to be noticed as a fresh new talent and eventually elected as the best young chef of Italy in 1984 and subsequently the second best young chef in the world by the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs in Luxembourg. Needless to say, the phone never stopped ringing with jobs proposals from everywhere. The most attractive one came from California, he was only 20. Life changed forever and only a few years after, he began to realize his talent as recognitions came in a constant wave and it was only then, he realized that he could do this for a living and he did it. His cuisine is a perfect blend of tradition and innovation, Donato adds “When you mix experience, passion, tradition and honesty, is quiet easy to translate that to a pleasant balance of flavors on a plate. Even though not all “experiments” come out as a winner, the intent is always rewarded by a second try. Perseverance is key in the process and of course a devoted team”.
WG January 2019 -
193
DONATO DE SANTIS
Donato believes a decent chef would always let his or her creations speak for itself. Brillat Savarin went on extensively on describing “the philosophy of taste” but that is for whoever sits at the table. Donato tries to discover as much as he can, deep into his own culinary culture and he find it hard each day to reach the bottom of it. His philosophy could be described rather like a mission. It is the thrill of the challenge; that he really likes. The challenge to elaborate an unknown, never performed dish by him and to see what happens. He enjoys blending flavors rapidly into a palette in my mind, searching among the flavors that he is familiar with and the ones less explored and come up with combinations that makes him salivate even before he grabs a knife or a sauté pan. Usually last dish is always the best one…it has the essence of all one have done so far.
DESCARGA TUS ARCHIVOS
It was different countries, different languages, different cultures but Donato always cooked pure Italian cuisine. This type of experience tempered out his character as a chef and as a person at the same time. “Being a chef is a way of living among us who loves cooking; the slang, the codes, the search. Every place in which I was in command has given me the opportunity to strengthen my skills and learn from everyone who was there at the time. I cooked in diverse circumstances such as ugly steamy kitchen, yachts, villas, hotels, airplanes, basements, private residences, beaches, into the woods…I even cooked with no fire at all!!! This cocktail of adventure and challenge made me the chef I am today” says Donato. Produce, creativity and technique, this magically the order is how Donato gives priority as the trio always needs to coexist in order to accomplish the best results; and with a mix of experience, passion, tradition and honesty, is quiet easy for him to translate that to a pleasant balance of flavors on a plate. Even though not all experiments come out as a winner, the intent is always rewarded by a second try since perseverance is the key process to him. He has learnt to scan carefully critic’s opinions and he filters the overall sense of awards in proper use of the recognition. True recognition and motivation comes from the cooks that follow your steps, learn and eventually do your dishes even better than you would do.
194 - WG January 2019
SPAGHETTI FRUTO DI MARE
WG MAGAZINE
AGNOLOTI CON IL PLIN
WG January 2019 -
195
GIANCARLO MORELLI
196 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
GIANCARLO MORELLI Born in Bergamo, Giancarlo always knew what he wanted to do when he grew up. After graduating from the hotel school in San Pellegrino Terme, he set out on his own personal and professional adventure, travelling to the US and to France to gain experience and to take his palate and his work in leading star-rated restaurants. With the benefit of this experience, he set sail across the Pacific Ocean as executive chef on the “Pacific Princess”. In a short time he became a consultant for several Italian restaurant companies around the world, and in 1981 he embarked on his own entrepreneurial path, managing different eateries until 1993, when he opened the Pomiroeu in Seregno, in Milan. Through the years, the results of his work has been recognized and he has received several accolades and awards. In 2010, he won the “Riso Gallo, Risotto dell’anno” risotto of the year prize, and stood on the winners’ podium at the “Sandwich Club Contest”. In the same year, Giancarlo was the only Italian representative at the “Perù Mucho Gusto”, food and wine festival, and participated in the “Chef’s Cup”, the event which promote the haute cuisine, sport and lifestyle. His commitment, creativity and passion has helped his progressive innovation, Giancarlo shows what he really is, a pure person, with an extremely fine palate and sophisticated taste, a chef who never forgets his past and his origins, a generous man who stays faithful to his genuineness. A well-researched technical cuisine, which conveys love for quality products and strictly follows the seasons, in the respect of Mother Nature.
WG January 2019 -
197
GIANCARLO MORELLI
“His modern Italian cuisine, and his perfect culinary approach that blends tradition and innovation in harmony”
The varied gastronomic offer follows the chef’s inspiration, ingredients have to be fresh, simple, and spontaneous. The ingredient of rice is considered as the food of his heart, “I believe that rice, with its basic elegance, is a precious raw material – a bit like a stunning rough stone that only reveals its true potential and value when it is skillfully crafted” adds Giancarlo. In 2011, he was at Alicante for the international event dedicated to rice, ‘Tunnel del Arroz”. Passion for cooking is like any other passion. But to him passion is not the right word: it’s a matter of vocation. Then, once understood that cooking is going to be a profession, the path that makes you a better chef is founded on curiosity. The first skill needed is a good palate and will to learn. Personally he can’t point a single moment in which he felt like cooking. He can remember, since a child, he always wanted to cook. At that time being a cook was not a widespread desire “Back in the days this profession was not gratifying, not in the same way we think about it now, at least. I grew up in countryside with a lot of produces, and my mother did her best to cook different dishes every day. Probably the passion for cooking came from her, I inherited it. Probably because she pushed me to make casoncelli and spumiglie. To me it was a game that lasted until nowadays, sometimes easy, sometimes hard” says Giancarlo. His modern Italian cuisine, and his perfect culinary approach that blends tradition and innovation in harmony… he adds “If one refers only to tradition he is simply an old chef. On the other side, if one delegates his work to innovation, he does not go far. No tricks: the way to get together tradition and innovation is gastronomical wisdom and produce knowledge”.
198 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
RADICI E TUBERI COTTI NELLA TERRA DI SOTTOBOSCO, FINTO ZABAIONE DI CAPRINO PICCANTE
RISO SELEZIONE CARNAROLI DEL “PAVESE GRAN RISERVA” MANTECATO ALLA RICOTTA DI BUFALA LEGGERMENTE AFFUMICATA CON TARTARE DI GAMBERI ROSSI E TARTUFO NERO, COLATURA DI ALIC
WG January 2019 -
199
GIANCARLO MORELLI
PETTO DI ANATRA GLASSATA AL MIELE E CARDAMOMO, PUREA DI CAROTA BIANCA, PAN PEPATO E SALSA AL PASSION FRUIT
200 - WG January 2019
TARTE TATIN DI MELA, CREMA DI CANNELLA E GELATO AL CARAMELLO SALATO
WG MAGAZINE
“People keep coming to his restaurant and they keep having a good experience: that’s the best award he aspires to”
“LA CILIEGIA” SERVITA CON BRODO DI ERBE AROMATICHE E GELATO ALL’ALLORO
He thanks his first chefs, the ones who gave him the idea of respect and classical kitchen basis. The laws which help him to take the first step (rules that too often forgotten nowadays). His fundamental experiences meeting with his teacher, and everyone that somehow inspires him. Not only the greatest of the world that he has met or where he worked in his youth, but every single man that gave him the awareness of this job. The process of him creating a dish is first, he concentrates on the season and takes inspiration from, then the focus on a smell or on a melody. He often thinks of a single fragment in his memory that reminds him of a nice moment in his life, for example a travel. He then creates the title of the dish and while writing the next steps come by themselves: he can smell the new creation, he can taste it, even more concretely. Something really new comes up when he begins remembering. Targets keep him motivated, in the same way as he received the first awards. He is totally grateful for honor and prizes but his personal thrust is the customer’s satisfaction. People keep coming to his restaurant and they keep having a good experience: that’s the best award he aspires to.
WG January 2019 -
201
GIUSEPPE IANNOTTI
H
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. 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. 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.
202 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
203
GIUSEPPE IANNOTTI
POP CORN DI ANIMELLA
MOJITO
204 - WG January 2019
POLLO ARROSTO
UNA RICCIOLA NELL’ORTO
WG MAGAZINE
“Philosophy 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
While researching and executing his dishes, he always tries 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. His idea is always to serve a dish without ever forgetting its origins.
KATSUOBUSHI DI VITELLO E SCAMPO
Completely self-taught, Giuseppe has built his 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. His first internship was four years ago at Alinea with Grant Achatz. His 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. He thinks of himself as a modernist in the kitchen, as someone who likes to subvert, while maintaining a rigorous but inverted sense of order. Always trying 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 he thinks about creating a new dish, his focus on the contrasts between old and new, with my heart in origins and tradition and his head in the world. In this process, he always tries to reject styles, fashions and mores, trying instead to develop new concepts that spring from the nature in which he was born and raised with. GRANCHIO REALE
WG January 2019 -
205
GIUSEPPE IANNOTTI
“Produce, creativity and technique are the fundamental elements that need to co-exist in a kitchen”
MORA IN RAINDROP CAKE
He speaks about the Kresios Lab project, where he sees it as a natural consequence of the thirst for knowledge and research that has always been a feature of his journey. The 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. Produce, creativity and technique are the fundamental elements that need to co-exist in a kitchen. Personally, he thinks 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.
PESCA, VINO E NOCCIOLE
Kresios opened in 2011, on a farm owned by his family, and brought two existing projects together (Kresios the restaurant in Castelvenere and Kresios Bottega). When he received his first award in 2012 as Best Young Chef from Guide de l’Espresso, it was a very emotional experience. He almost couldn’t believe that he received such an important and influential acknowledgement after years of study and experimentation as a self-taught chef. It represented another confirmation of his work and gave him the strength to carry on believing in my project. His desire to experiment and learn new techniques that let him express his creativity when preparing the ingredients he uses in his dishes is a constant feature of his ongoing professional and personal growth.
206 - WG January 2019
LITCHI E VIOLETTE
WG MAGAZINE
PEZZO DI ANATRA ALLA GRIGLIA
PESCATRICE, PRUGNA E AGLIO NERO
WG January 2019 -
207
LUCA FANTIN
208 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
LUCA FANTIN As a child, Luca spent most of his time with his grandmother, since his parents were busy at work. His grandmother was a very good cook and use to spend hours in the kitchen preparing dishes for the family. Helping her in the kitchen, he found cooking to be very interesting, so he started to learn. Cooking was her way to show her affection and for him the most fundamental thing in cooking is love. After receiving his diploma from the hotel school, he started his professional career in 2000, working at the most famous kitchens and top-ranked restaurants in Italy and Spain - Cracco, Gualtiero Marchesi’s Osteria dell’Orso, Akelarre, Mugaritz and La Pergola. In 2009, he based himself in Tokyo as the Executive Chef of the Bvlgari Il Ristorante Luca Fantin. “I would say that every experience I had with various chefs was fruitful, but if I need to highlight the most influential one, I would say Chef Heinz Beck at La Pergola. Chef Heinz Beck had a very clear idea of the flavours; with him, I learned their importance and how to combine different flavours into the same dish. However, even if your dishes are creative, if they are not delicious there is no meaning in cooking. He used to tell me: “How do you want to make your restaurant full, with professional chefs or with guests?” Obviously, you know the answer” says Luca.
WG January 2019 -
209
LUCA FANTIN
COLD SPAGHETTI AND SQUID INK
He usually draws his inspiration from the changes of the seasons and the fresh ingredients locally produced in Japan. In fact, 90% of the ingredients he uses come from japan. Only very few ingredients with certain quality which he cannot find is imported from Italy, such as Carnaroli rice, cheese and olive oils. Even if he use Japanese ingredients, the flavours that his guests taste through his dishes are Italian. When guests close their eyes, they cannot say if they are in Italy or in Tokyo. His contemporary Italian cuisine is focused on traditional Italian flavours created with modern techniques. It strikes a perfect balance between taste and aesthetics: the beautiful presentation and intense fragrances announce to the eyes and nose the extraordinary experience in store for the palate. His creative dishes are contemporary interpretation of Italian cuisine, based on the use of quality seasonal ingredients with refined techniques and artful creativity. A perfect culinary approach that blends tradition and innovation.
LAMB WITH PUMPKIN TEXTURES
TARTARE, AVOCADO CREAM, SMOKED VEGETABLE
210 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
CARPACCIO
WG January 2019 -
211
LUCA FANTIN
OCTOPUS, CAPSICUM CREAM, POTATO, OLIVE
212 - WG January 2019
WAGYU BEEF EGGPLANT
WG MAGAZINE
“Based on traditional Italian flavours, he creates a contemporary Italian cuisine with locally produced ingredients and always keeping an eye to Italy, his homeland”
SWEET MOMENT
When creating new dishes, he never focuses on a dish, but on the ingredients. For example, if he selects carrots as an ingredient, he does trials and cooks it in 10 different ways. After a careful review, he selects the best method, the one that is more close to his idea. Then, gradually, he works with other ingredients in a similar process. When he create new dishes, he starts working as if he does not have any knowledge of that ingredient; otherwise he believes he cannot reach the goal where he wants to be. His inspiration comes from nature, which guides him on selecting all kinds of ingredients, from vegetables to fish and meat. Produce is the most essential thing for me. In my opinion, creativity and technique are required to present the produce in a better way. When he was assigned as the Executive Chef of Bvlgari Il Ristorante, he was really excited, as it was his first experience as a chef managing a restaurant with responsibility; and being part of the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2018 list and ranking at number 28 was a significant experience for him because he could feel that what he has been doing so far has been appreciated by others. What he seeks for himself is to improve every single day. Train and learn something new to make guests happy. This is his motivation. COCONUT TEXTURES
WG January 2019 -
213
MARCO MARTINI
214 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
G
rowing up Colleferro, a village hour and a half from Rome. Marco’s comes with solid values: responsibility, honesty and self-sacrifice are values which his parents raised him with and, of course, his mum passed down to him her passion for cooking and the culinary traditional flavours of their hometown. As a rugby player with a great passion after food, Marco learnt the importance of respect, team spirit and competition, both in the rugby field and in life.
MARCO MARTINI
He found his way into the culinary field firstly by necessity. When he was 16, he got a part-time job as a pizza delivery guy to have some extra money in my pocket. Soon he started working for renowned restaurants such as Antonello Colonna in Labico, which was his first important experience. He was really fascinated by food and suddenly realized that becoming a great chef in his own restaurant would be his future, and here he is‌ A result of determination, enthusiasm and experience in some of the best kitchens, first with Antonello Colonna. Marco was young, ambitious and determined. Colonna understood his talent and soon he wanted him to be the executive chef at the Open Colonna, the central restaurant at the top of Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome. He was only 24 and was given the responsibility, it was tough but a great source of satisfaction as it was the first Michelin star he received.
WG January 2019 -
215
MARCO MARTINI
LINGUINA PEPERONI BACCALA CHORIZO
“Working with Heinz Beck was an extraordinary experience”
After few years in Rome, he realized it was time to face new challenges, and one day he received a phone call from Heinz Beck. “I was talking on the phone with him and was trembling with emotion.” Working with Heinz Beck was an extraordinary experience as well as being a sous chef in Tom Aikens’ restaurant in London. After the UK experience, he went back to Rome and worked for Stazione di Posta where he received his second Michelin star. Finally in 2016, he achieved his dream to have his own restaurant. Marco Martini Restaurant in Viale Aventino is finally the place where he expresses his culinary philosophy. After a few months opening he was awarded with a Michelin star. He learnt a lot from each and every experience and has the greatest regards for Antonello, Heinz and Tom as he could find his own personal style in cuisine. He wouldn’t say other chefs influenced his style, but rather say that his personal experiences, like a journey or everyday life, did it. He looks up to Enrico Crippa who is an extraordinary chef, whereas as leader and manager in culinary field I’d say an inspiring chef is Mauro Uliassi because of his deep knowledge and solid experience in managing his restaurant gained in almost 30 years.
216 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
ANATRA TONNO AFFUMICATO E CIPOLLOTTO
CREPES CAPESANTE PROSCIUTTO PISELLI E FUNGHI
WG January 2019 -
217
MARCO MARTINI
218 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
His cuisine is “eyes, tummy and head”. It‘s a perfect balance mix of beauty, tastiness, instinct and technique. In his opinion a new plate should be beautiful and tasty, and their ingredients must follow the seasonality. His cuisine has been defined an evocative cuisine: each plate has its own story to tell, and it is made of emotions, memories, flavors of traditional cuisine - mainly Roman and regional Italian – but combined with innovation.
Key concepts in his culinary philosophy are tradition and innovation. Tradition, it’s his identity and should never be betrayed but read into innovation, and that flavors must remain recognizable.
As for the creative process, it leads him to draw every dish in his menu. The inspiration takes shape first on paper, in sketches, and then, like in a painting, each drawing materializes on the table, enriched of taste and colors.
WG January 2019 -
219
MARCO MARTINI
ANIMELLA RABARBARO MOZZARELLA
He enjoys experimenting with broths. Thanks to broths that he can balance and complete his plate, he surprises his guests’ with flavours they don’t expect and in the same way broths make easier mastication and digestion. When cooking for his guests’ “It’s essential to think about the time they are eating and enjoying your plate but it’s also important to think about their well-being after the meal, and in fact broths helps digestion. It’s not easy to change a solid thing into a liquid thing by keeping exactly the same taste and quality they have at the beginning of the process. In my career very often my plates have both, such as eggplants parmesan broth, piazza bianca broth or the potato broth, which was the first broth I made. All of them help me complete my dish and they allow me to play with the consistencies, surprising my clients who unexpectedly recognize in the plate ingredients invisible at the eyes” says Marco. Marco adds “Produce, creativity and technique are all important and absolutely complementary; a great plate is the result of a balanced mix of all those elements. In order to give birth to a new creation the production has to be subordinated to an idea but, in the same way, to give shape to your idea you need technique, or rather you have to know how this technique is realized, and certainly choose excellent and selected ingredient.” Very determined and practical; and having played rugby for more than 13 years, his character has been molded by this experience; his ambitious and agonistic attitude pushes him to challenge his dream and it works every day to make it come true. His mantra is: never stop dreaming and don’t give up.
220 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
CAFFÈ ANICE LIMONE
CALAMARO SCAROLA PROVOLONE PORRO BRUCIATO
WG January 2019 -
221
CHRISTIAN FAVA
CHRISTIAN FAVA The sous-chef of Magnolia originally from Treviso and grew up in a countryside family restaurant. Christian was introduced to the culinary art by his aunt who was eager to hand him down all the family recipes which inspired him to the point where he realized that he had a real feel for the cooking life. Despite that he first applied for engineering at the university. A path he soon abandoned to follow his true calling and passion that was, of course, being a cook. At first he started exploring this world all by himself, travelling a lot in search of new insights and skill building and to unveil the secrets of such a noble and fascinating art. He later came back to my family restaurant, to put in good use all that he learnt during his travelling days, and for that he was soon noticed by the critics. In a short lapse of time, he was offered a job from the star chef Alberto Faccani at his restaurant, opening the amazing world of haute cuisine to him. And it was a while working with Faccani and his team that they received the second Michelin Star, an achievement that still fills him with joy and pride. Alberto Faccani gave him all the right tools to handle complicated situations and to get along well with all sorts of expertise from people all around the world, as well as developing his teamwork abilities and thanks to the Faccani’s good advice, he grew a strong appreciation for the aesthetic value of a fine dish that - of course - has to par with flavour and fragrance. Presentation has always a strong impact on people, so paying attention to also the smallest details such as decorations, plate style, light effects, can really make the difference.
222 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
WG January 2019 -
223
CHRISTIAN FAVA
224 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
“Products are the focal point of his cooking. All of his plates are built around the product”
“Balance is the main ingredient of a fine dish. Harmony between different aromas is essential, as such as the mastery in raw materials. From my point of view, a recipe equals an equation” says Christian. His cuisine is based on the functionality of ingredients. There is a precise reason and significance behind every ingredient he chooses for his dishes. If an ingredient shows up to be redundant, he doesn’t use it: everything must be part of a logical concept. Moreover, he has an ethical form of respect for raw materials and for this reason he only chooses ingredients from the local markets where he can find freshness and the quality he searches for. Every ingredient has its season, its taste and flavour. For this reason he sticks to the seasonality of every product he chooses. You will never find courgettes or tomatoes in his December menu: this is one of his precepts. Christian Fava began to taste the real starry cuisine traveling around Italy and Europe where he found inspiration from Blumenthal’s cuisine. Back home he dedicated himself to applying the philosophy and principles dear to him in the kitchen. The first recognition was not slow to arrive and the risotto prepared first hit the local and then the national criticism enough to get him into the guide Traveling in taste with Volvo for his ability to combine simplicity, taste and tradition. Products are the focal point of his cooking. All of his plates are built around the product. Nevertheless creativity and technique are mostly fundamental indeed. A good dish is a concert of these elements. He recollects his first memory related to food, “I can see my grandmother and her heavy cream custard. I can remember the scent of boiled milk coming from the stove. That’s a scent that still recalls a sense of coziness and the idea of family. Moreover, I cannot live without rice. I always had a strong passion for this simple ingredient since I was a child, and believe me when I say that I tried every single Italian rice brand and I am fixated on finding new ways to master this ingredient perfectly”. He considers himself as a traditionalist chef and also feels a connection to the French cuisine. He has no particular cooking technique that he is faithful to, but in a constant research of something new with his cuisine. He doesn’t think that kitchen appliances are fundamental, they are tools and of course very good equipment’s are useful to achieve a goal. What matters anyway is the goal itself for Christian Fava.
WG January 2019 -
225
MICHELANGELO MAMMOLITI
226 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
MICHELANGELO MAMMOLITI PHOTO © BRAMBILLA SERRANI E DAVIDE DUTTO
Born just outside Alba, his passion is almost innate as his family, in particular his grandparents had been a restaurant owner for over 30 years so as a child until the age of 4 he grew up in the restaurant. He spent most of my time in the kitchen and for him it was fun to see all the ingredients and see how they were transformed into something extraordinary. After the age of 11, he decided that his life would be dedicated to trying to do this work at a high level. At 14, he bought his first book in French, it was a book that he was fascinated with the extraordinary techniques of this great French chef - Michel Bras and decided that France would become his second home. He had the chance and luck of working with great chefs in Italy - Marchesi and Baiocco and then going to France and learning from chefs like Ducasse, Gagnier, Meneau and Yannick Alleno. Each of these great cooks taught him and trained him. It was then that Michelangelo forged his philosophy, laying the foundation for what today is his way of cooking and which is based on three key words – standards, excellence and rigor. His journey then continued with Marc Meneau at Saint Pere sous Vezelay and it is Marc who transmitted the deep passion for cooking which today Michelangelo tries to infuse into every single dish so as to satisfy the expectations of his guest. Marchesi gave him the respect for art, Baiocco the approach to the world of herbs. Ducasse, it was respect for the product, discipline in the kitchen and the technique. Meneau the human relationship with his brigade and Alleno taught him to be a chef. Each of these chefs has helped become the chef I am today. Every morning he enters his restaurant with the same conviction and motivation, the same way when he entered their kitchens “sublimare the products offered by nature to provide emotions and those who decide to come and taste his kitchen”.
WG January 2019 -
227
MICHELANGELO MAMMOLITI
“His creative process starts essentially from personal memories”
Michelangelo highlights the colors of his land, his beloved Roero, Monviso which is a stone’s throw away. All this he tries to sublime into one delicious mouthful but only after having chosen the best and the most noble products with which it is impossible not to combine simple choices, sometimes unusual, such as forgotten roots, flowers, shoots or wild herbs. Traditional cuisine, his passion for Italian produce, a perfect culinary approach that blends tradition and innovation in perfect harmony. The balance of a dish is made by the cook’s palate so he essentially use the precise rules, which are: ACIDITY: a dish must have a good acidity because it allows you to stimulate salivation and therefore increases appetite CRUNCH: a dish must have a crispy part because it also stimulates chewing. SEASONING: the perfect seasoning must be precise to sublimate the product. EXTRACTION: I always use a base extracted from a vegetable or an animal to amplify the taste and reduce the amount of sauce. CONCENTRATION: I always try to have a dish with a concentrated flavor to be immediate on the palate and therefore easy to understand for those who taste it. and MEMORY: I always work on cognitive memory with a group of psychologists who help me to find the most frequent memories in our mind and try to stimulate them with certain actions or perfumes.
ASTRATTISMO
His creative process starts essentially from personal memories, from a trip or from his garden. So often before elaborating a new plate, he starts from the design of the vegetable garden and grows products that have an emotional and personal memory linked to the past or to a trip. Often he likes to take the right time to analyze the products that he uses before processing something new pass by three to six months with various tests that follow each day until the plate is ready to be put on the menu. Produce, creativity and technique are the three fundamental, without an extraordinary product he could not even start a creative process, creativity is stimulated by curiosity and the knowledge of an exceptional product and the technique and the basis of the kitchen without the product could not be sublimated. Receiving the first Michelin star was the confirmation that working hard and with rigor and seriousness, results are obtained. It was gratification to the work done in these years of sacrifice and work. It was the most beautiful day of his professional life.
228 - WG January 2019
TRASPARENZA DI BARBAIETOLA E TONNO
WG MAGAZINE
NEW YORK GUARENE
ASTICE 2 DUTTO
SOTTO UNA COLTRE FIORITA
DAME BLANCHE
WG January 2019 -
229
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
JUAN MARI ARZAK & ELENA ARZAK ARZAK RESTAURANT San Sebastián A place to eat. To discover. To experience. The culinary style Arzak is associated with is mark and personality. Deeply rooted in tradition and boasts creativity and a constant search for change. From the mid70-s on, Juan Mari won one award after the other, which placed the Arzak Restaurant among the best establishments across Spain and around the globe. In 1976, Juan Mari Arzak and a group of chefs revolutionized the art of cooking when they created a new culinary concept, a movement known as New Basque Cuisine. In 1978, he was awarded his second Michelin star and in 1989 the third one. He was the second to get three Michelin stars in Spain, and he still holds them. In the 90s, Elena Arzak, one of Juan Mari’s daughters, joined the family-run restaurant. Elena attended hotel and restaurant management schools in Switzerland, broadening her culinary knowledge in great European restaurants. Juan Mari Arzak and his daughter Elena share the kitchen, as well as the culinary knowledge, passion and enthusiasm they bring to cooking and to managing their restaurant. A history of the Arzaks.
230 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
PHOTO ©COCONUT
WG January 2019 -
231
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
PHOTO ©RUBENS KATO
232 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
ALEX ATALA D.O.M. São Paulo Alex Atala, chef and owner of D.O.M. Restaurant, is recognized by an innovative cuisine, thanks to the flavor variety of the Brazilian ingredients. Atala graduated at the Hospitality School of Namur, in Belgium. In Brazil, made his debut as a chef at Filomena, a mixture of bar and events venue. In 1999, after working in other venues as a hired chef, he opened two houses: NaMesa, a chic fast-food (extinct), and D.O.M., creative contemporary cuisine restaurant with a marking Brazilian accent. In 2009, another contribution to the astronomy universe: Dalva e Dito restaurant, which presents the concept of affective cuisine and reinforces the faith Alex Atala has in both native ingredients and culture. The work developed throughout his career towards Brazilian ingredients, colors and flavors enhancement caught the specialists’ eye. Atala has a collection of both national and international prizes and, in 2013, made it in the 100 most influential people list of TIME Magazine. For the last ten years, D.O.M. has been included in the 50 best restaurants of the world list by the British publication, Restaurant Magazine. Currently, it is holds the 9th position in the ranking. In 2014, Atala was given the Lifetime Achievement Diners Club Prize in the South American 50 best election, by the same magazine.
WG January 2019 -
233
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
ENEKO ATXA AZURMENDI Larrabetzu Eneko Axta’s level of commitment to innovation has been the cornerstone of his career and of Azurmendi’s success. His cuisine, imaginative but without stridency, is based on the produce of the traditional Basque recipe book. He knows how to add a pinch of modernity to the local cuisine through universal touches unlike anybody else. The balance point is perfect between vanguard and roots of tradition. Eneko Atxa’s cuisine provokes intense emotions, visual flavors, but always from a Basque point of view. His signature creations, inspired by an environment in continual evolution, engrave the tasteful pleasure into the identity pleasure. Eneko Atxa has made real his conception of what a restaurant should be, “a place where you feel comfortable, where you feel a land, but above all, a place to be happy”. Definitively, it is a place where simplicity and distinction can be felt.
234 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
PHOTO ©AZURMENDI
WG January 2019 -
235
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
236 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
DAVIDE SCABIN COMBAL.ZERO Rivoli An award winning chef, visionary, scientist and artist, Davide Scabin is possibly one of the most dynamic chefs of today’s generation. Combal.Zero also affords Davide the space and resources to further develop his experimental menus based on his passionate research into food science, allowing him to use more complex techniques to create his already cutting-edge food. Through his restaurant Combal.Zero, Chef Davide Scabin sets a new standard in fine dining, elevating traditional Italian flavour combinations by adding his unique creativity and a signature concept in presentation and design. This artistic and innovative chef exhibits his meticulous approach to scientific research and development in his food that belies his absolute passion for his regional cuisine and a true mastery of his craft. His dishes are bold in concept and presentation but are balanced by elegance both in execution and flavour. Michelin awarded Combal.Zero two stars in 2007 and is repeatedly ranked in the San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Ever creative and often eccentric, he has produced a truly unprecedented dining experience with menus designed to bring out the inner-child, utilising bespoke cutlery and crockery in an environment acclaimed for hosting a food-lover’s playground.
WG January 2019 -
237
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
HEINZ BECK SOCIAL BY HEINZ BECK Dubai Heinz Beck brings contemporary Italian dining to Dubai. Featuring inviting design elements and offering innovative contemporary Italian cuisine. Social by Heinz Beck offers a relaxed yet elegant atmosphere with magnificent views of Dubai, making this an ideal setting for every day dining and special celebratory meals. As a notable master of modern gastronomy, he expresses a unique interpretation of the modern kitchen, Beck’s artistry exceeds his raw culinary talent with a well-guarded process, which includes mindfully curating ingredients and implementing innovative techniques to transform simple ingredients into highly evocative dishes.
238 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
PHOTO ©VICTORIA SHASHIRIN
WG January 2019 -
239
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
PHOTO ©SCOTT WRIGHT
Ultraviolet Shanghai Dinner may begin with just one or two bite dishes, move to more substantial fare, before hitting uphill a “pivotal moment,” where the meal might suspend its synchronization to introduce a choice.
PAUL PAIRET
240 - WG January 2019
All guests receive the same 20-course set menu at the same time, which pushes the experience towards the essence of what a meal is about: a communion. Ultraviolet’s 20 courses (or so) menu will move in a series of dishes grouped by size and nature. The menu will then shift downhill for a series of digestives and sweets in diminishing sizes. What dishes make up the series is entirely flexible. Pairet reserves the freedom to express his personal “avant-garde figurative” cuisine (understand modern with flesh and bone) as much as his right to express the essence of a product, simplicity and anti-theatrics.
WG MAGAZINE
Le Calandre Rubano Max’s cuisine, based on the concepts of depth, lightness and fluidity, is poetry on a plate. Inspiration for his distinctive dishes comes from looking at the world with a sense of discovery.
MASSIMILIANO ALAJMO
His distinctive approach to cuisine finds is reflected in the dining room of Le Calandre. Everything from the handcarved wooden tables to the glassware and room fragrance was designed by the Alajmo brothers and produced by master Italian artisans. Max’s cuisine is the fruit of a study that goes beyond taste. He approaches ingredients with respect, researching them in depth, in order to understand their true essence and bring out the best in them. His dishes capture all of our senses; beginning with the most evocative of the five, our sense of smell. According to Max, the ephemeral component of aromas and perfumes is compensated by their immediacy and ability to create lasting memories, particularly in relation to food.
WG January 2019 -
241
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
PIERRE GAGNAIRE PIERRE GAGNAIRE Paris The cuisine of Pierre Gagnaire is an experience in itself - As one who cooks in the now, a cuisinier de l’immédiat, the chef turns is instincts into moments of grace. In the kitchen, as an alchemiste aux fourneaux, he transcends the raw material to reveal its true substance. Guided by the pull of un principe d’émotions, Pierre Gagnaire has made cuisine a means of expression, a language, one he prefers to be frank and direct, with dishes that replace words in reaching straight to the heart. Nothing duplicitous, no affectation… simply a daily commitment to the instruments of his trade, conducting his kitchen orchestra in a score of virtuoso savoir-faire. The cuisine of Pierre Gagnaire is art. It is love. It is technique - His menu, as fleeting as the seasons, blends these principles in an adventurous panorama, while remaining firmly rooted in the truth of the land and the rigor of traditional techniques. It embodies an assumed duality of land and sea. It expresses contrasting flavours, textures and temperatures, their seeming complexity transforming into the inescapably obvious. Culinary free verse wafting on the winds of an inquisitive mind. The echo of a lifelong craft, talentedly mastered, passionately practiced.
242 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
PHOTO ©THOMAS DUVAL
WG January 2019 -
243
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
Photo ©MARCO PASTORI
ABaC RESTAURANT Barcelona
JORDI CRUZ 244 - WG January 2019
Jordi Cruz’s creative process starts with not settling. If every three days he is not doing a new dish, there is something inside him that eats him and makes me uncomfortable. It is an attitude thing with him all day thinking about creating new dishes. His creativity comes from his ingredients and his knowledge. He often gets inspiration from traditional dishes and loves incorporating the traditional flavors of home into his modern dishes. Fresh, local produce plus his brilliant mind and artistry and his drive to constantly create are his best tools, and ones that he uses regularly to keep the creative process flowing. Regarding his cuisine, the chef himself defines it as “evolutionary and restless, based on the product and where creativity and tradition are merged.” Within his profession, his avant garde cuisine has continued to stand out. One of Cruz’s proverbs is to “cook simple dishes with logic and care, also applying the principle of proportionality so that diners enjoy each and every one of the courses on the menu and they are equally enthusiastic throughout.”
WG MAGAZINE
Photo ©PABLO JIMÉNEZ
Dani García Restaurante
Marbella
Dani Garcia’s influences is defined by his passion for the kitchen… The Artisan of Flavor. Excitement on the palate… The evolution of Dani García as a chef permits one to consider him as one of the most creative chefs, an authentic artisan of flavor who is able to combine, in the same plate, both the distinct produce of his country with techniques and ingredients of more international cuisines.
DANI GARCÍA
Garcia’s cuisine is based on contrasts, but at the same time recasting traditional flavours from Andalusian cooking. It plays with textures, the contraposition of flavors and the disparity between hot and cold, without forgetting about magical presentation and exceedingly creative dishes. Never has the avant-garde been closer to tradition. The result is an illustrious cuisine, which although at first is perplexing; it then invites you to uncover hidden memories and reveal pleasures.
WG January 2019 -
245
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
PHOTO ©KATERINA AVGERINOU
246 - WG January 2019
WG MAGAZINE
GEORGIANNA HILIADAKI & NIKOS ROUSSOS FUNKY GOURMET Athens Here the chefs re-think their culinary Greek tradition creating an avant-garde cuisine that is both innovative and playful, a cuisine that aims to activate the senses and fully engage the guests in an exciting and unconventional way, creating a culinary experience that is both funky and gourmet. Carefully designed degustation menus the chefs introduce their own concept of a refined Greek cuisine, inspired by local products and seasonality. Funky Gourmet restaurant has had admittedly a very fast and interesting spur. After having received wide acclaim by food critics in Greece as well as many local awards as one of the top restaurants in the country, it has gained an international reputation in a most spectacular way. In 2012, just after two years of operation, it was awarded its first Michelin star. In 2014 came an even more important recognition with a second Michelin star and by making a special reference stating that the food in Funky Gourmet “has immeasurable thought, creativity and taste that matches its playfulness�. Last but not least, Funky Gourmet is selected by 50 Best Words Restaurants among the 6 Hottest Restaurants of Europe 2016.
WG January 2019 -
247
WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS
PHOTO ©P.A. JORGENSEN
RELÆ København
CHRISTIAN PUGLISI 248 - WG January 2019
Christian’s focus on integrating gastronomy and sustainable agricultural practices. The idea of creating a place of gourmet simplicity in a rustic setting at the heart of Nørrebro was the driving force from the beginning. Cooking food of high ambitions in a humble setting was combined with a lively atmosphere and an approachable price point. The food at Relæ is ‘plant-centric’ and locavorist, creatively driven with a focus on vegetables and local produce. If the focus on tasty, creative food in a no-frills atmosphere is what you experience as a guest at Relæ, the logistics behind the scenes include intense and ethically grounded practices like recirculation and reusing food trash and garbage and searching for sustainability in every matter.
WG MAGAZINE
RISTORANTE DA VITTORIO Brusaporto The two celebrated culinary brothers of the “Ristorante Da Vittorio”. It was clear that they were destined to follow in the family footsteps. The history of the restaurant and the two talented brother chefs began 50 years ago with a love story…
ENRICO & ROBERTO CEREA
The concept of “Lombard tradition and creative genius” is the leitmotiv of Da Vittorio’s menus, which are regularly updated and altered to keep up with changes in the market and in the seasons. The care, attention and exploration of culinary themes is kept wide-ranging to please all palates. The most diverse palates, personal tastes or culinary requirements can all find pleasure and innovation here: meat and fish, game and seafood, mushrooms and truffles, not to mention fruit and vegetables, all prepared with an original style that also takes into account the new frontiers in healthy cuisine.
WG January 2019 -
249
WG APRIL MAGAZINE 2018
WG JUNE MAGAZINE 2018
MARCH WG MAGAZINE 2018
COLIN CLAGUE
ANATOLIAN CUISINE
JOE WARWICK
JOËL ROBUCHON
WORLD RESTAURANT AWARDS
MINGOO KANG
GRÉGOIRE BERGER
YOSHI IS TEN
MANOELLA BUFFARA
COOKING WITH HER SOUL
EX.IT
MINGLES WITH FLAVORS
CULINARY DESIGNER
ALAIN HUANG
YANN BERNARD LEJARDT
RAW
BEST OF THE EAST WG March 2018 -
www.wgmagazines.com
1
VARVAGLIONE THE FAMILY COLLECTION www.wgmagazines.com
ALAIN PASSARD
VISIONARY CHEF
REIF OTHMAN
A BILLIONAIRE LIFE
ANDRÉ CHIANG
5 COURSE ART
ASIA’S BEST BARS WG June 2018 -
A PERFECTIONIST
1
EX.IT www.wgmagazines.com
EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO JULY RUSSO 2018
EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN
NICOLAI NØRREGAARD SELF MADE CHEF WG March 2018 -
1
EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN BY ALFREDO MAY RUSSO 2018
EXTRAORDINARY ITALIAN
THE CULINARY MAGAZINE BY ALFREDO RUSSO
THE CULINARY MAGAZINE BY ALFREDO RUSSO
DAVIDE PALLUDA
ROERO CUISINE
CARLA PELLEGRINO
HEINRICH SCHNEIDER
ITALIAN FLAIR
TERRA - THE MAGIC PLACE
ELISABETTA FABRI
PASSION FOR HOSPITALITY
WALTER FERRETTO
PIEDMONTESE CUISINE
ODETTE FADA
PAULO AIRAUDO
WWW.WGMAGAZINES.COM WWW.EXTRAORDINARYITALIAN.COM
MAX ALAJMO
CULINARY DNA
CULINARY TOUCH IN PUGLIA EX.IT July 2018 -
www.extraordinaryitalian.com
1
www.extraordinaryitalian.com
EXTRAORDINARY MARCHITALIAN 2018
WG MAY MAGAZINE 2018
CULINARY EXCELLENCE
CICCIO SULTANO
TRADITION AND INNOVATION EX.IT May 2018 -
1
WG MAGAZINE JULY 2017
ARNAUD DONCKELE
A TRUE ARTISAN
ALBERT ADRIÀ ENIGMA
YANN BERNARD LEJARD
ART & BEAUTY
250
ANDREAS - WG January 2019 CAMINADA UNIQUE CULINARY EXPERIENCE www.wgmagazines.com
ANGELO SABATELLI
FOOD FOR SOUL
MATTIA PASTORI
CLOU CUISINE
IVAN BREHM
A Culinary Master
SAM AISBETT
A Classic Bartender
CROSSROADS COOKING 9 COURSE
EUROPE’S BEST WG May 2018 -
1
MASSIMO BOTTURA
Modern Italian Gastronomy www.extraordinaryitalian.com
MASSIMO BOTTURA
PINO CUTTAIA
Reinvents His Memories EX.IT March 2018 -
1
JONATHAN BERNTSENS
DANIEL BOULUD
PASSION FOR NATURE www.wgmagazines.com
PEPE MONCAYO
UNUSUAL PAIRING ASIA’S 50 BEST BARS WG July 2017 -
1