CASTEL DI SANGRO: The 20Reale20 Menu, the star of Cristiana and Niko Romito’s Reale restaurant will continue till the end of the year in its autumn and winter format.
Cristiana and Niko have decided to continue the story of their gastronomic path which has been highly acclaimed over the past two months. From September 16 to November 1, the 20Reale20 Autumn menu will include 15 autumn dishes that have been served throughout the restaurant’s 20 year history. It will then make way for the winter version which will be served from November 11 to the end of the year.
In the first two months after lockdown, Reale has welcomed an extremely heterogeneous audience with not only previous customers but also many new customers including young people who seized a unique opportunity to take part in a gastronomic experience that tells an Italian story through the dishes that have formed part of Niko’s unique cuisine.
“We’ve never been as overwhelmed as in the past two months by booking requests from people who had this deep desire to learn about our story and taste the menu of our 20 years,” Cristiana said.
“I have always strongly believed that research is the main source of the evolution of cuisine and gastronomy in general. The responsibility of a chef today is to give access to healthy and quality food. The pandemic is an event that must really force us to change habits and cliches, to explore new paths without fear of breaking pre-established patterns,” said Niko.
The Chef added that for him this has been a special occasion to talk about his research that he has carried out as part of his creative process. “Our guests’ response has truly touched us. On one hand, we were unable to satisfy all requests. On the other, when re-reading the recipes and preparations backwards, I realised that there are many autumn and winter dishes that deserve to be showcased. This is a compendium of my cooking philosophy in 45 dishes that I give as a birthday present to Reale and its guests,” he said.
Dishes on the autumn menu include the fettuccelle with red prawns and pink pepper (photo above), a dish that signed an important turning point in the research on cold extraction of raw materials. The sauce is obtained from the raw extraction of the shellfish and replaces the classic concept of bisque.
There is also cold duck and smoked duck water, the turnip tops and goat cheese as well as a dessert that recalls everyone’s childhood, a tribute to the past that comes in four different chocolate textures – Bread and Chocolate.
Niko Romito is a self taught chef who took over Reale in 2000. He is one off the top chefs in Italy having clinched 3 Michelin stars in 7 years and has also created the Niko Romito Group which comprises a hotel where the restaurant is housed, a cookery school, Spazio Niko Romito in Milan, Rome and Rivasondloni, Alt Stazione del Gusto and restaurants in collaboration with Bvlgari Hotel and Resorts in Beijing, Shanghai, Dubai and Milan among others.
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