Niko Romito never thought of becoming a chef. He had never even cooked before opening his restaurant and did not even know how to cook an egg. He cooked for the first time at Reale in Rivisondoli, Abruzzo, a village of less than 450 inhabitants. His father had opened it as a pastry shop in 1970 converting it into a restaurant 30 years later as the original Reale. He was neither passionate about cooking nor food and did not even come from a family of restauranteurs because the restaurant had only been open for 2 years. But as fate had it, while he was completing a degree in Economics and Commerce his father fell ill. He still needed to take 5 exams to complete the degree but when his father passed away he and his sister Cristiana took over the operation of the restaurant. The idea was to keep the operation going until they find a buyer. But they fell in love with the restaurant trade and the rest is history. Cristiana took over the front of house, something she still does … [Read more...]
Massimo Bottura opens new restaurant in Florence with Karime Lopez as chef
Massimo Bottura, chef of the internationally renowned restaurant in Modena, Osteria Francescana has opened his first Italian restaurant outside his home city of Modena in Florence. The restaurant opened to the general public today, 10 January 2018. The chef in charge is Karime Lopez, a Mexican cook who previously worked alongside Virgilio Martinez of Central, Peru and René Redzepi of Noma among others. She also worked at Mugaritz in Spain, Puyol in Mexico and Ryugin in Tokyo, Japan). She moved to Italy last year when she married Takahiko Kondo or Champion Taka as Massimo Bottura likes to call his sous chef. The restaurant is in the Gucci garden inside the historic Palazzo della Mercanzia, which housed the Gucci Museo. Conceived by creative director Alessandro Michele, the newly designed space features a store with one-of-a-kind items as well as the Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura, the restaurant by the three Michelin star chef from Modena. The restaurant has around 35 … [Read more...]
Christophe Hardiquest launches Bon Bon Origins: Gert de Mangeleer is first guest chef
Christophe Hardiquest, chef of the two Michelin star restaurant Bon Bon today launched Bon Bon Origins. Born out of the desire of the Belgian chef to rediscover traditional Belgian recipes that have stood the test of time but deconstructing them and bringing them to life again in a contemporary way, he will be organising collaborative dinners with different chefs that are focused on their own terroirs. The first guest chef to cook at the Brussels restaurant is Gert De Mangeleer. The dinner takes place on Thursday January 18. The Belgian guest chef for the night needs no introduction. He is chef of three Michelin star restaurant Hertog Jan which he took over with his culinary soulmate and front of house Joachim Boudens in 2005. In 2006, Hertog Jan was awarded its first Michelin star, followed by a second in 2009 and a third in 2011. In 2014, he received the European chef of the year award. Hardiquest said that with the collaborative dinners with different international chefs, he … [Read more...]
New Spazio Roma by Niko Romito to open in January in Parioli quarter
Following the success of Spazio in Rivisondoli, Milan and the temporary location at Eataly Rome, Niko Romito, the chef of three Michelin star restaurant Reale, in Castel di Sangro, will open the third Spazio in Rome. The new Spazio, in the Parioli quarter of Rome, will retain the same format and philosophy of the other restaurants allowing the young students of the Niko Romito Formazione cooking school to gain experience in a real life restaurant. This time, however, Spazio will be pushing the boundaries by housing not just a restaurant but also a cafeteria, bakery as well as a cocktail bar. The idea is to create a space that enables the students from Niko Romito Formazione to get experience not just in a restaurant environment but also in a space that serves as a bakery shop, a breakfast place, a place where you go for an apero or cocktail or even a healthy smoothie. The restaurant will be open from breakfast till late at night. Spazio Roma is set to open towards the end … [Read more...]
10 lessons we learnt from Enrico Crippa
Enrico Crippa is a perfectionist chef working his magic in the town of Alba at the world renowned restaurant Piazza Duomo. Together with Massimo Bottura, Niko Romito and Massimiliano Alajmo he is a leading light in Italian gastronomy today. The chef draws a lot of inspiration from art and also a garden which he visits each morning. Before summer we had the opportunity to spend time with this talented Italian chef and interview him. Here are the lessons we have distilled from the time we spent in Alba. Think outside the box: The best dish that Enrico has ever created does not require any cooking or preparation. It is his world famous insulate which comes directly from the restaurant garden a few kilometres outside Alba. He created it upon a request by some women who wanted a salad at the restaurant. He went out of his way to create something out of the ordinary. The salad does not have any dressing or preparation but requires time to grow the leaves, to clean and assemble them. A … [Read more...]
Niko Romito to cook at David Kinch’s Manresa for 15 year anniversary
David Kinch, chef of Los Gatos restaurant Manresa is celebrating the 15th year anniversary of the opening of the acclaimed restaurant with a visit by Italian three Michelin star chef Niko Romito of Reale. Together they will cook a collaborative 10-course menu that showcases the styles of both chefs. The dinners will be organised on November 11 and November 12. “Easily one of the best meals I had this year was at Chef Niko Romito’s three-Michelin star Reale in Castel di Sangro, Italy. His cooking is deceptively simple in the presentation and reveals thoughtful, emotional, and provocative ideas under the surface, a style I greatly admire,” says Kinch. “I’m honored that he’s agreed to join us in our kitchen as part of our 15-year anniversary celebrations at Manresa.” A self-taught cook with deep roots in Italy, Chef Romito put aside his interest in working in finance when he took the helm at Reale in 2000, turning his late father’s bakery into a restaurant that is now highly … [Read more...]
Eat well and stay well is the manifesto of the next LSDM
Barbara Guerra and Albert Sapere, curators of the Italian food congress LSDM or Le Strade della Mozzarella (Mozzarella Roads) have announced that the next congress to take place in Paestum, Italy on 23 and 24 May 2018 will have as its main theme eat well to stay well. "Over the past 10 years, we have had the good fortune to closely observe the cuisine of some of the best Italian restaurants. Today, cuisine has assumed a new social function because chefs are also in the spotlight. Today, It is not sufficient to just know how to produce food that is technically and stylistically correct. The wellbeing of the diners, the sustainability of ingredients used to prepare dishes, vegetables and the definition of a dietary model are all important topics which are becoming increasingly pertinent," the two curators of the congress said. Their aim is not to ostracise any particular food but rather to apply common sense, to the benefit of customers and our planet. For the event they have … [Read more...]
Q&A with Enrico Crippa: Innovation is simpler than tradition in cooking
In the second part of our interview with Enrico Crippa, we fire some quick questions and get spontaneous responses from one of Italy's most talented chefs. Read on to discover what the chef of one of the most acclaimed restaurants in Italy, Piazza Duomo has to say about innovation, tradition, upcoming Italian chefs and his best meal ever among others. What is the best dish you have ever created? The salad. When someone tastes it, they become really enthusiastic. The most curious thing is that this is a dish created by a chef but there is no cooking involved. What do you like to eat at home? Pasta or rice because can be done very quickly, gives me energy, I can eat it before I do sport. Do you cook at home? Yes from time to time. I cook as much as I go out to eat. What is something that is in a professional kitchen and which should be in a domestic home? I would say it is a chiller. It is a piece of equipment that brings down the temperature very quickly and … [Read more...]
Enrico Crippa: “I am no longer afraid of the moments when I am not creative”
It is not unusual for chefs today to be inspired by art. At the highest levels, food can also be considered as the highest expression of art and Enrico Crippa, the Italian chef of Alba based restaurant Piazza Duomo takes it to the next level. While his primary focus has always been the quality of the produce he uses, the visual aspect is also something he attaches a lot of importance to. He even goes as far as to say that food could be even more artistic than a work of art. “I can make a dish which you can see, turn, touch but once you taste it and eat it, it is gone for ever and only a memory remains. The experience ends once you have eaten it. It is actually more complete than any other form of art. When you look at a sculpture or a painting it is physically there so you can see it, return back to it after a day or two and experience it again maybe seeing something different. But even a simple plate of spaghetti may look the same but when you eat it, it will be different. So a … [Read more...]
A perfect meal: Enrico Crippa reflects on collaboration dinner with Zaiyu Hasegawa
Enrico Crippa is a perfectionist who loves to set the bar extremely high. Before the four hands dinner with Zaiyu Hasegawa, he comes to show us the dishes that will be prepared for the dinner. That will allow the photographers attending the event to enjoy the dinner without the stress of having to take photos during the dinner. In passing he tells Andrea Petrini, of GELINAZ! fame that he is extremely pleased with the menu and how the dishes that Zaiyu and he had prepared have blended well. “Coming from you, that is something,” Andrea tells him. Reflecting on the first four hands dinner that he ever hosted at Piazza Duomo in Alba, Enrico Crippa tells me he felt a sense of liberation when the dinner finished because he felt it had gone very well. “When I arrived home, I started thinking how simple it ended up being, how easy it was to work with Zaiyu and how easy it was to blend the two cuisines together.” Enrico says that seeing the menu together and looking at the dishes as … [Read more...]