Few restaurant experiences have left a profound influence on my way of thinking about gastronomy as Fulvio Pierangelini's Gambero Rosso. This Italian chef who was riding the crest of the wave in terms of fame and success decided to close his restaurant in 2008 and since then has never returned back. Pierangelini, who had never taken a plane in the previous 30 years, as he himself says, has been away on a pilgrimage for the past six years. Pierangelini, an Italian, is probably one of the most enigmatic, underrated and captivating chefs of our time. He is maybe enigmatic because he hates the limelight, hates the internet with a passion and didn't even know that restaurant guides existed when he opened his restaurant in 1980 in a small fishing village in Tuscany which as he himselfs says was in the middle of nowhere. You will wonder why an evening at Gambero Rosso had such a deep meaning for me. First, when we visited in 2006, this was the first 2 Michelin star experience for my … [Read more...]