29-01-2015
To the right, with Moreno Cedroni, Aurora Storari. Roman, 22, with a training at Alma, an internship at Mentone’s Mirazur, after the Cucina italiana Master she arrived at Hedone, London, 1 Michelin star. She was soon promoted as the starters’ chef de partie
Memories. Unlike many people in my field, I don’t come from a family of restaurateurs and so I will not tell about how I was born among steaming pans and boiling-hot ovens. My career simply starts with some happy memories. The aroma of my grandmother’s pasta with chickpeas, the dough of her fried calzoni, which I would watch leavening on the table, the ricotta and sugar I would eat as a snack, the afternoons spent in the kitchen with my nanny.
When three years ago I decided to enter a kitchen, I was then little over 18, I would have never thought I would be here, today, writing this article. I already knew as a child that I wanted to take up this career but was forced to choose a different set of studies: I enrolled in a scientific lyceum. At the end of the five-year course I had to choose which university to attend. I soon realised the question was not what to choose, but what made me happy. What could make me happy for the rest of my life? I have no doubts: cooking.
Aurora’s Borlotti beans cooked in mussel water, mussels cooked in lemon steam and 'nduja, when she was at the Master di cucina italiana, which starts again on February 3rd
The first uniform represents to me all for which I had fought until then. Dreams, fears, the years spent hating school because I would have rather filet a fish than translate Latin, the fights with my father, trying to make him understand that having top grade in physics wouldn’t make me an engineer. That jacket is the proof that determination could take me somewhere.
As I had no foundations in cooking, I decided to enrol at Alma, Gualtiero Marchesi’s Scuola internazionale di cucina italiana, and attended a course on basic techniques. At the end of those 4 months, they offered me an internship in France at Mirazur, which had just got the second Michelin star. At the time I didn’t even know how important it was for a restaurant to receive such an acknowledgment, so I simply decided to go and put myself to the test and continue my growth. I was convinced that a newbie like me couldn’t do much in such a place, instead, I happened to work in one of the most difficult sections in a kitchen: sauces.
A big kitchen, with lots of guys at work shocks you. Standards are high and there’s lots of pressure. After the summer, searching online, I found a Master that was still under development, organised by Massimiliano Alajmo with the participation of the Cavalieri della cucina italiana and the collaboration of Confcommercio Vicenza. In fact, I know little of fine dining but those 9 months at the Master are the most incredible and stimulating thing I ever did in my life: I would have never, never thought that the world of cuisine could embrace so many others. I take on subjects such as history of art, philosophy, chemistry, nutrition, later applying them on food. The list of people I should mention, what with chefs and teachers is too long but having a personal contact with such varied experts makes me understand that it is important not to follow a trend but to have your own, well-defined identity.
Spaghetto indeciso: sweetness, sapidity, acidity, softness
I understand that I’m finally on the right track when on the last day of the Master I present my dish: Spaghetto indeciso. I believe that today it is still one of my most representative dishes. Pasta, Italian essence, together with a selection of tomatoes differing in textures and flavours: sweetness, sapidity, acidity, softness. Technique, research and raw materials, linked by simplicity.
After two years and a varied experience I decide the time has come to challenge myself abroad and I end up in London. The first calls arrive, including one from Mikael Jonsson, chef at Hedone, one Michelin star and 67th in the World’s 50Best. I know nothing about him, after reading articles about him I’ve only understood he’s obsessed with raw materials. Simple dishes, few elements, but an ineffable quality. I accept his offer.
I decide to start as commis. Of course it is not easy, rhythm in this town is crazy, sometimes inhumane. I don’t want to disappoint those who believed in me and most of all I don’t want to disappoint myself. With effort and devotion, after two months I manage to earn the consideration and trust of chef and colleagues, and I’m promoted: chef de partie. Stealing with your eyes is crucial in this business: when over 500 plates are dished out during each service, nobody has the time or desire to explain to you what is brining or what is the service temperature of scallops.
See also A natural journey by Romina Giordano Working twice as hard by Sabrina Tuzi Respect as a goal by Caterina Ceraudo Tenacity, love and quality by Patrizia Corradetti Liberty in the dining room by Anna Sala Pamela’s Passion by Pamela Filomeno Dishes to chew by Teresa Buongiorno Love is a raw material by Alba Esteve Ruiz The art of never giving up by Deborah Corsi Becoming a restaurateur by Patrizia Maraviglia In search for passion by Anneke Van Sande Challenging oneself in Norway by Lucia Tellone I want to make bread by Roberta Pezzella So young for everything by Rosanna Marziale Rigour and cheerfulness by Serenella Medone The chef from Northern Naples by Marianna Vitale In the team with my mother by Serena D'Alesio Men, what a disaster by Marzia Buzzanca A total vocation by Antonella Ricci A full life by Maria De La Paz Mind and heart by Marta Grassi Effort with a smile by Nadia Moscardi Nothing is impossible by Emanuela Tommolini Giving value to differences by Viviana Varese The other half of the dish by Elisa Arduini
Men who, for a moment, leave pots and pans to tell us their experience and point of view
by
born in Rome in 1992, after completing the Master di Cucina Italiana in Creazzo (Vicenza), she worked in London at Hedone and in Milan at Trussardi alla Scala and Ratanà. Since 2019 she’s been working at Chambre Séparée in Gent, Belgium
From Western concert flute to cakes