The world of Boffa at Castello di Guarene

There’s young Armin Causevic, from Bosnia, passionate and competent, who tells you about his passion for local wines, even the lesser known, and would spend hours telling you about a forgotten grape variety, about how Nascetta should be more appreciated...

There’s George Marica, from Romania, who runs the dining room admirably: he was the one to pick Causevic, who was working in a simple agritourism, to complete the high quality team.

There’s Leonardo Bielsa in the kitchen, the partly Swiss, partly Spanish sous chef, with his fiance’ Nicole, 100% Swiss from Berne, with a contagious smile, who instead takes care of the service, presents the dishes with love and not just those made by her partner.

There’s also Orce Ilijev from Macedonia in the kitchen, together with “our own" Francesca Boano (she was part of the Identità Expo super team), and other determined guys, supported by another Rumenian, Marcello Dobrovolsky.

In other words there’s a fresh, fertile international breeze that finally makes the kitchen at Castello di Guarene younger. The beautiful Relais & Châteaux until a few months ago was using blinkers but now has opened its view onto the world, which is in fact the best way to present this beautiful area (even in terms of gastronomy): we’re in Roero but Langhe are a few metres away. From above, there’s a panoramic view embracing Alba, and «Barbaresco, and Treiso over there» mentions the first author of this change that looks at the future.

We met Gabriele Boffa, born in 1987, at Expo: like Boano he was also in the team of Andrea Ribaldone at Identità, and he was already considered a great talent. Over the past few years he’s acquired more important experience, for instance in Mexico at Pujol (he told us about it in these two pieces: Il mio Messico in due bocconi e Il Messico: street food e mercati) after getting a good acquaintance of France – with Yannick Alléno – and Brazil with Lasai in Rio de Janeiro. An open minded training that comes very useful, now he has to face the best Piedmont, in a location with scarily high expectations: made in the 18th century, the castle accomplished a dream of Carlo Giacinto Roero, lord of Guarene.

Today it’s a luxury hotel (since 2014) and an important stop in the Piedmontese Baroque itinerary, with sixteen sumptuous bedrooms and a balconade dominating the over 60 km of UNESCO territory, with a glimpse of Monferrato.

Boffa faces the challenge with a rather cocky assertivity that comes from his age, his personality, his pride - he aims to become a prophet in his country, as he was born in Diano d'Alba – and by trusting his means. Which are significant, if you think that he’s been here since March the 15th and he’s already serving a convincing and most of all not banal menu. He speaks of percentages: «50% local, 30% from the rest of Piedmont, the rest from around the world» and his effort is that of interpreting the latter with a local view, «no umeboshi, no soy, but we can recreate the same flavours with Italian products, can’t we?». Let’s agree, even because the tasting is successful, as in the case of when he refers to the aroma of Mexican chilli peppers and he recreates it with our Italian cruschi peppers.

Two tasting menus (60 euros for 6 courses, 80 for 8), 7 in the brigade plus 2 interns arriving soon, seating 35 people maximum for a gourmet experience portrayed by Tanio Liotta, with his photos in the photogallery. Good first take!

Castello di Guarene
Via Alessandro Roero, 2 – Guarene (Cn)
Tel: +39 0173 441332
www.castellodiguarene.com