26-10-2017
Alberto Sparacino at work. Born in 1984, he’s chef at Cum Quibus in San Gimignano, Tuscany
Our dinner at Cum Quibus in San Gimignano, portrayed by Tanio Liotta. We start with Fake green olive, garlic, oil and chilli pepper, olive crumble
Mezzovo®: egg yolk, soffice di pecorino di Pienza, truffle, a classic by Sparacino. It’s even a trademark...
Pearl of liver with squid ink. Very good and persistent
Pizza liquida: mousse of bread, tomato, anchovies, oregano
Squid, panzanella, Parmigiano, basil, balsamic vinegar. The squid is seared, filled with panzanella, plus tomato jus, drops of balsamic vinegar, a wafer of Parmigiano and both fresh and fried basil
Bufala di capra e tartufo: fake mozzarella made with a mousse of goat cheese
Liver, mackerel, vinsanto, capers, lard
Foie gras Bavarian mousse, gel of miso, liquorice, chilli pepper, shallot, sea weeds. Great balance, a very elegant and aromatic dish
Buttons of lamb sweetbreads, garam masala, sour cream, fennel
Cannelloni with rabbit and puttanesca scauce
Tagliolini, ‘nduja, lime, mussels and horseradish. Pure deliciousness
Risotto, ajoblanco, pepper chutney, anchovy colatura, anchovies from the Sea of Cantabria. Pure deliciousness, part two
Octopus, burrata, umeboshi and sake. They cook the octopus for eight hours in sake, then cream of burrata, umeboshi, plum sauce and fresh plums
Veal tongue, sauce of oyster, fresh shallot. Very good
Pigeon from Moncucco, pigeon sauce, seeds, grapes. There’s the raw fillet too. Sparacino shows he has perfectly mastered the use of meat
Meringata: quark gelato, delicate meringue, sugarless cream
We finish with a celebration of real pistachios from Bronte: as sauce, gelato and biscuit, with white moscato and yogurt
«Alberto Sparacino of Cum Quibus in San Gimignano is good: he’s still little known, he’ll show his value in the next few years», said Gaetano Trovato in July, explaining his future projects (see: Papà Arnolfo cambia casa dopo 22 anni), but also mentioning some of his many pupils, the best ones. Sparacino was among them.
So we paid him a visit, right in the middle of the historic centre of San Gimignano, in one of the many cross streets along the main road. The restaurant is in a palace from the 13th century. A few steps and you’re in a Medieval style atmosphere, full of arches and stone walls, as well as colourful lights and candles. It might seem a sumptuous version of the typical Tuscan tavern, and indeed it was for a long time, since the parents of patron Lorenzo Di Paolantonio opened the restaurant in February 2005. The latter says: «I was still in high school then. My parents asked me to help them during the summer. I entered Cum Quibus». He never left. First he took care of the kitchen, then chose the dining room and cellar: «In 2004, I was 28, I thought the restaurant had to grow. I had enough of pots and pans, and looked for a good young chef...».
Alberto Sparacino with patron Lorenzo Di Paolantonio
The Matteo he refers to is Lorenzini, his great friend and chef at Ses.To on Arno in Florence. The two met around 2007 at Arnolfo’s, «and at the time, Simone (Cipriani, now at Essenziale, see: Il gusto di essere Essenziale) was also there». As well as another Matteo, Manzini, «impressive, he could work with two hands doing different things at the same time». And indeed he’s now sous chef at three-starred Azurmendi with Eneko Atxa, in the Basque Country. A nice brood, in other words.
Last, dutiful question to the patron: why did you take on a complex fine dining road in a context that would rather lead to simple panzanella and Florentine steaks? His answer: «San Gimignano allows you to work well, in all cases; but tourism, the constant flow of clients, shouldn’t be a limit or an excuse not to do better, but an opportunity you must make use of. I don’t think I needed courage to start this work with Alberto. We had and still have the necessary passion, and the desire to do something more». In the photo gallery by Tanio Liotta, the dishes from our dinner. Translated into English by Slawka G. Scarso
An outdoor trip or a journey to the other side of the planet? One thing is for sure: the destination is delicious, by Carlo Passera
by
journalist born in 1974, for many years he has covered politics, mostly, and food in his free time. Today he does exactly the opposite and this makes him very happy. As soon as he can, he dives into travels and good food. Identità Golose's editor in chief