11-01-2018
Gualtiero Marchesi and Fabio Abbattista meet at Identità Expo, in 2015
Our dinner at Leone Felice portrayed by Tanio Liotta. We start with the appetizers, already of the highest standards. Here is Polenta chips with octopus and its mayonnaise. Sommelier Valerio Cappiello, from Anacapri, at Albereta for 11 years now, pairs this with Bellavista Brut Edizione La Scala 2012
Chickpea farinata, mortadella and truffle mayonnaise is a perfect amuse bouche, in terms of texture and play with temperatures
Cheese, pepper and lime croquettes
Cucumber in osmosis of chartreuse and mandarin
Mousse of squid and Mediterranean sauce: a veil of tomato extract, its crazy intense, with the squid hiding the courgette caviar. Paired with Vigna Leone 2016 from the Albereta vineyards
Snails, artichoke royale and teriyaki, another convincing dish, with a nice play of textures and the smoky note of the crispy artichoke
Chargrilled eel from Lake Iseo, cucumber, green apple and chervil: lovely. Fisherman Nando Soardi, who also supplies the whitefish, caught the eel
Risotto with hunchbacked cardoon, smoked chestnuts and black cardamom. Paired with Convento Ss. Annunciata 2013 Bellavista
Whitefish “alla mugnaia”, cauliflower toffee and calamondino meringue
A fantastic Pigeon in ashes, rhubarb and Timut pepper. The filet is a treat, the leg is wrapped in quinoa, the breast is memorable in texture, juiciness and taste, «I cook the pigeon – from Moncucco – in a piece, for 23 minutes at 190°C. I put it in a soapstone pot on top of oak ashes, after covering it in lard and aromatic herbs. The stone absorbs the smoke and gently releases it inside». Paired with: Solesine Rosso Bellavista 2006, a Bordeaux blend no longer produced
Bravo to pastry chef Stefano Quaroni too [15 people in the brigade, including Chilean sous chef Jorge Ramirez who arrived a few months ago, after working with Rodolfo Guzman]. Here Hazelnut soufflé, variegato ice cream with brittle, but the final touch is given by the passion fruit sauce for the soufflé
Mont Blanc, vanilla and mandarin, without excessive sweetness. Desserts were paired with two house wines: Nectar Franciacorta Demi-Sec by Bellavista and Pinodisé Contadi Castaldi
Returning to L’Albereta, now that Gualtiero Marchesi is no longer with us, is a trip down memory lane: looking for that room where I first tasted Riso oro e zafferano, or the sitting room where the Maestro of Italian cuisine made himself available for a chat. It’s hard to grasp, but everything has changed since December 31st 2013, when Marchesi last signed the menu at the relais in Franciacorta when they decided to change style, after little over 20 years spent together with Gualtiero, a partnership that started when they first opened, on the 23rd September 1993. Marchesi then decided to leave Milan and join Vittorio Moretti’s project; here he confirmed his extraordinary talent for many years, so that if two restaurants can be linked to his figure, one is surely in Milan, in Via Bonvesin della Riva 9, the other is in Erbusco, in Via Vittorio Emanuele 23.
Abbattista posing with the pages dedicated to him in 100 chef x 10 anni (Mondadori)
Leone Felice
The team at Leone Felice
Yet, even though Abbattista never worked with Marchesi – in fact he had to exorcise his figure, when he took over – he has to acknowledge what the latter taught, and he has to continue his legacy. The chef says: «My cooking style owes a lot to him, and I’d say this applies to all the greatest Italian chefs». Marchesi still lives, so to speak, at L’Albereta, «and strongly so, in his basic idea, of making Italian cuisine noble, elegant, simple and neat. This remains: the simple genius intuition of how important it was to take our huge culinary heritage, start from there, and then add influences from new products, but never forsaking the Italian character through raw materials, techniques, flavours».
Fabio Abbattista, lesson "A healthy Italian flavour" at Identità Milano 2015
Another picture from Identità Expo, with Gualtiero Marchesi, Fabio Abbattista, Francesco Apreda and Ezio Santin
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