Identità Naturali, edition number five

Sunday 8th March, the opening day of the twelfth edition of Identità Milano, will also coincide with the Identità Naturali lectures in Sala Blu 2 from the morning till late in the afternoon. With Identità di Pasta (scheduled on Tuesday 10th, two days later), the event dedicated to the world of vegetables is one of the longer running in the congress in Milan. A monolithic and impossible to cancel moment in the programme.

«Ever from the start, we decided to call it thus, and not "Identità Vegane" or "Identità Vegetariane"», Paolo Marchi points out once more «because it wasn’t meant to be an Indian reserve, with confining dynamics. “Naturali” is an adjective that perfectly suits every type of cuisine and food, and I hope this theme will find a space in the conscience of omnivorous eaters too, of everyone. We need a wide-ranging confrontation, without any dogma or prejudice. Then, who knows, perhaps we’ll soon develop an edition of Identità di Verdure [vegetables] to be completely independent from the main event in Milan».

For all these reasons, the authors of this year’s lessons are very different from one another, in terms of background, sensitivity and prospects. The day will begin with Fabrizio Mantovani of Fm Gusto in Faenza (Ravenna). The theme of his speech: “Acquiring freedom through work”, a topic that moves the meaning of “natural” on a wider scope of cuisine. Miguel Ángel de la Cruz, the second speaker, comes from Spain instead: at Botica de Matapozuelos he’s specialised in preparing splendid pinecones, mushrooms and herbs. Before the lunch break, Luca De Santi, sous chef at Ratanà, will focus on the use of vegetables in pastry making, an approach that has always had him in the frontline.

The afternoon will begin with two regulars at Identità Naturali, who have participated in the format since its first edition: vegan chefs Simone Salvini and Daniela Cicioni, who have always been careful to give this genre a touch of taste and playfulness, the result of technique and constant research. Alyn Williams is a sound British chef who will explain the features of his entirely vegetarian menu in the restaurant inside the Westbury Hotel. Then there will be Anthony Genovese, a formidable omnivorous chef who works with vegetables too at his Il Pagliaccio in Rome, two Michelin stars.

The end is handed to an interesting new entry at Identità: with her Wood*Ing laboratory, Valeria Mosca explores the potential of wild food in every form. On three levels: foraging, preservation and use in cooking. We wrote about it in detail here.