An Italian searching for mushrooms on Mount Fuji

«Luca Fantin? Luca Fantin who?!?»: a shiver ran down the spine of every food enthusiast who learnt who was to receive the “Chef of the year” award from Paolo Marchi and his guide Identità Golose 2015, presented yesterday in Milan. Luca Fantin is no Massimo Bottura or Joe Bastianich, he doesn’t embody the paradigm of Italian starchefs, nor that of the Italian chef in a famous kitchen abroad (yet). In a word: for many, until a few years ago he was (almost) a stranger. «Fantin? Gianluca Fusto told me about him. He said: go and visit him, he’s brilliant – explains Marchi – I went there and I confirm: he is brilliant». Hence the acknowledgement, a very happy intuition.

Thing is, he doesn’t cook round the corner: since 2009 he’s the chef at the Bulgari Ginza Tower in Tokyo, a 5 star hotel, with a team of ten people, seating from 30 to 40 people, “Italian” dishes though the inverted commas are compulsory because they are only made with local raw materials... from Japan. He’s 35, from Silea, near Treviso, the son of a railway man and a homemaker. He’s shy, rather than extrovert. Last year he married Emi and on July 30th Nicola was born.

You don’t come from a family of cooks. How did your passion begin?

«It was all thanks to my grandmother, Anita. As a kid I was always hanging around her».

But then you chose to give it a try…

«At 13 I enrolled in catering school in Treviso. After my studies, the first experience arrived, locally, at Marcandole in Salgareda. It gave me space, allowed me to grow. Then I ended up Massimo Ferrari’s Al Bersagliere , in Goito, Mantua. I was terrorized by the idea of working in a two star restaurant. It was there that I learnt that this is a job in which passion is essential».

Then came Carlo Cracco. What did you learn from him?

«I spent one year in Milan. I learnt the importance of organization. I didn’t find an artisan-chef in him, but a man who knows how to plan. Precision, severity».

Again Fantin, while handing a plate to Viviana Varese during the four-hand dinner at Alice, the gourmet restaurant inside Eataly Smeraldo

«I participated in the arrival of Gualtiero Marchesi in Rome, with Hostaria dell'Orso; I was at Quisisana in Capri. And finally in Spain: first in Murcia, then for three years at Andoni Luis Aduriz’s Mugaritz, until 2006».

Those were the years of the highest splendour of the Iberian school…

«Indeed, and you could sense it. It was there that I learnt that excellence can only be obtained when you aim high even before entering the kitchen. In Errenteria it is essential to arrive on time at work, be well shaved and combed. And work hard. From five in the morning until noon, in the spare time you would often end up looking for herbs in the woods: wild berries, wild garlic, clover, saffron flowers… The kitchen has a soul that needs to be picked, literally».

The last stop in your training journey in Europe was again in Rome.

«I became the sous chef of Heinz Beck at La Pergola. They hired me there, after the experience in Spain, so I could bring some fresh air. I was meant to create, to experiment. The goal was to always improve. I believe I have contributed in renewing Beck’s cuisine».

His lesson?

«The central importance of taste. “You’re not cooking for other chefs, but for clients”, he would say: a different concept from that of Mugaritz, where the aim is avantgarde».

A dish you created at La Pergola?

«Scampi cannolo with powdered oil and tomato vinaigrette».

In 2009 came the offer from Japan.

«I was contacted by Stefano Baiocco, a friend. He said that Bulgari was interested. I went there and decided to stay: over there, there’s all that is necessary to work in the best possible way, not just a great food culture, but a strong economy too. Roads that are unthinkable in our country are open to you there. You have to do with careful, sophisticated clients, who spend a lot but know how to do it; on the other hand, there are lots of competitors».

Carnaroli risotto creamed with Jerusalem artichoke cream with Hokkaido salmon eggs

«When I arrived in Tokyo I was full of ideas, but they hadn’t settled yet. I wanted to surprise. After two years I understood I was making a mistake: I lacked of respect towards the products. So I changed. At the beginning I would have lots of ingredients arriving from Italy. Now, instead, I concentrate on the extraordinary Japanese raw materials. The only exceptions: Carnaroli rice, extra virgin olive oil and Grana padano. I even found some excellent porcini mushrooms, on Mount Fuji».

Are clients always seduced by the Italian style?

«Of course, just think that 95% of my clients are Japanese. I removed the list, I only prepare two tasting menus. And without “discounts”: in the beginning, I would cook pasta and rice a little longer to meet local tastes, today they are always al dente».

Have you got a signature dish?

«I’d say minestrone. My minestrone, a stock only made with vegetables that are vacuum cooked for 24 hours, then 30 different types of vegetables, some raw, some pickled, some cooked, some overcooked... And finally a moka-coffee made with aromatic herbs ».

What do you miss of Italian cuisine?

«Only hop! Japan has extraordinary raw materials».

We noticed this when tasting the dishes prepared by Fantin in the four-hand dinner with Viviana Varese, at Alice, inside Eataly Smeraldo. Two types of Ooma raw tuna with baked beetroot, raspberries and a veil of spices, a dish of the highest quality with the fish that would literally melt in your mouth, sweet, extremely delicate. Just like the meat in the Nagano venison with rhubarb mayonnaise, wild grapes and a variation of celeriac, extremely meltable, charming. The Carnaroli risotto creamed with a cream of Jerusalem artichoke and Hokkaido salmon eggs was also excellent.