Enoteca Pinchiorri is at Harrods

The extraordinary series of excellences from Italian cuisine continues inside The Winery at Harrods. Stelle di Stelle is the second collaboration between Identità Golose and the prestigious department store in London and is bringing, from September 2014 until January 2015, a programme illuminated by 13 Michelin stars pinned on the chests of 5 great chefs. Throughout the month of December, Annie Féolde and Italo Bassi will present their dishes to the public in the British capital. Before them, it was the turn of Carlo Cracco in September, Enrico and Roberto Cerea in October and Gennaro Esposito in November.

Enoteca Pinchiorri is one of the historic institutions in Italian signature cuisine, and Annie Féolde says she wanted to «represent Italian cuisine, and in particular the Tuscan one, on this occasion. We designed these dishes respecting the seasonality of ingredients and thinking about the public we will meet. We want to put people at ease, without scaring them with unknown ingredients, or others that may be unpleasant to the English palate. However, we did not distort our style: for instance, even though we know that in England there is little interest for white truffle, we decided to present our Poached egg with Alba white truffle and Grana Padano fondue. We are nonetheless ready not to add the truffle in the plates of those who will prefer so.»

Lots of attention is also paid to the dining room, and to the way in which the dishes will be presented to the public at Harrods: «Yesterday I carefully explained every dish to the dining room manager, I didn’t just dwell on the ingredients, but I also told the story of these recipes, the reasons behind each choice, the origin of the raw materials. For instance, we have always paid a very strong attention to the extra virgin olive oil we use in our dishes, so I happened to explain to this young woman how next year it will be very hard, because of the damages that olive fruit flies and bad weather have caused to Italian producers. These are things those who dine at our restaurant need to know.»

Extra virgin olive oil has an important role in the dessert that during these 30 days of away game in London will be served: «The dining room manager was surprised by the title of the dish: Bread, chocolate, oil and salt. She thought it was a little modest but I told here this was done on purpose: it’s a joke. The inspiration came from the snack that children used to eceive, made of bread and chocolate. Of course we have transformed this recipe a little, but keeping its ancient taste: we use toasted Tuscan bread, a chocolate bar with a more liquid heart, a few drops of extra virgin olive oil produced by Giachi and a few flakes of salt.»

Here’s the menu designed for Harrods:

Octopus cooked in olive oil with pumpkin cream, coffee pearls and watercress sprouts
Poached egg with Alba white truffle and Grana Padano cheese fondue
Fusilli al ferretto with artichokes, scampi and liquorice powder
Lamb fillet topped with garlic and thyme, with polenta and black cabbage
Bread, chocolate, oil and salt

With the end of 2014 Italo Bassi and Annie Féolde’s stay in London will also finish. Stelle di Stelle however will continue in January with the menu created by Enrico Crippa, chef at restaurant Piazza Duomo in Alba, three Michelin stars and 39th in the 2014 San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

Stelle di Stelle enjoys the patronage of ExpoMilano 2015, Fipe and Ebnt. The event is created in collaboration with Consorzio Tutela Grana Padano, Acqua Panna e S. Pellegrino, Lavazza, Birra Moretti, Ferrari, Molino Quaglia. The price of the menu is 65 pounds for lunch (85 pounds including drinks) and 115 for dinner (140 pounds including drinks). For reservations, send an email to stelle.di.stelle@harrods.com.