26-07-2016
Tony Lo Coco’s Stigghiola. He’s the chef at restaurant I Pupi in Bagheria (Palermo), one Michelin star. His Stigghiola is not made with lamb entrails, as imposed by Sicilian tradition, but with those of red tuna. A surprise among many surprises in the kitchen of this young man moved by a creative fire
People started to speak about Bagheria after the homonymous book by Dacia Maraini (1993), as well as when the cinematic masterpiece “Baaria” by Giuseppe Tornatore was released (2009). It’s a town invoked and represented by important people, with prominent voices. Nobody would have thought that sooner or later we would mention this town with 50 thousand inhabitants near Palermo, thanks to an enlightened chef: Tony Lo Coco. Restaurant I Pupi is close to Villa Palagonia, decorated with a multitude of monstrous sculptures, the transposition of the changing human condition. It seats twenty-eight people in a well-organised little room, with a modern and minimalistic, neat and precise design. Laura, the chef’s partner, at home and in business, greets us. She leads us on a journey of a thousand touching paths. Lo Coco immediately presents himself as a self-taught cook: «My food is the kind grandmothers and mothers make – he says – the only internship I took was in the historic pastry shop Don Gino in Bagheria, now my father in law, and I continued my work in a banquet hall. I studied with great attention Albert and Ferran Adrià’s Texturas line, trying to understand how it could interact with the products of my land». This is how this young man begins his journey what with memories, emotions, thoughts and most of all the desire to free himself from the dominant local often-slapdash aristocracy.
Tony Lo Coco’s Grilled octopus with panelle mousse
Tony and Laura, partners in love and in business
I Pupi Via del Cavaliere, 59 Bagheria (Palermo) +39.091.902579 Average prices: starters 18, first courses 18, main courses 20 and desserts 9 euros Tasting menu: 35 (3 courses), 70 (6), 80 (7) and 95 euros (9 courses) From June till September, closed the entire day on Sundays and on Mondays at lunchtime
Reviews, recommendations and trends from Italy, signed by all the authors of Identità Golose
by
Born in 1976, she studied law. Her first job is being a mother. Travelling and gastronomy are the engine to her life. Travelling between food and territories