18-04-2014

Lopriore goes back home

The great chef from Como starts a new adventure, called Kitchen. Lake fish and creativity

Bresaola, wild herbs and alosa agone paté, one of

Bresaola, wild herbs and alosa agone paté, one of the new dishes in Kitchen’s menu, part of the Grand Hotel di Como, tel. +39.031.5160460, Paolo Lopriore’s new home. The 40 year-old chef from Appiano Gentile is back after 10 years at Il Canto della Certosa di Maggiano, Siena

The news had been going on for some time, seasoned with lots of creativity. Finally the time has come. Paolo Lopriore opened his new home, restaurant Kitchen, within the Grand Hotel di Como. The latter is a comfortable 4 star resort, part of Meta, a company owned by the De Santis family, renown entrepreneurs in the local hospitality scene. It is a modern and refined space, which suits the sober elegance of the lake very well. The dining room is deliberately informal, with now frills on the tables, no candles and ornaments, seating thirty people at most.

Lopriore came full circle in his journey, arriving from Siena to his homeland, helped by the soundness of his 40 years of age and by the knowledge gained during his productive travelling in the great kitchens of half the world. As in all cases that come unexpected, his return to Como had also an accidental note, but the chef was good in creating a tailor-made project: at Kitchen he’s free to produce his extreme, abstract and conceptual avantgarde, motivated by a setting that is much different from the one in the countryside of Siena, which enwrapped him for over a decade.

Italian chub with beef marrow, candied lemon, fresh broad beans and bitter almond sauce, a brilliant dish

Italian chub with beef marrow, candied lemon, fresh broad beans and bitter almond sauce, a brilliant dish

The fact the stimuli are the right ones, can be seen by looking into his sparkling eyes while he shows the wild herbs foraged the same day in the mountain paths around. When he tries to translate the joy of working with freshwater fish «which first requires to be cleaned in detail, and then prepared with wisdom. But then repays you with excellent results». Giving value to local raw materials and producers will become an essential mission in his creative process.

During the first dinner at Kitchen we tasted some Italian chub with beef marrow, candied lemon, fresh broad beans and a sauce of bitter almonds, a dish that let’s one understand a particular musical symphony of flavours, the same for which master Gualtiero Marchesi has always described Lopriore, his favourite pupil, as a true «absolute palate». The Acquerello rice, masterly cooked, is instead paired with missoltino (sundried lake alosa agone), black pepper and wood sorrel: a rendition of a local tradition seasoned with a balanced aggressiveness and an apparent taste dissonance.

The Duck breast is cooked at 100°C for a few minutes, with the objective of keeping texture and flavour intact. The aroma of the gentian surrounding it, together with that of the fresh pine seeds and of the pine honey, add a balsamic note that makes everything perfect. But there’s a surprise, a second service with the cooking juices served with brine olive and a bread cantuccio to make guests taste even the traditional part of the recipe. Lots of creativity can also be found in the desserts: Bitter coffee wafer on curdled milk, white chocolate and caramel mousse or cakes on sticks in a glass boule.

Trenta coperti al massimo

Trenta coperti al massimo

In the kitchen, he is sided by two young cooks while in the dining room there’s Stefano Gaiofatto, a good interpreter of his creations. The initial offer includes a tasting menu with 5 main courses for 80 euros, or the choice of two or three dishes for 40 and 55 euros. The wine list, managed by Lopriore himself, does not follow the traditional structure and offers around 10 labels, also served by the glass, which change every two weeks.

This story is not born as a structured one but will take shape gradually. It’s a work in progress project, and the same goes for the supervision of Kinko, a twin and alternative space in which people can taste pizza and grilled meat around the pool. The mind is buzzing, with a strong desire for challenges. Lopriore is back to the future, something he considers as an important step, rather than the finish line.

Kitchen
Grand Hotel Como
Via per Cernobbio, 41a
+39.031.5160460
Tasting menu 40, 55 and 80 euros
Closed on Sunday nights and the entire day on Mondays


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