France celebrates its past

Do you know what will Heinz Beck, Chicco Cerea, Nadia and Giovanni Santini, Andrea Berton, Giancarlo Perbellini, Andrea Fusco, Anthony Genovese, Roy Caceres, Angelo Troiani, Davide Scabin and Davide Oldani, Claudio Sadler, Danilo Ciavattini, Cristina Bowerman, Simone Rugiati, Valentino Marcattilii, Stefano Marzetti, Matteo Baronetto and Gennaro Esposito have in common tomorrow, on 19th March? Together with some eighty Italian colleagues they will celebrate the greatness of French cuisine. No mistake: French cuisine indeed, and not even the more contemporary one, since Goût de France is pure grandeur, the desire to restate that, at least for them, though not for every one, first there’s the Première France and then come all the others, who, however, in the past twenty years have made huge steps and destroyed the French fine dining monopole, which appeared to be eternal, as they had invented it themselves. The event is born from this crisis, it is a reaction to it.

It’s an extraordinary thing, a programme that was very difficult to design and implement, created by Goût de France, something like 1,300 chefs from 150 different countries who in their kitchens will prepare dishes from French cuisine. It all started with an appeal made by Laurent Fabius, the minister for foreign affairs and international development, and Alain Ducasse. As indicated in the press release, [the chefs] “for one night, they will become the protagonists in the greatest promotional project that was ever implemented in the country of Guillaume Tirel, George Auguste Escoffier, Paul Bocuse, Alain Ducasse and… Ratatouille”. I would have mentioned Joël Robuchon too, besides the mouse-chef, yet the concept is clear all the same.

No other country got as involved as Italy, and I haven’t read, at least not yet, any voice against it. In our country, trying to do something in favour of Italian cuisine is a greater scandal, while it is cool to be accepted in the court of cousins who would never and ever participate in such numbers in an impossible day dedicated to Gusto Italiano. Impossible, not because we don’t know how to organise great events in Italy, but because we dedicate more energy to tear each other to pieces than to do something concrete for everyone.

Besides, it is important to note that tomorrow’s event will be developed on three different levels: high cuisine, contemporary taste and bistro. Even though the protagonist is fine dining, the 200 euros per person one, in three star restaurants that are no longer stormed in as in the past and have the Michelin Guide as their point of reference, in turn pressed by the 50Best and the like.

The Red Guide is still very important, but no longer the most important. For instance: I’m writing from San Sebastian, in the Basque Country, for the presentation of Oceana, with some twenty chefs, Massimo Bottura for Italy, who have endorsed sustainable fishing, respectful of life in the seas. They where chosen based on the list promoted in London. One may not agree, still many have thought it was the right thing to do because when you choose, you eliminate others, equally valuable. I was more shocked by the fact that after explaining why the future relies on herrings, anchovies and mackerel, salmon rolls where served during the cocktail.

Instead, I hope that more and more Italians, after applauding Goût de France, will prove to be less Italian and more altruistic when the time will come to speak of Italy as a team, once again.