16-10-2014
The Ravioletto in the shape of a mini-trunk by Tony Mantuano, chef and patron of restaurant Spiaggia in Chicago, prepared at Identità Chicago during the lesson held together with Ugo Alciati
Third and final day for Identità Chicago. After the tasting of Italian wines on Wednesday afternoon, Eataly’s Scuola collected the empty bottles (during the evening shift wine enthusiasts literally stormed the tasting tables) and changed the look of the room for the two cooking shows scheduled on Thursday, with Alciati and Oldani again as protagonists, respectively in pair with Tony Mantuano of Spiaggia and Lee Wolen of Boka.
For each workshop there was a very Italian gastronomic theme to be analysed from two opposite sides of the Ocean, starting with truffle. At 12 o’clock, the chef from Piedmont – the heir of one of the most important families in Italian gastronomy – opened the show by telling the audience about the time when, still 13, he used to work in the kitchen of Guido da Costigliole with his mother Lidia. Urged by Vince Gerasole of CBS, the presenter of the day, he explained how Piedmont, not having any sea, was forced to “adopt” preserved fish. Tuna and anchovies, for instance, but most of all salted codfish, which Ugo Alciati presented to the audience with potatoes and truffles, a dish that is now traditional.
Davide Oldani (left), Tony Mantuano (middle) and Ugo Alciati (right): three chefs for three Michelin stars at Identità Chicago, edition number 1
When later Alciati, with the help of Mantuano, started to walk around the room with two precious specimen of white truffle from Alba, the audience began to smile like a kid in a sweetshop in front of the generous quantities of grated truffle. Not even the time of teaching the person sitting beside the perverse pleasure of dipping bread in the sauce, that the chef from Spiaggia got on stage. His is one of the few establishments in town that does honour to authentic Italian cuisine and this year has celebrated its 30th anniversary with a restyling of the dining room.
Salted codfish with soft potatoes and white truffle, a traditional dish presented by Ugo Alciati
Paired with the solitary napkin of pasta, some sautéed fresh porcini, fried with brown butter, some freshly grated Grana Padano and – of course – some more truffle. A vigorous and opulent dish, totally based on the quality of raw materials. Because – as underlined by Mantuano – “one of the things that makes Italians angrier is when people abroad lose control of the quality and the authenticity of the products from your regions”. Hardly true, in light of the endless and undisputed ransacking of our food made in Italy across the world.
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Born in Rome, wine and food writer for Il Sole 24Ore, La Repubblica and L’Uomo Vogue. He's a lecturer at Iulm and Food Media for several American colleges. Twitter @fdecesareviola