Alessandro Gilmozzi

A family that has managed restaurants for generations in Val di Fiemme. A culture acquired at the court of names like Michel Bras and Ducasse. A humility rarely found by those who frequent Italian kitchens. Alessandro Gilmozzi, class of 1965, really is one of the most interesting chefs in Italy, no ticks, no lies. Every innovation in the menu is the product of meticulous, scientific research. Because he knows that those used to the age-old tradition of Trentine cuisine accept no shortcuts. Especially if innovation is the direction you’re taking.

In Cavalese, at El Molin, he has been experimenting with the most unusual ingredients, such as lichens, for over twenty years, and perfecting antique recipes which have lost a little of their shine. His food smells of smoking, woodland herbs and hunting lodges. But it’s like a stone resting in the cold water that flows through Val di Fiemme, smoothed by experience and by a very sensitive palate. It wasn’t easy to rise up among the hundreds of identical Trentine restaurants, a gush of cyclostyled menus. Yet Gilmozzi did rise up, and without using marketing and communication like so many others. Solid preparation and little professional experience. So traditional flavours, such as the speck that he makes, or summer pasture butter with juniper (to make two really easy examples), don’t end up being forgotten. Or the many mountain herbs that he has studied and collects every day, day by day, season by season.

This knowledge goes perfectly with innovation, with cooking techniques that have rarely encountered brook trout or stag. Low-temperature cooking, the creative use of smoke, the primordial combination of fire, wood and meat. As taught by today’s highly fashionable Scandinavia chefs. Ah, another thing. Gilmozzi is also a good businessman. Pizzeria, wine bar, hotel and also a project looking abroad, but we can’t really say much more. Trentine, yes, but for export.