Bocca Rossa in Paris

Sylvain Sendra is a young Parisian chef, originally from Bresse. After his first bistrot had become successful in 2008, together with his wife Sarah, he opened a restaurant in the fifth arrondissement, Itineraires. He soon received a Michelin star, standing out thanks to his creative, never forced or excessively complicated cuisine. With a great attention to the selection of raw materials, an attention one can also find in Sendra’s brand new restaurant: Bocca Rossa, a few metres from Itineraires, which is, instead, an Italian restaurant. Having had the chance to chat with the French chef, it was impossible not to start from the choice of betting on “our” culinary tradition.

«Besides Itineraires, some time ago I also opened a bistro called 58 Qualité Street. However, I still had this desire to open another restaurant, close to Itineraires, yet not a replica of that format. I didn’t want to have another bistrot, I wanted a place that would be closer to the kind of culinary research I’m conducting in my gourmet restaurant, but which would be substantially different.»

So you thought about Italian cuisine...
«Yes, the inspiration arrived from my wife Sarah. She reminded me of my Italian origins. My grandfather on my mother’s side was Italian, a communist who fled from the Fascist regime and arrived in France. I’ve never spoken Italian in my family. My mother speaks Italian, obviously, but she never taught me the language. Italian culture, however, has always been part of my life, especially the food: it was my grandmother how passed Italian tradition on to me. As a child I would already make pasta, gnocchi, and I would walk around Pisa with her, since my family comes from that town.»

How have you worked on this first inspiration?
«The idea was to continue with the relaxed interpretation of French cuisine we have at Itineraires, and try to do the same with Italian cuisine at the new Bocca Rossa. Being aware this could be risky.»

Why so?
«Because the French public still expects to find folklore in an Italian restaurant. The fact pasta is good and the rice is perfect is of little interest: they look for warmth and most of all for a special idea of Italy. Hence dry pasta, perhaps not even a high quality one. They don’t perceive that Italian cuisine, just like the French one, can be very varied, the union of many traditions, customs, cultures. And in French cuisine there are many dishes that come from Italian tradition: Pied de cochon, for instance, is Italian zampone. Many French people believe polenta comes from Savoy, while it is an Italian dish. And even Macarons have Italian origins.»

Which point of reference did you have to decide which would be “your” Italian cuisine?
«For sure, I thought about the work of a dear friend of mine, Piergiorgio Parini. His style is certainly much different from what many French believe is Italian cuisine. This said, for now Bocca Rossa is a laboratory. One of the few pillars we have is that pasta needs to be fresh.»

Why this choice?
«First of all, because I love this technique dearly. Secondly, because we only opened Bocca Rossa three months ago and there’s so much to do with fresh pasta that I want to dedicate myself to this, to begin with. I like dry pasta very much too, but I believe it requires an even stronger, more refined technique. I will get there later. For now, I play with fresh pasta, I have fun with the mixtures, making even some smoked ones, with herbs or squid ink, for instance. In any case, in my opinion fresh pasta is more gourmet.»

Besides pasta, on what else are you working?
«On raw materials, most of all. Even with regards to fresh pasta I’m looking for a excellent Italian flour. I had also thought of Paolo Parisi’s eggs, but they’re too expensive, especially given the fact that many break during the journey. So I chose some very good French organic eggs. Besides, I have a strong advantage thanks to the search of producers I have already been conducting for years with Itinieraires. It is really important for me to have super-products. However, I still want to try to serve an Italian style brunch, on Sundays. We’re currently serving a tasting menu at the weekends, in order to meet the desire of the gourmet public and let the chef to whom I handed the kitchen have fun. During the week, instead, the menu is more similar to that of a "trattoria": few dishes but well-finished. You must come and visit us in a few months’ time, we will surprise you! »