19-12-2016
Chef and maître got married: Renato Rizzardi (to the left) and Sergio Olivetti are the soul of La Locanda di Piero in Montecchio Precalcino (Vicenza). On the 26th September they got married after 27 years together, a first for Italian fine dining. They told Identità Golose their (beautiful) story
Renato starts the story, sitting calmly in front of us. Sergio instead walks up and down, almost hectically, busy preparing for the evening service: meanwhile he catches the jokes made by the latter, confirms details, adds some note. By magic, the resulting dialogue is not fragmented, in fact it’s part of a sole story, their own. Of a narration that has them as main characters, always together: their lives are flowing in unison. We’re at La Locanda di Piero: Renato Rizzardi is the chef, Sergio Olivetti the maître-sommelier. There are many restaurants in Italy that could dream of such a synergy between kitchen and dining room. It’s something hard to match as Renato and Sergio are an indestructible couple, in business and in life too.
More than that: on the 26th September this year they got married in the inspiring setting of Villa Capra, a Neopalladian building in Sarcedo (Vicenza), thanks to the new law on civil unions, after living together for exactly 27 (!) years: it was the first gay marriage in Italian fine dining. There’s a picture portraying them as they leave the villa, surrounded by soap bubbles. And there’s another one, during the following party, when they were not the ones cooking, but two friends, two colleagues and intelligent men cooked instead: Alessandro Dal Degan of La Tana in Asiago and Alberto Basso of 3Quarti in Grancona.
Renato Rizzardi and Sergio Olivetti, in the middle, between the two chefs who prepared the wedding dinner, Alessandro Dal Degan of La Tana in Asiago and Alberto Basso of 3Quarti in Grancona
Then he wanted a starred experience. He sent his CV, got two replies: San Domenico in Imola e and Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence. He chose the former, «I believe I made the right choice». He returned to Veneto after ending up almost by chance in the US: «At San Domenico they wanted to open in New York. The plans fell through but I had made contacts and they offered me a place as assistant chef at Donatello inside the Pacific Plaza in San Francisco, which was the best Italian restaurant in the area at the time. The chef quitted shortly later and I ended up guiding a team of 24 people, I don’t know how».
The cake that Marcello Trentini, chef at Magorabin in Torino, made to celebrate the marriage of Renato e Sergio
So in order to be together they built their nest, La Locanda di Piero: that is to say they took over on the 1st January 1992. «The investment drained all our finances at first, it was a real challenge. Luckily, we won». This is how they settled: Sergio changed faculty and switched to the less committing Political Science, so as to help Renato («I told him I’d try for six months, I’ve been here the past 25 years»). The latter is in the kitchen, the former in the dining room, so they can share their day: «I knew nothing of the profession – says Sergio – I guess the waiters smelled a rat, and were rather diffident…». But then he started to study, attended courses, and now he’s a perfect, competent and very courteous dining room man.
Tortellini with suckling pig, sweet and sour sauce with acacia honey, Stark red apples, plums and poppy seeds: one of the good dishes that the writer has tasted at La Locanda di Piero (photo Tanio Liotta)
A leap ahead in time and we get to the wedding (the following story of La Locanda di Piero is known: it establishes itself as one of the best restaurants in Veneto, «we were known to be good, for few and expensive. Our typical client was from Milan, not local»). Last summer. Sergio: «They were about to approve the law on civil unions. At one point I was watching television and Renato gets on his knees: “Sergio, will you marry me?», crying. I: “Of course I will. Get up, you silly man”. I’m a very shy person, I love joining the group, not being the heart of the scene. Let’s say I thought: “Sergio, this time you must expose yourself, it’s for you but it’s also for a good cause”».
Any disagreement? «The usual, starting from the ceremony – laughs Renato – As per his nature, Sergio would have preferred something small, with ten guests. Instead, I was thinking of a big party, with us arriving in a carriage... We found a compromise». Sharing life and work, almost 24 hours a day, is not easy. Renato: «We’ve managed to run a restaurant together for 25 years because we’re a family. Of course there’s the daily fight, sometimes lively ones too. In this getting married is of help: you fight but then you think: “Well, come on, he’s my husband now”». They smile a knowing smile.
An outdoor trip or a journey to the other side of the planet? One thing is for sure: the destination is delicious, by Carlo Passera
by
journalist born in 1974, for many years he has covered politics, mostly, and food in his free time. Today he does exactly the opposite and this makes him very happy. As soon as he can, he dives into travels and good food. Identità Golose's editor in chief