14-04-2014
Matteo Aloe, born in 1986, is chef and manager, together with his brother Salvatore, of Berberè and AlceNero-Berberè in Bologna and the surroundings. The recent internship at Noma in Copenhagen allowed him to acquire an extraordinary experience and to dedicate himself to the discovery of new flavours and new approaches to food culture
January, February, March. From the middle of the winter to early spring. My experience at René Redzepi's Noma ended in the same days in which life left the winter lethargy and was reborn in the Danish countryside. In January, I was struck by a kitchen in which even the rubbish bin has an inviting smell. There were many, many fermentations, such as in the case of the fermented black garlic, that make you travel, in your mind, back to a thousand years ago, imagining Viking food. The same Vikings that used to walk over the moss, in the Swedish forests, which today, at Noma, is server fried, together with powdered porcini and creme fraiche. The more time I spent in the kitchen, the more I touched the ingredients, and the more I understood that the food served at Noma is more than a territorial cuisine, it is an earth-based cuisine. Especially in the winter, when dishes are focused on underground and submerged life: turnips, celery roots, potatoes, ants, seaweeds, leeks.
At work! Our Matteo accepts every challenge: including peeling potatoes (photo by minty_pjdk)
The Danish countryside conquered Matteo Aloe’s heart
Men who, for a moment, leave pots and pans to tell us their experience and point of view
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From Western concert flute to cakes