Carmen Vecchione
D-Limousine belly salad with puntarelle and mustard by Gian Pietro e Giorgio Damini
Dall'Italia Prato Nevoso, montagna & cibo. Viaggio nella località del Cuneese che cresce anche grazie alla gastronomia
Dina doesn’t cook, though some think she does. Dina is the patron’s grandmother. She represents the roots, the past projected into the future. The owner of the restaurant in Gussago, between Franciacorta and Brescia, is Alberto Gipponi, from Brescia. 38, he’s been a real cook for less than 5 years and became patron-chef on November 17th 2017, when they first opened. The choice of date was a provocation [17 is bad luck in Italy], and it was a Friday too, with just one guest in the dining room, and no ordinary person either: it was his wife Angela Iussig.
Of course we’re free to believe in black cats, unlucky numbers and endless superstitions, but then what happened was that Gipponi poured a pan of boiling oil over his hands, then rushed to the hospital and later refused to rest for many days. He was back in the kitchen, and cooked for his love. It really takes a strong will.
In the first, totally black dining room at Alberto Gipponi’s restaurant, an artwork by Jonathan Monk titled Until then if not before stands out. It turns the room into a decompression room that is particularly dear to the chef
And then many mistakes he’s made and continues to make, because he doesn’t stop. The same words a chef from the Marche once used to describe his work apply to him: «My cooking is made of slaps. It’s made of all the slaps I got because my dishes were good but not fully accomplished». The chef from Brescia already experienced this when he was a guitarist, and since he was not able to fix his mistakes, he kept on making them. Now he’s found his place in the kitchen, his dimension.
Alberto Gipponi at Festa a Vico in 2018
The food is absolutely original. You may not like it, because the chef is not trying to easily please his guests. He doesn’t cheat, he doesn’t joke. Even the service is very personal, and not everyone might enjoy it, but this applies to many authors, in every area of creativity. You might be good, but not everybody will like you. In fact, those who take a new path are destined to be understood and enjoyed by few.
Lussuria
«Brodo di casa: we start with a murky vegetable stock, willingly not clarified. It’s welcoming, in its imperfection, but I hope it’s good.
«Casoncello crudo, ma cotto: a play with memories. The meat casoncelli are seemingly raw, but in fact are cooked», these are the words Alberto Gipponi uses to describe his forte, which he also presented at Festa a Vico on the 5th June 2018
«Tutto ci passa attraverso e ci cambia: cream of mussels, tomato confit, air of lemon, aromatic herbs, crispy bread and mushrooms tartare. It’s a story about human nature. We are filters and parasites. Everything we meet leaves a mark on us and we try to attach ourselves to all we desire. The idea of serving it in something that’s halfway between a rubbish bin and a saucepan comes from Belgian poet and conceptual artist Marcel Broodthaers.
«Ostrica o carciofo: Roman-style artichoke, oyster and foie gras. Let’s go beyond appearances. A tribute to Riccardo Pippo Feroci Forapan, a pillar at Osteria Francescana, my nightmare and my luck for sure.
«Vi rode il fegato: Fassona liver with Bordelaise sauce, fried onions, toasted walnuts, apple extract and apple reduction with turmeric. The first of 7 dishes inspired by the seven deadly sins: envy. Followed by fermented tea.
«Aglio, olio e 58: a cosy and delicious dish. There’s a base of cream of parsley, spaghettoni mixed with cream of potatoes, garlic, shallot, thyme and chilly pepper, crispy bread and frozen oyster. 58 refers to Franceschetta 58.
Pasta with tomato and basil, as interpreted by Alberto Gipponi
«Non mi era proprio mai piaciuta: pasta with tomato and basil. The cream added to the spaghetti, the ice cream and the meringue are all made with pasta, tomato and basil.
«Ne mangerei un bidet: casoncelli con cream of Parmigiano matured 43 months and powdered sage. The name was given by Davide di Fabio.
«L’agnello nella bocca del lupo: lamb marinated in lemon balm [also known as bocca di lupo – wolf’s mouth] stewed and paired with a cream of roasted potatoes, Soncino roots, spinach, lamb jus and powdered herbs. It’s served with a consommé of mushrooms and lemon balm. It refers to the kind of attraction in life we should really forget about.
Risotto with rosemary served at Dina’s in Gussago
«Risotto? Ma non doveva essere pane, burro e marmellata?!?! Risotto with rosemary, orange reduction and pine nuts with butter. This represents me, or at least I think it does… bitter, balsamic, sour.
«Ma che cavolo: cauliflower and vanilla mousse, hazelnut crumble, wasabi ice cream. I got the idea from a dessert made by my sous chef Gian Nicola Mula.
C’è qualcosa che non Quaglia, though it doesn’t look like it, it’s a dessert
Fifteen moments in total. Dina Gipponi is the future. He’s not the only future, but he’s part of it.
Translated into English by Slawka G. Scarso
Dina Ristorante Via Santa Croce 1 25064 Gussago (Brescia) +39.030.2523051 E-mail: info@dinaristorante.com Closed on Sunday. Open in the evening from Monday to Saturday Average prices: starters 18 euros, first courses 20 and main courses 24 Tasting menus: 55 and 63 euros
born in Milan in March 1955, at Il Giornale for 31 years dividing himself between sports and food, since 2004 he's the creator and curator of Identità Golose. twitter @oloapmarchi
Restaurants from all the world told in Il Giornale by Paolo Marchi from February 1994 to the winter of 2011. And since the spring, for the readers identitagolose.it