01-05-2017
Giusi Ruberti and Ivano Seclì, the two souls and engines behind 24Re in Santa Maria di Leuca, the furthest point of Salento, and therefore of Italy, on the Adriatic ridge. Here the Adriatic and Ionian Seas meet, to be precise in Punta Méliso with its shrine and lantern
24Re that is to say «Il Bistrò sul mare» [the bistro by the sea] as Ivano Seclì and his wife Giusy Ruberti wrote on the restaurant’s business card. I was lucky enough to see it as it was born, on the promenade of Leuca, Santa Maria di Leuca to be precise, where Italy has one of its extreme points, so much so the basilica is dedicated to Santa Maria de finibus terrae.
Ivano and Giusy, originally from Salento, are on the opposite side of the shrine, the lantern and Punta Méliso. They’re close to Punta Ristola, a place where if you don’t stop to watch the sunset it’s a mortal sin. After the last roundabout on the Ionian coastal road, a few hundred metres and the Adriatic Sea breaks in. They are by the first slope, a short stone staircase, the same for Lido Giulia. Info and reservations on +39.334.9884955, e-mail info@24releuca.it.
Go there for their raw fish, for the catch and to relax. Forget about pasta and first courses in general. The space is too small for Giusy to manage them, taking also into account the kindness and patience that are typical of summer tourists. It’s already enough that they managed to set a steam oven before Easter. Expecting more would be silly.
Giusy instead was a worker in Bern, Switzerland. She spent ten years in a shoe factory, coming home for the holidays. «I liked preparing cocktails, so in the summer I’d work in a bar open until late. How did we meet? At night, those like me, or him, who finished worked late, went to have a drink in San Gregorio and one morning at 4 Ivano, acting the playboy, saw I was alone and approached the table asking me if he could sit. Less than two years later we were married».
FRISCOUS® that is to say couscous made with frisa recently arrived at 24Re. It is the result of years of research with local products and high quality producers who could make the innovative idea of presenting a product capable of enhancing and joining the tradition of Salento with that of the Mediterranean Sea. This is how Gaele, +39.328.3065446, gaelesrl@libero.it, was born. It’s a firm with headquarters in Ruffano, in the heart of Salento, that created the start-up that made it possible to continue this project with semolina and durum wheat flour cultivated in Apulia. The ingredients also include turmeric. In the photo, a first idea: Friscous ceviche with blue tailed fish, onions and green pepper
She’s behind the scenes, he’s in the first row. «Ivano urges me to dare. I’m never sure of what I do, so he places me in front of decisions I cannot question. The first year he added raw fish to the drinks, the following summer he decided there had to be tuna. One morning I wake up, open the fridge at home to make breakfast and guess what? There’s tuna, hanging in one whole piece, its blood dripping! I had never cleaned a fish, but you learn. So little by little I became more confident until I understood I could become a cook».
Leuca as seen on the eve of Easter of 2017 from the stairs that take you from Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo to 24Re
Last question: what will your near future be like? Ivano: «More red wines in the list». Giusy: «A few first courses».
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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. blog www.paolomarchi.it instagram instagram.com/oloapmarchi