The analysis of the second edition of Identità Cortina – a dinner prepared by multiple chefs on Saturday 5th September at Rosapetra Resort and a signature brunch until sunset on Sunday 6th at Brite de Larieto – should be twofold.
The first, leading and urgent analysis is of the culinary content. For the second year in a row, the chefs participating in the festival put aside every stereotype according to which mountain chefs are unluckier than seaside or urban chefs. «They are forced to make do with less raw materials and less flavours», we often hear with fake sympathetic tones, «to work in more difficult geo-environmental conditions».
Oh poor them. But try ask Norbert Niederkofler from Alto Adige if his work is really like drawing blood from beetroots. Try ask him, as he, well aware of the extraordinary treasure offered by the Dolomites, decided to eliminate even foie gras and Adriatic seafood from his menu (ingredients which, in fact, once guaranteed he got a second Michelin star).
The valley of Ampezzo (with Croda da Lago in the middle), the location of the brunch at Brite
Ask
Oliver Piras, Sardinian chef who would for no reason go back to gaze at the waves in Cagliari: he’s incredibly happy at
Aga in San Vito di Cadore, and not just because he met
Alessandra here. Their happiness is a result of the goodness and beauty of the dishes they prepared on the fly at
Brite on Sunday. With beetroot, carrots, sorrel. Three ingredients that are only seemingly simple, which could have struck only
Cnn and
Saveur, who were fast enough to give the next big little thing award, a world-renowned prize.
Try ask Piedmontese Davide Scabin how poor mountain cooking is, given he gave a phenomenal mark to two dishes that are as typical of the mountains as it gets: Tagliatelle with mushrooms served at dinnertime (seasoned with raw butter and anchovies, porcini and chanterelle mushrooms ganache, powdered toasted hazelnuts, crispy polenta and Graukäse, fresh mountain pine gems, smoked ratta potato, sea lettuce leaf) and Polenta mixed in a huge copper pot at Brite (with mushrooms and Puzzone di Moena, powdered olives and pesto, confit tomatoes, chopped hazelnuts mixed with polenta wafers with squid ink) that had people shrieking with pleasure.
The authors of the dinner on Saturday 5th September at Rosapetra Resort. Left to right, Norbert Niederkofler (St.Hubertus of hotel Rosa Alpina in San Cassiano, Bolzano), Riccardo Gaspari (El Brite de Larieto, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Belluno), Alessandro Favrin (La Corte del Lampone, the restaurant inside Rosapetra), Paolo Marchi and Davide Scabin (Combal.zero, Rivoli, Torino)
Ask the noble chefs in the world about the precious meat of arctic char (made noble, with wisdom by
Alfio Ghezzi at
Rosapetra ), about the freshness added by mountain pine (spaghetti with Alpine garlic and oil by
Riccardo Gaspari), about the extraordinary flexibility given by cheese, fruits of the forest and honey when matched with all sorts of savoury or sweet food [see the dishes by
Alessandro Favrin and pastry chef
Massimo Alverà].
Ask them about the inspiration that the sublime surrounding Alpine (or Apennine) landscapes offer to creativity and dishes. This said, we arrive at the second analysis of Identità Cortina: after weeks of crowds at Expo and a few days spent on beaches that were more crowded than tuna nets, sleeping in anechoic chambers was a dream come true. Or having the the silence of the Dolomites’ pastures interrupted by the bells of the cattle browsing close by. It is for this reason too, that when clicking on the photo gallery above, many smiles will appear.
