Pignataro and a magic Campania

In view of New Year’s Day, we’ve asked around 50 colleagues, friends and contributors to indicate on which chef they would have bet for the new year. Forty-four of them replied in time, a total of 45 counting Luciano Pignataro, a reporter for Il Mattino and editor of the homonymous website, lucianopignataro.it. We didn’t ask Luciano which chef he would award. Instead, we’ve asked him to explain what makes “his” Campania so strong, tasty and rich. No other region received as many votes, six (as many as the new Stars in the Michelin2013, by the way): Cristian Torsiello of Osteria Arbustico in Valva (Salerno), Gianluca D'Agostino of Veritas in Naples, Salvatore Bianco of Comandante at Romeo Hotel in Naples, Rosanna Marziale of Colonne in Caserta, Pietro Parisi of Era Ora in Palma Campania (Naples) and Giuseppe Iannotti of Kresios in Telese Terme (Benevento). Not to mention two other Neapolitans such as Andrea Apreaof Vun, the restaurant of Park Hyatt Hotel in Milan and Antonio Borruso of the Gimmy’s all’Aprica (Sondrio).

Here is his thought: “A new wave of young chefs from Campania, or, better, from Southern Italy, are coming to the fore: thirty-year-olds who have already gained lots of experience in the best Italian and international kitchens, perhaps after having studied at the Alma academy in Colorno (Parma). What was once a personal exception, has now become a collective trend that you can find in all of the five provinces of Campania, to which we should also add the nearby Apulia, and a touch of Calabria. A trend that is even nicer to speak of because with their commitment, they dissolve the pessimism in which our country seems to have fallen. 

“What is the secret behind this Southern new wave? I believe there is more than one, there are multiple factors that together contribute to this very happy moment. I’ll try to indicate five.

“First of all, this generation already has a great use of technique, perhaps more than previous generations at the same age. This professional specialization obviously needs to be refined with experience, but you can already notice it in their dishes.

“The second aspect worth considering is the tradition from which they can draw. Perhaps they don’t recall their mother’s cooking, but they certainly recall that of their grandmothers. The heritage they can count on is gigantic because that of Naples is the only Italian urban gastronomic tradition, second to Paris, in Europe, in which style and ingredient contaminations were already developed in the first half of the Nineteenth Century, until they became a classic point of reference. This is not an evolved rural cuisine, but a city gastronomy that can count on Vesuvius as its pantry, and on the sea of the Gulf. 

“The third strong point: the lightening of raw materials, favouring sea and orchard, vegetal to animal proteins, oil to butter or lard, something that transforms the nutritional deficit of the past into valuable modernity, given how the lifestyle has completely changed in the past thirty years.

“The fourth strong point to be considered is the fact that despite being an individualistic generation, used to thinking only for themselves, these young men, in the gastronomic sector, share experiences, cook together, organise dinners and travel a lot.

“Finally, there are their realistic dreams. The over 50s chefs have created and worked in classic restaurants with hotel service, sommeliers in the dining room, cellars and luxury service. Unfortunately, chefs in their forties have seen this goal reduced by the economic crisis. Thirty-year-olds, instead, open their own family-run restaurants away from the great cities, in villages or in the suburbs where the pressure of rent is more tolerable. Their families help run the place and they manage to offer a good and fun experience for 30/35 euros.

“I believe I’m very lucky to be able to tell their adventure and it is difficult for me to indicate someone in particular. After all, I think there are at least ten who will have great prospects in the next decade. As long as they keep on visiting European kitchens, stay updated and learn. In fact, I wouldn’t so much speak of talent, as of strong character and self-denial: those who won’t keep to their own restaurant and will face new sacrifices, especially those who will not think they have succeeded after earning a star, a high mark in a guide or a review in a newspaper, those who will remain humble and curious, well they will be the protagonists of Italian cuisine in ten years time”. Take Luciano Pignataro’s word for it.