In retrospect, we will look at 2012 as Enrico Crippa’s year: the third Michelin star; the recent presidency in the jury of the Bocuse d’Or; Identità Milano 2013’s award as chef of the year, which he was handed after having charmed an overcrowded Auditorium with a lesson focused on cannelloni, friselle, Cod and almonds and Burnt grain cream. His is a chirurgical job.
Napul è by Nino Di Costanzo and Antonino Maresca, the dessert of the year
On the sweet side, a sculpture-dessert won, namely Napul è by
Nino Di Costanzo and his pastry-chef
Antonino Maresca from
Mosaico at the
Terme Manzi Hotel in Ischia. This is the dessert of the year because it sums up the best and the worst of the Vesuvius’ capital on a unique and multiple surface: there’s Neapolitan coffee (represented by crème brûlée with sambuca caramel), tomato spaghetti (lemon cream, raspberry water and crunchy coconut), San Gennaro’s blood (wild strawberries in a vacuum pack), garbage (an edible bag), struffoli, Maradona’s t-shirt (a sfogliatella with a cream made with buffalo milk ricotta) and Totò’s torso (made with babà, black cherry and a vanilla Bavarian cream). Background music on the iPod:
Napul è by
Pino Daniele.
The
Caraiba award-dish also ended up in the hands of
Giuseppe Iannotti,
Cuoco vent’anni (chef in his twenties) already awarded as Italy's best promise according to
Enzo Vizzari, editor of the
Guide dell’Espresso. While the award for Italian typicality in the kitchen goes to
Antonino Cannavacciuolo (his lesson with his “twin” from Vico Equense,
Gennaro Esposito, was such fun!), the best use of beer as an ingredient was made by
Fabio Barbaglini, recently in the lead at
Antica Osteria del Ponte, awarded on the congress’ opening in Milan by his eternal mentor:
Ezio Santin.
The Creativity in the kitchen prize, instead, belongs entirely to
Massimiliano Alajmo: if you want the proof, read his opening lecture at
Identità Milano, with the coming-up patent for
Pjzza (with a J). And while this year
Cristina Bowerman is
Identità Donna – she has recently doubled
Glass with
Romeo, she’s never tired of learning elsewhere and in via Gattamelata she held an impressive lecture on fermentation - the Artisan of taste is
Massimo Spigaroli, famous for his
culatello (though if you were to visit him in Polesine Parmense, you’d understand this is only one of the needles in his haystack full of goodness).
Davide Scabin's pasta and salad, dish of the year
Two more Milanese awards:
Identità Vincenti (winning) in Milan goes to
Enrico Merli McClure and Giovanni Ruggieri of
Refettorio, in Brera, in Milan, a formula which minimizes costs and maximises taste (they call it simplicitas). While
Danilo Ingannamorte and
Cesare Battisti of the restaurant
Ratanà in Milan, as well as
Alex Pilas, the thousand stove master-chef at
Eataly New York, were awarded for the billion events (single and double chef dinners, presentations, support, rubitt…) created in these years with
Identità. Which is the same reason why 3 friends received their recognition, namely
Roberto Perrone,
Bob Noto and
Elvio Gorelli,
identitagolosini right from the start and gourmets who express, with different media (respectively pen, camera and video camera) the same boundless passion for what’s good.
