There’s little over a month left until May 17th when we of Identità Golose will arrive in Rome arm in arm with Helmuth Kocher and the Merano WineFestival to give life, inside Eataly Roma, to the first edition of the Roma food&wine festival. Everything will take place on the last floor of Oscar Farinetti’s megastore in the Ostiense neighbourhood. This is the floor dedicated to the conference room (which will hold a great part of the wine) and the class-rooms (where we will be able to attend the tastings guided by Ian D’Agata) and to the Italia restaurant, daily run by Gianluca Esposito. For 72 hours, during three days full of great wine and equally great food, the chef will be sided by around 20 of his colleagues following the leitmotiv of quality developed according to three different time-paths, plus a tribute to desserts.
The first edition of the
Roma food&wine Festival will be developed, food-wise, following the theme of “Yesterday, today and tomorrow”, because the great Italian cuisine has never stopped nor has it limited itself to a few masterpieces. Proud of the traditions and products of a geographical reality which was born side by side with the Alpine chain (and with the German as well as the French language) later diving into the Mediterranean sea, mirroring itself in the coast of the Arabic world, Italian cuisine has been enriched with every possible idea, aroma, influence that has come across it over the centuries. Believing you can always eat the same dish, is a illusion. Thousands of details may change though we don’t always notice it. And it is while thinking of this very aspect, of the leaps ahead that are being taken in every field, that, on the occasion of
Roma 2013, arrived the idea of developing five dishes or products according to three different moments.
As a tribute to Rome, we’ve chosen Her Majesty the Pasta Carbonara, then the most summery dish, that is Vitello Tonnato (veal with tuna sauce), and finally the first course of the future, after pasta and rice, namely Couscous. These are the first three. Then there’s Baccalà (salted codfish), a fish/non-fish, in the sense that its dried (stoccafisso) or salted (baccalà) versions are more famous than the fresh (cod) one. Once a dish for the poor, today it is a delicacy for impenitent gourmands. Finally there’s the most fun animal among those appearing on our tables: chicken. I only need to mention this word to be happy and ready for a sumptuous and rich meal. All these five themes are declined according to tradition, present and past, each version by a different chef.
The carbonara of Luciano Monosilio, chef restaurant Pipero al Rex in Rome
The pasta carbonara of all times, a marvel that each Italian has prepared at least once in their life, terrorised by the idea of ending up with a pasta omelette, will be celebrated by the two kings or Rome,
Luciano Monosilio/
Alessandro Pipero and by
Hadj Hassen Nabil/
Alessandro Roscioli (
Monosilio had also worked for three years at
Roscioli’s). Then there’s the current version, by brothers
Christian and
Manuel Costardi who have included in their menu in Vercelli a Rice Carbonara, and finally we’ll discover
Davide Scabin’s idea for the future. All this with a provocative question: what makes pasta Carbonara truly Carbonara? Is it the cheek lard, that is the
guanciale, or the eggs? And is pasta an optional?
The Vitello Tonnato, instead, will start from the story written by Lidia Alciati, which her sons never disavowed. It will be remembered by Ugo Alciati who in mid May will also open his new (and double) restaurant inside Fontanafredda’s estate in Serralunga d’Alba. A leap ahead will be made with Marco Stabile and even further with Heinz Beck. Gennaro Esposito, instead, will charm us with his traditional baccalà, which with Marianna Vitale, on the contrary, will get the shape of a baccalà cheesecake, regularly available at the Sud restaurant. The baccalà of the future will be that by Moreno Cedroni. And finally there’s chicken, for which the timing will be given by Enrico and Roberto Cerea, Emanuele Scarello and Cristina Bowerman while couscous will be interpreted by Fabrizio Ferrari, Alice Delcourt and Francesco Apreda.
And how about the D side? This will see a duet by Gianluca Esposito and Luca Montersino, the first following tradition, the second innovation. To see the complete programme, please click here. Enjoy reading it.
