IT
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22-03-2017

Apreda, ten years on the roof of Rome

Celebrating Imago, the first rooftop restaurant in Italy in 1956. Since 2006 you can taste here the eclectic cuisine of the chef from Campania

10 years of Imàgo in Rome: a big party, the othe

10 years of Imàgo in Rome: a big party, the other night. Here’s Francesco Apreda celebrating

Photogallery
Photogallery

Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera)

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera)

We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please

Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni"

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni"

Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed

Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city

Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish

Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal

The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu

This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes

In the anniversary menu, there was a different risotto: Risotto cacio pepi e sesami, from 2012 (he added pecorino water, made by blending pecorino in hot water, then placing the mixture in the fridge: the fat solidifies on top, the proteins fall below while in the centre there’s the water in which they cook the risotto)...

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes In the anniversary menu, there was a different risotto: Risotto cacio pepi e sesami, from 2012 (he added pecorino water, made by blending pecorino in hot water, then placing the mixture in the fridge: the fat solidifies on top, the proteins fall below while in the centre there’s the water in which they cook the risotto)...

... Capellini garlic oil chilli pepper and smoked eel, from 2008: cocoa was used in the past, while he now uses only cocoa beans adding a bitter taste. The chef smokes the eel himself

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes In the anniversary menu, there was a different risotto: Risotto cacio pepi e sesami, from 2012 (he added pecorino water, made by blending pecorino in hot water, then placing the mixture in the fridge: the fat solidifies on top, the proteins fall below while in the centre there’s the water in which they cook the risotto)... ... Capellini garlic oil chilli pepper and smoked eel, from 2008: cocoa was used in the past, while he now uses only cocoa beans adding a bitter taste. The chef smokes the eel himself

Black cod and purple vegetables, succulence from 2009: fermented cabbage, sauce of purple potatoes, black aubergine and violets. In the contemporary menu, a remarkable Roasted monkfish with olives and ginger, pumpkin and chanterelle mushrooms

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes In the anniversary menu, there was a different risotto: Risotto cacio pepi e sesami, from 2012 (he added pecorino water, made by blending pecorino in hot water, then placing the mixture in the fridge: the fat solidifies on top, the proteins fall below while in the centre there’s the water in which they cook the risotto)... ... Capellini garlic oil chilli pepper and smoked eel, from 2008: cocoa was used in the past, while he now uses only cocoa beans adding a bitter taste. The chef smokes the eel himself Black cod and purple vegetables, succulence from 2009: fermented cabbage, sauce of purple potatoes, black aubergine and violets. In the contemporary menu, a remarkable Roasted monkfish with olives and ginger, pumpkin and chanterelle mushrooms

Chicken in two cultures, pepper and teriyaki is one of the must-taste when dining at Apreda’s. His idea of presenting chicken, often snubbed by fine dining, in a completely different way, is brilliant

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes In the anniversary menu, there was a different risotto: Risotto cacio pepi e sesami, from 2012 (he added pecorino water, made by blending pecorino in hot water, then placing the mixture in the fridge: the fat solidifies on top, the proteins fall below while in the centre there’s the water in which they cook the risotto)... ... Capellini garlic oil chilli pepper and smoked eel, from 2008: cocoa was used in the past, while he now uses only cocoa beans adding a bitter taste. The chef smokes the eel himself Black cod and purple vegetables, succulence from 2009: fermented cabbage, sauce of purple potatoes, black aubergine and violets. In the contemporary menu, a remarkable Roasted monkfish with olives and ginger, pumpkin and chanterelle mushrooms Chicken in two cultures, pepper and teriyaki is one of the must-taste when dining at Apreda’s. His idea of presenting chicken, often snubbed by fine dining, in a completely different way, is brilliant

The chef says: "The initial idea was to include a chicken to be served as a whole. Something rare in restaurants. But the wish to eat a good roast chicken is closely connected to traditional home-made food and I wanted to make this wish come true at Imàgo"

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes In the anniversary menu, there was a different risotto: Risotto cacio pepi e sesami, from 2012 (he added pecorino water, made by blending pecorino in hot water, then placing the mixture in the fridge: the fat solidifies on top, the proteins fall below while in the centre there’s the water in which they cook the risotto)... ... Capellini garlic oil chilli pepper and smoked eel, from 2008: cocoa was used in the past, while he now uses only cocoa beans adding a bitter taste. The chef smokes the eel himself Black cod and purple vegetables, succulence from 2009: fermented cabbage, sauce of purple potatoes, black aubergine and violets. In the contemporary menu, a remarkable Roasted monkfish with olives and ginger, pumpkin and chanterelle mushrooms Chicken in two cultures, pepper and teriyaki is one of the must-taste when dining at Apreda’s. His idea of presenting chicken, often snubbed by fine dining, in a completely different way, is brilliant The chef says: "The initial idea was to include a chicken to be served as a whole. Something rare in restaurants. But the wish to eat a good roast chicken is closely connected to traditional home-made food and I wanted to make this wish come true at Imàgo"

And then: "After a month of experiments we combined two cultures in just one chicken: one cooking and two cultures, that is to say chicken with pepper, typical of Roman tradition, with a Japanese inspired teriyaki glazing. There was a real study to elaborate what the chicken at Imàgo had to be like. The final dish is the result of teamwork: everyone contributed in creating the best method to have the perfect chicken”. See: Chicken in two cultures

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes In the anniversary menu, there was a different risotto: Risotto cacio pepi e sesami, from 2012 (he added pecorino water, made by blending pecorino in hot water, then placing the mixture in the fridge: the fat solidifies on top, the proteins fall below while in the centre there’s the water in which they cook the risotto)... ... Capellini garlic oil chilli pepper and smoked eel, from 2008: cocoa was used in the past, while he now uses only cocoa beans adding a bitter taste. The chef smokes the eel himself Black cod and purple vegetables, succulence from 2009: fermented cabbage, sauce of purple potatoes, black aubergine and violets. In the contemporary menu, a remarkable Roasted monkfish with olives and ginger, pumpkin and chanterelle mushrooms Chicken in two cultures, pepper and teriyaki is one of the must-taste when dining at Apreda’s. His idea of presenting chicken, often snubbed by fine dining, in a completely different way, is brilliant The chef says: "The initial idea was to include a chicken to be served as a whole. Something rare in restaurants. But the wish to eat a good roast chicken is closely connected to traditional home-made food and I wanted to make this wish come true at Imàgo" And then: "After a month of experiments we combined two cultures in just one chicken: one cooking and two cultures, that is to say chicken with pepper, typical of Roman tradition, with a Japanese inspired teriyaki glazing. There was a real study to elaborate what the chicken at Imàgo had to be like. The final dish is the result of teamwork: everyone contributed in creating the best method to have the perfect chicken”. See: Chicken in two cultures

A relatively recent alternative to the chicken is Duck in Tandoori style (2014). It’s enriched with Chinese cabbage. Its texture and colour is revived by dipping it into water and putting it in vacuum pack

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes In the anniversary menu, there was a different risotto: Risotto cacio pepi e sesami, from 2012 (he added pecorino water, made by blending pecorino in hot water, then placing the mixture in the fridge: the fat solidifies on top, the proteins fall below while in the centre there’s the water in which they cook the risotto)... ... Capellini garlic oil chilli pepper and smoked eel, from 2008: cocoa was used in the past, while he now uses only cocoa beans adding a bitter taste. The chef smokes the eel himself Black cod and purple vegetables, succulence from 2009: fermented cabbage, sauce of purple potatoes, black aubergine and violets. In the contemporary menu, a remarkable Roasted monkfish with olives and ginger, pumpkin and chanterelle mushrooms Chicken in two cultures, pepper and teriyaki is one of the must-taste when dining at Apreda’s. His idea of presenting chicken, often snubbed by fine dining, in a completely different way, is brilliant The chef says: "The initial idea was to include a chicken to be served as a whole. Something rare in restaurants. But the wish to eat a good roast chicken is closely connected to traditional home-made food and I wanted to make this wish come true at Imàgo" And then: "After a month of experiments we combined two cultures in just one chicken: one cooking and two cultures, that is to say chicken with pepper, typical of Roman tradition, with a Japanese inspired teriyaki glazing. There was a real study to elaborate what the chicken at Imàgo had to be like. The final dish is the result of teamwork: everyone contributed in creating the best method to have the perfect chicken”. See: Chicken in two cultures A relatively recent alternative to the chicken is Duck in Tandoori style (2014). It’s enriched with Chinese cabbage. Its texture and colour is revived by dipping it into water and putting it in vacuum pack

Samosa with sfogliatella napoletana (2011): a glocal dish. Here they worked with the pastry: after researching the recipe for Samosa at length, he finally found the Indian method and starte to make it itself. With its crispiness it’s a good match for litchi, coconut and yogurt

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes In the anniversary menu, there was a different risotto: Risotto cacio pepi e sesami, from 2012 (he added pecorino water, made by blending pecorino in hot water, then placing the mixture in the fridge: the fat solidifies on top, the proteins fall below while in the centre there’s the water in which they cook the risotto)... ... Capellini garlic oil chilli pepper and smoked eel, from 2008: cocoa was used in the past, while he now uses only cocoa beans adding a bitter taste. The chef smokes the eel himself Black cod and purple vegetables, succulence from 2009: fermented cabbage, sauce of purple potatoes, black aubergine and violets. In the contemporary menu, a remarkable Roasted monkfish with olives and ginger, pumpkin and chanterelle mushrooms Chicken in two cultures, pepper and teriyaki is one of the must-taste when dining at Apreda’s. His idea of presenting chicken, often snubbed by fine dining, in a completely different way, is brilliant The chef says: "The initial idea was to include a chicken to be served as a whole. Something rare in restaurants. But the wish to eat a good roast chicken is closely connected to traditional home-made food and I wanted to make this wish come true at Imàgo" And then: "After a month of experiments we combined two cultures in just one chicken: one cooking and two cultures, that is to say chicken with pepper, typical of Roman tradition, with a Japanese inspired teriyaki glazing. There was a real study to elaborate what the chicken at Imàgo had to be like. The final dish is the result of teamwork: everyone contributed in creating the best method to have the perfect chicken”. See: Chicken in two cultures A relatively recent alternative to the chicken is Duck in Tandoori style (2014). It’s enriched with Chinese cabbage. Its texture and colour is revived by dipping it into water and putting it in vacuum pack Samosa with sfogliatella napoletana (2011): a glocal dish. Here they worked with the pastry: after researching the recipe for Samosa at length, he finally found the Indian method and starte to make it itself. With its crispiness it’s a good match for litchi, coconut and yogurt

The sweets begin: Winter sphere, ricotta and mandarin with darjeeling tea and, in the photo, Babà in sospensione al cacao e rhum, orzata e ghiacciato alla banana

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes In the anniversary menu, there was a different risotto: Risotto cacio pepi e sesami, from 2012 (he added pecorino water, made by blending pecorino in hot water, then placing the mixture in the fridge: the fat solidifies on top, the proteins fall below while in the centre there’s the water in which they cook the risotto)... ... Capellini garlic oil chilli pepper and smoked eel, from 2008: cocoa was used in the past, while he now uses only cocoa beans adding a bitter taste. The chef smokes the eel himself Black cod and purple vegetables, succulence from 2009: fermented cabbage, sauce of purple potatoes, black aubergine and violets. In the contemporary menu, a remarkable Roasted monkfish with olives and ginger, pumpkin and chanterelle mushrooms Chicken in two cultures, pepper and teriyaki is one of the must-taste when dining at Apreda’s. His idea of presenting chicken, often snubbed by fine dining, in a completely different way, is brilliant The chef says: "The initial idea was to include a chicken to be served as a whole. Something rare in restaurants. But the wish to eat a good roast chicken is closely connected to traditional home-made food and I wanted to make this wish come true at Imàgo" And then: "After a month of experiments we combined two cultures in just one chicken: one cooking and two cultures, that is to say chicken with pepper, typical of Roman tradition, with a Japanese inspired teriyaki glazing. There was a real study to elaborate what the chicken at Imàgo had to be like. The final dish is the result of teamwork: everyone contributed in creating the best method to have the perfect chicken”. See: Chicken in two cultures A relatively recent alternative to the chicken is Duck in Tandoori style (2014). It’s enriched with Chinese cabbage. Its texture and colour is revived by dipping it into water and putting it in vacuum pack Samosa with sfogliatella napoletana (2011): a glocal dish. Here they worked with the pastry: after researching the recipe for Samosa at length, he finally found the Indian method and starte to make it itself. With its crispiness it’s a good match for litchi, coconut and yogurt The sweets begin: Winter sphere, ricotta and mandarin with darjeeling tea and, in the photo, Babà in sospensione al cacao e rhum, orzata e ghiacciato alla banana

The dessert celebrating the anniversary was Dolce mozzarella di bufala (2013): in which he uses beetroot instead of the fruits of the forest while the fake mozzarella is made by mixing buffalo milk, buffalo yogurt and white chocolate

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes In the anniversary menu, there was a different risotto: Risotto cacio pepi e sesami, from 2012 (he added pecorino water, made by blending pecorino in hot water, then placing the mixture in the fridge: the fat solidifies on top, the proteins fall below while in the centre there’s the water in which they cook the risotto)... ... Capellini garlic oil chilli pepper and smoked eel, from 2008: cocoa was used in the past, while he now uses only cocoa beans adding a bitter taste. The chef smokes the eel himself Black cod and purple vegetables, succulence from 2009: fermented cabbage, sauce of purple potatoes, black aubergine and violets. In the contemporary menu, a remarkable Roasted monkfish with olives and ginger, pumpkin and chanterelle mushrooms Chicken in two cultures, pepper and teriyaki is one of the must-taste when dining at Apreda’s. His idea of presenting chicken, often snubbed by fine dining, in a completely different way, is brilliant The chef says: "The initial idea was to include a chicken to be served as a whole. Something rare in restaurants. But the wish to eat a good roast chicken is closely connected to traditional home-made food and I wanted to make this wish come true at Imàgo" And then: "After a month of experiments we combined two cultures in just one chicken: one cooking and two cultures, that is to say chicken with pepper, typical of Roman tradition, with a Japanese inspired teriyaki glazing. There was a real study to elaborate what the chicken at Imàgo had to be like. The final dish is the result of teamwork: everyone contributed in creating the best method to have the perfect chicken”. See: Chicken in two cultures A relatively recent alternative to the chicken is Duck in Tandoori style (2014). It’s enriched with Chinese cabbage. Its texture and colour is revived by dipping it into water and putting it in vacuum pack Samosa with sfogliatella napoletana (2011): a glocal dish. Here they worked with the pastry: after researching the recipe for Samosa at length, he finally found the Indian method and starte to make it itself. With its crispiness it’s a good match for litchi, coconut and yogurt The sweets begin: Winter sphere, ricotta and mandarin with darjeeling tea and, in the photo, Babà in sospensione al cacao e rhum, orzata e ghiacciato alla banana The dessert celebrating the anniversary was Dolce mozzarella di bufala (2013): in which he uses beetroot instead of the fruits of the forest while the fake mozzarella is made by mixing buffalo milk, buffalo yogurt and white chocolate

I was literally struck by this dessert, already in its previous version (with lots of red fruit grattacheca, toffee with balsamic vinegar and crumble) which Apreda presented at Identità Expo. Unforgettable, it’s enough to quality a great chef and his brilliant pastry chef, Dario Nuti. Click here for the recipe, photo by  Brambilla-Serrani

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes In the anniversary menu, there was a different risotto: Risotto cacio pepi e sesami, from 2012 (he added pecorino water, made by blending pecorino in hot water, then placing the mixture in the fridge: the fat solidifies on top, the proteins fall below while in the centre there’s the water in which they cook the risotto)... ... Capellini garlic oil chilli pepper and smoked eel, from 2008: cocoa was used in the past, while he now uses only cocoa beans adding a bitter taste. The chef smokes the eel himself Black cod and purple vegetables, succulence from 2009: fermented cabbage, sauce of purple potatoes, black aubergine and violets. In the contemporary menu, a remarkable Roasted monkfish with olives and ginger, pumpkin and chanterelle mushrooms Chicken in two cultures, pepper and teriyaki is one of the must-taste when dining at Apreda’s. His idea of presenting chicken, often snubbed by fine dining, in a completely different way, is brilliant The chef says: "The initial idea was to include a chicken to be served as a whole. Something rare in restaurants. But the wish to eat a good roast chicken is closely connected to traditional home-made food and I wanted to make this wish come true at Imàgo" And then: "After a month of experiments we combined two cultures in just one chicken: one cooking and two cultures, that is to say chicken with pepper, typical of Roman tradition, with a Japanese inspired teriyaki glazing. There was a real study to elaborate what the chicken at Imàgo had to be like. The final dish is the result of teamwork: everyone contributed in creating the best method to have the perfect chicken”. See: Chicken in two cultures A relatively recent alternative to the chicken is Duck in Tandoori style (2014). It’s enriched with Chinese cabbage. Its texture and colour is revived by dipping it into water and putting it in vacuum pack Samosa with sfogliatella napoletana (2011): a glocal dish. Here they worked with the pastry: after researching the recipe for Samosa at length, he finally found the Indian method and starte to make it itself. With its crispiness it’s a good match for litchi, coconut and yogurt The sweets begin: Winter sphere, ricotta and mandarin with darjeeling tea and, in the photo, Babà in sospensione al cacao e rhum, orzata e ghiacciato alla banana The dessert celebrating the anniversary was Dolce mozzarella di bufala (2013): in which he uses beetroot instead of the fruits of the forest while the fake mozzarella is made by mixing buffalo milk, buffalo yogurt and white chocolate I was literally struck by this dessert, already in its previous version (with lots of red fruit grattacheca, toffee with balsamic vinegar and crumble) which Apreda presented at Identità Expo. Unforgettable, it’s enough to quality a great chef and his brilliant pastry chef, Dario Nuti. Click here for the recipe, photo by  Brambilla-Serrani

Roberto Wirth and Francesco Apreda

Restaurant Imago inside hotel Hassler in Rome turned 10. It has always been a meeting point for the Italian and foreign political, economic and cultural élite. They celebrated with an exclusive cocktail during which Roberto Wirth and Francesco Apreda told the story and transformation of their “baby”.

In fact, it all started 50 years earlier, in the autumn of 1956, when Oscar Wirth, the then patron, and father of Robert (current president and general manager at Hassler Roma), transformed the panoramic terrace on the sixth floor of the history building in Trinità dei Monti into the first “Roof top Restaurant” in Italy.

It was the first restaurant on the last floor of a hotel and it received such praise that it soon became an exclusive place, thanks to its view as well as to its food. It soon attracted famous people from all around the world - John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Federico Fellini, Charlie Chaplin, Igor Straviskji, to mention a few – who could admire the unique view of Rome from the restaurant’s windows while tasting delicious specialties.

Roberto Wirth and Francesco Apreda

Roberto Wirth and Francesco Apreda

Today you can still admire every detail of the Eternal City from restaurant Imàgo, renewed in the late 2006 and awarded with a Michelin star in 2008. The view is breath taking, right from the moment you first walk in the restaurant. Yet at Imàgo the pleasure given by the view is pleasantly continued by the pleasure for the palate. Chef Francesco Apreda, encouraged by Roberto Wirth, created and designed the small yet functional kitchen. He personally chose the materials, equipment and the position of the stations. His innovative dishes enclose classic Italian cuisine with a new take characterised by his unique style made of memories, research, taste and imagination: refined flavours and oriental colours, beautifully and wisely intertwined with Italian tradition, resulting in a fresh and genuine cuisine.

On the occasion of this unusual anniversary the chef, with all the staff at Imàgo, prepared the best creations from the last decade served with excellent champagne, during a glamorous night dedicated to good food and good company.

(Content by Tania Mauri. In the photo gallery, the historic dishes of the night mixed with others, in a list of the best dishes taken from the contemporary menu, with a comment by Carlo Passera)
Translated into English by Slawka G. Scarso

Photogallery
Photogallery

Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera)

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera)

We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please

Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni"

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni"

Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed

Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city

Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish

Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal

The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu

This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes

In the anniversary menu, there was a different risotto: Risotto cacio pepi e sesami, from 2012 (he added pecorino water, made by blending pecorino in hot water, then placing the mixture in the fridge: the fat solidifies on top, the proteins fall below while in the centre there’s the water in which they cook the risotto)...

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes In the anniversary menu, there was a different risotto: Risotto cacio pepi e sesami, from 2012 (he added pecorino water, made by blending pecorino in hot water, then placing the mixture in the fridge: the fat solidifies on top, the proteins fall below while in the centre there’s the water in which they cook the risotto)...

... Capellini garlic oil chilli pepper and smoked eel, from 2008: cocoa was used in the past, while he now uses only cocoa beans adding a bitter taste. The chef smokes the eel himself

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes In the anniversary menu, there was a different risotto: Risotto cacio pepi e sesami, from 2012 (he added pecorino water, made by blending pecorino in hot water, then placing the mixture in the fridge: the fat solidifies on top, the proteins fall below while in the centre there’s the water in which they cook the risotto)... ... Capellini garlic oil chilli pepper and smoked eel, from 2008: cocoa was used in the past, while he now uses only cocoa beans adding a bitter taste. The chef smokes the eel himself

Black cod and purple vegetables, succulence from 2009: fermented cabbage, sauce of purple potatoes, black aubergine and violets. In the contemporary menu, a remarkable Roasted monkfish with olives and ginger, pumpkin and chanterelle mushrooms

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes In the anniversary menu, there was a different risotto: Risotto cacio pepi e sesami, from 2012 (he added pecorino water, made by blending pecorino in hot water, then placing the mixture in the fridge: the fat solidifies on top, the proteins fall below while in the centre there’s the water in which they cook the risotto)... ... Capellini garlic oil chilli pepper and smoked eel, from 2008: cocoa was used in the past, while he now uses only cocoa beans adding a bitter taste. The chef smokes the eel himself Black cod and purple vegetables, succulence from 2009: fermented cabbage, sauce of purple potatoes, black aubergine and violets. In the contemporary menu, a remarkable Roasted monkfish with olives and ginger, pumpkin and chanterelle mushrooms

Chicken in two cultures, pepper and teriyaki is one of the must-taste when dining at Apreda’s. His idea of presenting chicken, often snubbed by fine dining, in a completely different way, is brilliant

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes In the anniversary menu, there was a different risotto: Risotto cacio pepi e sesami, from 2012 (he added pecorino water, made by blending pecorino in hot water, then placing the mixture in the fridge: the fat solidifies on top, the proteins fall below while in the centre there’s the water in which they cook the risotto)... ... Capellini garlic oil chilli pepper and smoked eel, from 2008: cocoa was used in the past, while he now uses only cocoa beans adding a bitter taste. The chef smokes the eel himself Black cod and purple vegetables, succulence from 2009: fermented cabbage, sauce of purple potatoes, black aubergine and violets. In the contemporary menu, a remarkable Roasted monkfish with olives and ginger, pumpkin and chanterelle mushrooms Chicken in two cultures, pepper and teriyaki is one of the must-taste when dining at Apreda’s. His idea of presenting chicken, often snubbed by fine dining, in a completely different way, is brilliant

The chef says: "The initial idea was to include a chicken to be served as a whole. Something rare in restaurants. But the wish to eat a good roast chicken is closely connected to traditional home-made food and I wanted to make this wish come true at Imàgo"

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes In the anniversary menu, there was a different risotto: Risotto cacio pepi e sesami, from 2012 (he added pecorino water, made by blending pecorino in hot water, then placing the mixture in the fridge: the fat solidifies on top, the proteins fall below while in the centre there’s the water in which they cook the risotto)... ... Capellini garlic oil chilli pepper and smoked eel, from 2008: cocoa was used in the past, while he now uses only cocoa beans adding a bitter taste. The chef smokes the eel himself Black cod and purple vegetables, succulence from 2009: fermented cabbage, sauce of purple potatoes, black aubergine and violets. In the contemporary menu, a remarkable Roasted monkfish with olives and ginger, pumpkin and chanterelle mushrooms Chicken in two cultures, pepper and teriyaki is one of the must-taste when dining at Apreda’s. His idea of presenting chicken, often snubbed by fine dining, in a completely different way, is brilliant The chef says: "The initial idea was to include a chicken to be served as a whole. Something rare in restaurants. But the wish to eat a good roast chicken is closely connected to traditional home-made food and I wanted to make this wish come true at Imàgo"

And then: "After a month of experiments we combined two cultures in just one chicken: one cooking and two cultures, that is to say chicken with pepper, typical of Roman tradition, with a Japanese inspired teriyaki glazing. There was a real study to elaborate what the chicken at Imàgo had to be like. The final dish is the result of teamwork: everyone contributed in creating the best method to have the perfect chicken”. See: Chicken in two cultures

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes In the anniversary menu, there was a different risotto: Risotto cacio pepi e sesami, from 2012 (he added pecorino water, made by blending pecorino in hot water, then placing the mixture in the fridge: the fat solidifies on top, the proteins fall below while in the centre there’s the water in which they cook the risotto)... ... Capellini garlic oil chilli pepper and smoked eel, from 2008: cocoa was used in the past, while he now uses only cocoa beans adding a bitter taste. The chef smokes the eel himself Black cod and purple vegetables, succulence from 2009: fermented cabbage, sauce of purple potatoes, black aubergine and violets. In the contemporary menu, a remarkable Roasted monkfish with olives and ginger, pumpkin and chanterelle mushrooms Chicken in two cultures, pepper and teriyaki is one of the must-taste when dining at Apreda’s. His idea of presenting chicken, often snubbed by fine dining, in a completely different way, is brilliant The chef says: "The initial idea was to include a chicken to be served as a whole. Something rare in restaurants. But the wish to eat a good roast chicken is closely connected to traditional home-made food and I wanted to make this wish come true at Imàgo" And then: "After a month of experiments we combined two cultures in just one chicken: one cooking and two cultures, that is to say chicken with pepper, typical of Roman tradition, with a Japanese inspired teriyaki glazing. There was a real study to elaborate what the chicken at Imàgo had to be like. The final dish is the result of teamwork: everyone contributed in creating the best method to have the perfect chicken”. See: Chicken in two cultures

A relatively recent alternative to the chicken is Duck in Tandoori style (2014). It’s enriched with Chinese cabbage. Its texture and colour is revived by dipping it into water and putting it in vacuum pack

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes In the anniversary menu, there was a different risotto: Risotto cacio pepi e sesami, from 2012 (he added pecorino water, made by blending pecorino in hot water, then placing the mixture in the fridge: the fat solidifies on top, the proteins fall below while in the centre there’s the water in which they cook the risotto)... ... Capellini garlic oil chilli pepper and smoked eel, from 2008: cocoa was used in the past, while he now uses only cocoa beans adding a bitter taste. The chef smokes the eel himself Black cod and purple vegetables, succulence from 2009: fermented cabbage, sauce of purple potatoes, black aubergine and violets. In the contemporary menu, a remarkable Roasted monkfish with olives and ginger, pumpkin and chanterelle mushrooms Chicken in two cultures, pepper and teriyaki is one of the must-taste when dining at Apreda’s. His idea of presenting chicken, often snubbed by fine dining, in a completely different way, is brilliant The chef says: "The initial idea was to include a chicken to be served as a whole. Something rare in restaurants. But the wish to eat a good roast chicken is closely connected to traditional home-made food and I wanted to make this wish come true at Imàgo" And then: "After a month of experiments we combined two cultures in just one chicken: one cooking and two cultures, that is to say chicken with pepper, typical of Roman tradition, with a Japanese inspired teriyaki glazing. There was a real study to elaborate what the chicken at Imàgo had to be like. The final dish is the result of teamwork: everyone contributed in creating the best method to have the perfect chicken”. See: Chicken in two cultures A relatively recent alternative to the chicken is Duck in Tandoori style (2014). It’s enriched with Chinese cabbage. Its texture and colour is revived by dipping it into water and putting it in vacuum pack

Samosa with sfogliatella napoletana (2011): a glocal dish. Here they worked with the pastry: after researching the recipe for Samosa at length, he finally found the Indian method and starte to make it itself. With its crispiness it’s a good match for litchi, coconut and yogurt

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes In the anniversary menu, there was a different risotto: Risotto cacio pepi e sesami, from 2012 (he added pecorino water, made by blending pecorino in hot water, then placing the mixture in the fridge: the fat solidifies on top, the proteins fall below while in the centre there’s the water in which they cook the risotto)... ... Capellini garlic oil chilli pepper and smoked eel, from 2008: cocoa was used in the past, while he now uses only cocoa beans adding a bitter taste. The chef smokes the eel himself Black cod and purple vegetables, succulence from 2009: fermented cabbage, sauce of purple potatoes, black aubergine and violets. In the contemporary menu, a remarkable Roasted monkfish with olives and ginger, pumpkin and chanterelle mushrooms Chicken in two cultures, pepper and teriyaki is one of the must-taste when dining at Apreda’s. His idea of presenting chicken, often snubbed by fine dining, in a completely different way, is brilliant The chef says: "The initial idea was to include a chicken to be served as a whole. Something rare in restaurants. But the wish to eat a good roast chicken is closely connected to traditional home-made food and I wanted to make this wish come true at Imàgo" And then: "After a month of experiments we combined two cultures in just one chicken: one cooking and two cultures, that is to say chicken with pepper, typical of Roman tradition, with a Japanese inspired teriyaki glazing. There was a real study to elaborate what the chicken at Imàgo had to be like. The final dish is the result of teamwork: everyone contributed in creating the best method to have the perfect chicken”. See: Chicken in two cultures A relatively recent alternative to the chicken is Duck in Tandoori style (2014). It’s enriched with Chinese cabbage. Its texture and colour is revived by dipping it into water and putting it in vacuum pack Samosa with sfogliatella napoletana (2011): a glocal dish. Here they worked with the pastry: after researching the recipe for Samosa at length, he finally found the Indian method and starte to make it itself. With its crispiness it’s a good match for litchi, coconut and yogurt

The sweets begin: Winter sphere, ricotta and mandarin with darjeeling tea and, in the photo, Babà in sospensione al cacao e rhum, orzata e ghiacciato alla banana

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes In the anniversary menu, there was a different risotto: Risotto cacio pepi e sesami, from 2012 (he added pecorino water, made by blending pecorino in hot water, then placing the mixture in the fridge: the fat solidifies on top, the proteins fall below while in the centre there’s the water in which they cook the risotto)... ... Capellini garlic oil chilli pepper and smoked eel, from 2008: cocoa was used in the past, while he now uses only cocoa beans adding a bitter taste. The chef smokes the eel himself Black cod and purple vegetables, succulence from 2009: fermented cabbage, sauce of purple potatoes, black aubergine and violets. In the contemporary menu, a remarkable Roasted monkfish with olives and ginger, pumpkin and chanterelle mushrooms Chicken in two cultures, pepper and teriyaki is one of the must-taste when dining at Apreda’s. His idea of presenting chicken, often snubbed by fine dining, in a completely different way, is brilliant The chef says: "The initial idea was to include a chicken to be served as a whole. Something rare in restaurants. But the wish to eat a good roast chicken is closely connected to traditional home-made food and I wanted to make this wish come true at Imàgo" And then: "After a month of experiments we combined two cultures in just one chicken: one cooking and two cultures, that is to say chicken with pepper, typical of Roman tradition, with a Japanese inspired teriyaki glazing. There was a real study to elaborate what the chicken at Imàgo had to be like. The final dish is the result of teamwork: everyone contributed in creating the best method to have the perfect chicken”. See: Chicken in two cultures A relatively recent alternative to the chicken is Duck in Tandoori style (2014). It’s enriched with Chinese cabbage. Its texture and colour is revived by dipping it into water and putting it in vacuum pack Samosa with sfogliatella napoletana (2011): a glocal dish. Here they worked with the pastry: after researching the recipe for Samosa at length, he finally found the Indian method and starte to make it itself. With its crispiness it’s a good match for litchi, coconut and yogurt The sweets begin: Winter sphere, ricotta and mandarin with darjeeling tea and, in the photo, Babà in sospensione al cacao e rhum, orzata e ghiacciato alla banana

The dessert celebrating the anniversary was Dolce mozzarella di bufala (2013): in which he uses beetroot instead of the fruits of the forest while the fake mozzarella is made by mixing buffalo milk, buffalo yogurt and white chocolate

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes In the anniversary menu, there was a different risotto: Risotto cacio pepi e sesami, from 2012 (he added pecorino water, made by blending pecorino in hot water, then placing the mixture in the fridge: the fat solidifies on top, the proteins fall below while in the centre there’s the water in which they cook the risotto)... ... Capellini garlic oil chilli pepper and smoked eel, from 2008: cocoa was used in the past, while he now uses only cocoa beans adding a bitter taste. The chef smokes the eel himself Black cod and purple vegetables, succulence from 2009: fermented cabbage, sauce of purple potatoes, black aubergine and violets. In the contemporary menu, a remarkable Roasted monkfish with olives and ginger, pumpkin and chanterelle mushrooms Chicken in two cultures, pepper and teriyaki is one of the must-taste when dining at Apreda’s. His idea of presenting chicken, often snubbed by fine dining, in a completely different way, is brilliant The chef says: "The initial idea was to include a chicken to be served as a whole. Something rare in restaurants. But the wish to eat a good roast chicken is closely connected to traditional home-made food and I wanted to make this wish come true at Imàgo" And then: "After a month of experiments we combined two cultures in just one chicken: one cooking and two cultures, that is to say chicken with pepper, typical of Roman tradition, with a Japanese inspired teriyaki glazing. There was a real study to elaborate what the chicken at Imàgo had to be like. The final dish is the result of teamwork: everyone contributed in creating the best method to have the perfect chicken”. See: Chicken in two cultures A relatively recent alternative to the chicken is Duck in Tandoori style (2014). It’s enriched with Chinese cabbage. Its texture and colour is revived by dipping it into water and putting it in vacuum pack Samosa with sfogliatella napoletana (2011): a glocal dish. Here they worked with the pastry: after researching the recipe for Samosa at length, he finally found the Indian method and starte to make it itself. With its crispiness it’s a good match for litchi, coconut and yogurt The sweets begin: Winter sphere, ricotta and mandarin with darjeeling tea and, in the photo, Babà in sospensione al cacao e rhum, orzata e ghiacciato alla banana The dessert celebrating the anniversary was Dolce mozzarella di bufala (2013): in which he uses beetroot instead of the fruits of the forest while the fake mozzarella is made by mixing buffalo milk, buffalo yogurt and white chocolate

I was literally struck by this dessert, already in its previous version (with lots of red fruit grattacheca, toffee with balsamic vinegar and crumble) which Apreda presented at Identità Expo. Unforgettable, it’s enough to quality a great chef and his brilliant pastry chef, Dario Nuti. Click here for the recipe, photo by  Brambilla-Serrani

Photogallery Together with the celebration, the report of a recent dinner at Imago inside hotel Hassler, with chef Francesco Apreda, much appreciated at Identità both professionally and as a person. As we said on the Guida Identità Golose 2017, "if you think about it, it’s a nice paradox: in the Eternal City, from the 6th floor of hotel Hassler, there’s a talented chef from Campania who makes you travel around the world for a few hours. There’s enough to make you forget the stereotype according to which Rome is so full of history it’s just concentrated on itself, and thus provincial". (Carlo Passera) We start with Celeriac, peppers and ginger; Daikon with yuzu and black truffle; Radish with lime and gin: all in osmosis. There’s technique at the service of the creative mind, resulting in a debut that prepares the palate whetting the appetite. Followed by Egg in tempura, lime and fig mustard: delicious without trying hard to please Foie gras and scones, Sweet Rain blend (2015): this, like most of the dishes by Apreda, is characterised by the blend of spices that originate from the chef’s long experience around the world (see also: I Sapori di Viaggio di Apreda). It was part of the "menu 10 anni" Apreda with his blends. As we mentioned, the chef "interacts with the client, mixes territories and stories, draws from his experience in every continent and sums this up in spicy inspiration: he may add Napoli, Mumbai, and so on (he studied and defined a total of six aromas, each with a precise geographic origin: so it’s enough to add a pinch of London or New York. Your taste buds will be thankful "). The next dish, among the new ones in the menu, is truly fantastic: Seafood vegetable minestrone. One of the best, in a tasting menu that always has the highest quality. In this case potatoes, onion, celery, baby spinach, leek and parmigiano wafer meet a seafood broth made with kombu seaweed Mozzarella di bufala INConsistenza, scapece di appiccatelli vesuviani, another voluptuous dish in the menu. Different textures of mozzarella (as a film, dehydrated, in a mousse, a sauce, in pieces, in gel...) with a pinch of Napoli, yet in the sense of a mix of herbs recalling the city Scallop shabu in a carpaccio, yuzu and black truffle, turning upside down the litany of a mollusc often overused in fine dining, making its taste once again interesting. The photo, however, is of the Breaded scallops, shitake and black truffle, from 2007, in the anniversary menu: the same applies. The scallops filled with buffalo milk mozzarella, truffle and celery leaves had a different breading, instead of the classic Milanese style (breadcrumbs and flour) there’s now panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and dry Indian rice flakes, while the sauce is made richer with shitake mushrooms: the dish, thus assembled, is served with a broth on the side, so as to enhance its textures. This is also Roberto E. Wirth’s favourite dish Octopus and seaweeds, roots and Uma-Mia blend (2016): as in the case of the scallops, Apreda is never banal The starters finish with a Tartare of prawns and veal tongue, puntarelle and ponzu This is a great classic of the chef, deservingly celebrated: Cappellotti Double Umami (Blend Spicy Bomba-y). A contrast of temperatures: the filling of the pasta, made with parmigiano and katsuobushi, is hot, while the broth, made with tuna and double malt beer is cold. Trenette with shiso pesto, squilla mantis and potatoes and Risotto with red onion and foie gras, spicy powdered coffee, two new dishes In the anniversary menu, there was a different risotto: Risotto cacio pepi e sesami, from 2012 (he added pecorino water, made by blending pecorino in hot water, then placing the mixture in the fridge: the fat solidifies on top, the proteins fall below while in the centre there’s the water in which they cook the risotto)... ... Capellini garlic oil chilli pepper and smoked eel, from 2008: cocoa was used in the past, while he now uses only cocoa beans adding a bitter taste. The chef smokes the eel himself Black cod and purple vegetables, succulence from 2009: fermented cabbage, sauce of purple potatoes, black aubergine and violets. In the contemporary menu, a remarkable Roasted monkfish with olives and ginger, pumpkin and chanterelle mushrooms Chicken in two cultures, pepper and teriyaki is one of the must-taste when dining at Apreda’s. His idea of presenting chicken, often snubbed by fine dining, in a completely different way, is brilliant The chef says: "The initial idea was to include a chicken to be served as a whole. Something rare in restaurants. But the wish to eat a good roast chicken is closely connected to traditional home-made food and I wanted to make this wish come true at Imàgo" And then: "After a month of experiments we combined two cultures in just one chicken: one cooking and two cultures, that is to say chicken with pepper, typical of Roman tradition, with a Japanese inspired teriyaki glazing. There was a real study to elaborate what the chicken at Imàgo had to be like. The final dish is the result of teamwork: everyone contributed in creating the best method to have the perfect chicken”. See: Chicken in two cultures A relatively recent alternative to the chicken is Duck in Tandoori style (2014). It’s enriched with Chinese cabbage. Its texture and colour is revived by dipping it into water and putting it in vacuum pack Samosa with sfogliatella napoletana (2011): a glocal dish. Here they worked with the pastry: after researching the recipe for Samosa at length, he finally found the Indian method and starte to make it itself. With its crispiness it’s a good match for litchi, coconut and yogurt The sweets begin: Winter sphere, ricotta and mandarin with darjeeling tea and, in the photo, Babà in sospensione al cacao e rhum, orzata e ghiacciato alla banana The dessert celebrating the anniversary was Dolce mozzarella di bufala (2013): in which he uses beetroot instead of the fruits of the forest while the fake mozzarella is made by mixing buffalo milk, buffalo yogurt and white chocolate I was literally struck by this dessert, already in its previous version (with lots of red fruit grattacheca, toffee with balsamic vinegar and crumble) which Apreda presented at Identità Expo. Unforgettable, it’s enough to quality a great chef and his brilliant pastry chef, Dario Nuti. Click here for the recipe, photo by  Brambilla-Serrani

Roberto Wirth and Francesco Apreda

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