Luca Abbruzzino
«In Italy people often find it hard to pass the baton to the younger generations: there’s always a good reason to postpone – said Paolo Marchi from the stage – They’re inexperienced, they say». So they remain in the shadow, they don’t handle responsibility and are condemned to endure their supposed inexperience. Yet mum and dad Rosetta and Antonio, the faces of two passionate, real people, chose to step aside when they could have lingered some more. By doing so, not only did they confirm their genuine character, they also proved their intelligence.
The Abbruzzinos have been running their restaurant in Catanzaro Lido since 2008. The quick change of responsibility, in 2012, was propitiated by something even mum Rosetta, a lovely dining room woman, found clear: young Luca, born in 1989, 23 at the time, not only had (and has) a crystal clear talent, but he was also precocious and anxious to do more. Yet he also had the serious attitude of the good son with his head on the shoulders, someone who deserves trust, we add. «Given his kindness – his father added – I thought he’d prefer to stay in the dining room. But he’s so passionate about cooking that I stepped aside, leaving him my place».
He’s always shown this passion and he gradually built his technical skills too (thanks to Gennaro Esposito, Enrico Crippa, Mauro Uliassi, Pier Giorgio Parini) which he added to his personal sensitivity, capable of going beyond any territorial boundaries: «Food is everything. The rest has no importance».
So food has the very main role: and the chef is thus free to experiment without neglecting local produce but making use of its excellence (in terms of freshness, seasonality) with an open mind. He calls it “Local Fine Dining”, that is to say local products are blended with wider fine dining logic removing preclusions: bergamot is followed by fermented blackberries, and acidity – on which grandmothers were hardly keen – often appears in totally contemporary recipes. He explains: «I believe valorising the territory is about unearthing and working with its real pearls, not with traditional recipes. It would be an unpardonable limit».
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journalist born in 1974, for many years he has covered politics, mostly, and food in his free time. Today he does exactly the opposite and this makes him very happy. As soon as he can, he dives into travels and good food. Identità Golose's editor in chief