Gianni Tarabini

The artisan, the territory, the emotions. Perhaps these three words are enough to identify Gianni Tarabini, born in Valtellina in 1967, who’s never limited himself to pizzoccheri and sciatt, but wanted to enhance local good products by looking around.

Tarabini immediately acquires experience: as a kid, his grandmother Carmela sends him to Ristorante Golf Club in Monza, where he learns the art of cooking from chef Erminio Curti, a friend of Gualtiero Marchesi. Then a long experience at restaurant Maloja in Nuova Olonio, Sondrio, and then at Castello di Casiglio, in Erba. The turning point in 2007: entrepreneur Plinio Vanini asks him to guide La Fiorida in Mantello, in Valtellina. But Vanini wants more than simple agritourism food, so he asks for more, given he’s used to eating out. For Tarabini this is a stimulus that leads him also to Modena, where he visits Massimo Bottura at Osteria Francescana and continues to grow. This is made official by the Michelin star given to La Preséf in 2013.

«I believe I’m a food artisan... I’m only faithful to my clients – he explains – I love transforming raw materials produced close to my kitchen. The dairy farm, the slaughterhouse, the vegetable gardens at La Fiorida are my suppliers. I like meditating on the dishes I present, because through them I’m telling a story. A story that starts from the earth, moves through passion, love and the dream of a man (Pliny) and arrives to the guest of our restaurant».

And there’s a small secret: «Emotions, however, are the most important ingredient in my cooking. I believe every tradition has flavours and aromas that, when you meet them years later, will remind you of the past, of the childhood food of you grandmother and mother».