Sergio Motta

From his father Giuseppe’s turning point in 1963 to his own on October 10th 2010 - the 10th day of the 10th month of the 10th year - oddly a Sunday, and oddly because Sergio Motta, class of 1968, had chosen this day for his closing day – of his restaurant, as well of his butcher’s shop.

Half a century ago, his father was a busboy in a butcher’s shop in Milan, travelling every day from Inzago to Milan. He later managed to buy his own shop, added a slaughterhouse and stopped commuting. He had two sons, the firstborn, Galdino, later became a veterinarian; the second one, a butcher. And a few months ago he turned into a restaurateur as well, a few kilometres from Inzago, along the Naviglio della Martesana canal, in what, for centuries, had been the first horse-changing station on the road from Milan to Bergamo.

When you go inside this place, the first thing that strikes you is the window where quarters of beef are hanging, together with prosciutto and many other beautiful and delicious products. Then there’s the fireplace, and on another wall a giant photograph of a happy Sergio, then three, next to an ox. The restaurant, an authentic vegetarians’ hell, was born out of the necessity of selling the forelegs of the animals killed. The restaurateurs whom the Motta butchers supplied wanted almost exclusively back cuts, cuts which clients were more prone to request, though they weren’t necessarily tastier. However, to work with these “obscure” parts, one needs to know the meat world well.

Sergio’s first step was the construction of a couple of spits that could be transported with a car, a bit like with horse carts. This happened in 2004-2005 and was a huge success. There was a fault though: the spits were useful only for special events. Mr Motta, instead, strongly wished that anybody could eat his meat, every day, at lunch and dinner. Mission accomplished also thanks to the drive of his wife Tamara. Today, in the kitchen, we also find Giorgio Parentella and Vittorio Manzoni, who were trained by Luca Brasi at Lucanda. Most of all, we can taste steaks, midriffs, chops, tartare that can boast incredible hangings and noble flavours. Primordial skills that today are once again extremely current.