For over 20 years Alfredo Russo, together with Stefania, has been in the kitchen behind the Dolce Stil Novo sign: first in Ciriè, then in Devesi and now in the Reggia di Venaria Reale, the fruit of a splendid project, Residenze Sabaude, with which Regione Piemonte hopes to bring the ancient residences of the Savoia back to a full and splendid life, endowing each one with a signature restaurant.
In 1990 Alfredo Russo decided to call his restaurant Dolce Stil Novo «because I wanted to offer a stil novo, a new style of cuisine with reference to that of other restaurants in the area, and Dolce Stil Novo sounded nice». In his kitchen you can find an extreme respect for the past and a constant research of what’s simple, of lines and solutions that conjugate tastes and happiness. His dishes are never heavy; on the contrary, they are elegant in a jaunty, joyful way. I remember amazing dishes such as “La Frittata”, Liver in the Venice style, Warm rabbit with salad, Scalded prawns with farinata, “Pasta in bianco olio e parmigiano”, the fassone meat “stracotto” and the Quail legs. And classics such as “Vitello tonnato 2003” and “Lingua di fassone”.
The inverted commas appear in the menu, partly to guard you, partly to play with you. Even though his first great dish, the rabbit torchon with goat cheese, blueberries and redcurrants compote, dates back 20 years, it’s equally important to notice that he is not attached to one recipe more than the others, and not because he’s afraid to choose one: «I feel I’m tied to all of them, even to the ones that are a few years old and are constantly updated. I rarely grow attached to one in particular. On the contrary, I feel the need to go beyond, so much so that sometimes I propose them again, after a long time, in a new form. Nor do I refuse something on principle. I’m always curious, interested in discovering new ingredients, and if they’re not convincing, I don’t use them». Among his latest milestones, the title for Miglior giovane cuoco (best young chef) awarded by Guida dell’Espresso (2004), and his speeches at the 2007 Lo Mejor de la gastronomia and the 2008 Madrid Fusion congresses, and a book on the use of honey in sweet and savoury recipes.