Antonio Borruso
Credits Brambilla-Serrani
«Many people ask me: “What are you doing here?”». Happening to be in Bormio did not appear to be in Antonio Borruso’s destiny, for he was born in 1979 from a family of Neapolitan restaurateurs, «my father, Giovanni, ran a trattoria. I was fed on milk and cooking». In his veins thus ran the blood of a chef, so he attended catering school in Naples and soon realised he didn’t want to be confined to the local scene, «I decided when I was still a kid that I wanted to widen my horizons». He thus began a fruitful roaming, a tour of the kitchens of half of Italy and beyond: «Lots of Tuscany, and then I went to Switzerland where I learnt French techniques». No starred restaurants, there are no ultra-famous chefs in his path: but he recalls with great pleasure what he learnt from a master, chef Iacopo Vannini, who was then working at the Golf Hotel in Punta Ala.
He spent 15 years visiting many kitchens, animated by what he believes has to be present in those who decide to start this profession: «Love for what you do. Then the strength and desire to stand out». In 2007 he was working in Lugano when he found out that the owners of Gimmy’s, an elegant stube made in fir wood in Aprica, between Val Camonica and Valtellina, were looking for a chef for the winter season. «I accepted, thinking I would stay a few months», yet he stayed for seven years, and even conquered a Michelin star, «for this I have to thank the patron, who gave me complete freedom, allowed me to try again and again. This happens rarely». Since 2013, instead, he runs Umami in Bormio, a restaurant inside the Eden Hotel: «That of the patron-chef is a new, stimulating experience», even though he doesn’t hide the difficulties of working in a place that is so off the beaten path and tied to seasonal tourism, «it’s not easy but as long as I manage, I will stay here. I owe Valtellina a lot».
He celebrates this area in his cooking too: «I take tradition [he means that of Valtellina and of Campania, he works with both] and obtain something innovative, which has to evoke a memory, a “taste bud of memory”». So his two most famous dishes are the Spherical pizzocchero and Explosion of Neapolitan ragù.
Has participated in
Identità Milano
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