18-01-2017
Alfio Ghezzi, chef at Locanda Margon in Trento, in a picture from August, taken during the “Attraverso... senza lasciare tracce” trip, 900 km on foot or paragliding between Trento and Alpe d'Huez, in France, following a vocational crisis. The chef from Trentino will open "Identità di Montagna" on Monday 6th March at 10, in Sala Blu Uno (photo Waldner)
The topic of the 13th edition of Identità Golose is the journey. Among the one hundred chefs or so scheduled to speak in Milan from the 4th to the 6th March 2017 there’s one who last summer covered 550 km on foot and 350 paragliding. A trip that started on the 2nd August from the restaurant where he’s the chef, Locanda Margon in Trento, and ended 18 days later at Alpe d’Huez in France, already the location of some of the greatest enterprises in the Tour de France.
Ghezzi’s alpine journey included Plan de Corones, lake Como, the upper valley of Lario, Bellinzona, Airolo, Valais up to Martigny, Chamonix, Albertville. «The last stop was meant to be at Università di Scienze Gastronomiche in Pollenzo», says the chef, «but the weather in the last few days wasn’t in my favour». How did you get the idea for this project? It started from a professional crisis. Last year I lost my motivation. People believe we’re very creative people who go on looking for products and recipes to develop. Yet chefs these days don’t just think of cooking: they must take care of logistics, management, communication... Many demanding tasks that overcome cooking itself. At one point, I succumbed to all the pressure. And the alienation of respecting every day the rhythm of serving two meals without showing any tiredness in front of the guests. I needed new stimuli. The extraordinary Lunelli family (the owner of Cantine Ferrari, editor's note), understood and in fact supported my project. Why paragliding? I come from a sporty family and mountain is a part of me. My brother is an Alpine guide. Together, we’ve always climbed, ascended waterfalls of ice, worn skis and telemark skis. I try to run for at least an hour every day, and in the summer and spring, if I don’t have any engagement on my free day, I ascend high up. Last June, starting from Val Pusteria, I spent 10 hours and 20 minutes in the sky, flying for 270 km. I decided I wanted to spend more time flying, so this is how the “Attraverso... senza lasciare tracce” project was born.
The equipment used by Ghezzi on the trip
A few weeks ago Locanda Margon was awarded with a second Michelin star: «We had already raised our ambition standards a couple of years ago», explains Alfio Ghezzi, here in the kitchen in the photo by Eugenio Luti
Gabriele Zanatta’s opinion: on establishments, chefs and trends in Italy and the world
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born in Milan, 1973, freelance journalist, coordinator of Identità Golose World restaurant guidebook since 2007, he is a contributor for several magazines and teaches History of gastronomy and Culinary global trends into universities and institutes. twitter @gabrielezanatt instagram @gabrielezanatt