Nordic cuisine is dead. Italy, in the meantime...

Danish mozzarella? The orthodox will shudder. Too bad for them! Indeed the world is changing and those who bask in the greatness of their tradition honour their past, taste the present yet dont’ build the future.

This is why we enjoyed Le Strade della Mozzarella and we thank Albert Sapere and Barbara Guerra for the intelligence with which they organised everything. They didn’t imagine the event as a simple showcase for the excellent white gold of Paestum, but opened it to experimentation. So we followed with attention the speech given by Sicilian-Norwegian chef Christian Puglisi, the one producing Danish mozzarella, that is.

He needs no introduction. Previously at Noma in Copenhagen, 31 years old, five years ago he began his personal journey, which led him to success with his Relæ, also in the Danish capital. His speech at Le Strade was preceded by the bombastic interview granted to Munchies, Vice’s food channel.

«For quite some time I’ve been thinking of getting closer to the tradition of my country of origin. I didn’t want to do so with Relæ: there I wanted to mark a distance with Noma. Having established my own identity, I can now afford to look beyond. As for Italy, I’m not so much interested in signature cuisine as in craftsmanship: salami, cheese, pasta. Total simplicity. It was at this stage that I came across mozzarella. And I started to study».

What did you find out?

«First of all, what everyone knows: this cheese it’s available all over the world but strongly relies on the raw materials used. I thought: if I learn the best production techniques and use high quality milk, I can produce stretched cheese in Denmark too, where I have excellent milk. My choice, therefore, was to make a Danish mozzarella that would give up on competing with that from Campania. It will never be a “real mozzarella” yet it will be my mozzarella, with a different quality because it shows the territory from which it is born».

You spoke about the “death of Nordic cuisine”…

«In my opinion, development is the only sign of liveliness. Here in Copenhagen cuisine has moved towards a radical change. Today this evolution is over. The future is somewhere else».

Where?

«In the research on organic food, to begin with. Relæ is the first starred restaurant in the world to have such a certification. The other direction is the one I took with Bæst. I believe the work I’ve done with mozzarella should also be done in Italy…».

«Indeed it is so. The Italian context is biased because of the abundance of raw materials of the highest quality. Hence artisans don’t evolve».

At Bæst you also serve pizza…

«The tasting menu includes two tastings of pizza. I don’t want to make it “noble”, yet accepting its natural rustic character doesn’t mean I give up on quality».

Were I to visit Bæst, what pizzas could I taste?

«The first is a tribute to tradition, a simple Margherita. I also offer a focaccia: with pecorino, mushrooms and leeks or with ricotta and anchovies. It depends on the season, on the market. I like taking away tomato, it allows for a greater innovation. All over the world you can find flat bread cooked at high temperature, to be seasoned to your likings. Then you add tomato and end up in Italian tradition. With its restrictions». Something Puglisi doesn’t like at all, as you might have understood.