Turns 30 years old Joia, the vegetarian restaurant of Pietro Leemann, the first vegetarian chef in the world to receive the Michelin star in 1996 and, still today, the only one of its kind to show off the coveted recognition in our country.
Three decades have passed since Leemann, already established after working in some of the most important kitchens in Italy, decided to embark on his journey back from a trip to the East.
"It was the beginning of a great adventure," recalls the chef. But also a big bet in the Milan of the eighties: "Back then, there were almost only Tuscan restaurants in the city. There was only one Japanese in my street (Panfilo Castaldi, behind Porta Venezia, ed) just a couple of places: today, at least 30 ".
In these years the Milanese gastronomic panorama has definitely changed, as has the sensitivity of customers. "Once upon a time, traditional vegetarian dishes were for those who could not afford meat. Today they become a choice. If at the beginning the public approached the green world in search of healthier food, now conscious choices are dominating made of environment and sustainability. And ordinary people are revealed later than restaurateurs, still slow to incorporate this philosophy, with the fine exception of gourmet venues ".
THE DECALOGUE
From these considerations was born one of the many projects that sees Pietro Leemann at the forefront in spreading what is a real philosophy of life: it is his "Decalogue for a healthy and sustainable cuisine" which, together with two young athletes, Oliviero Alotto and Alessandro Ippolito, is taking around the great restaurants in Italy.
First, Pietro (in an electric car), Oliviero and Alessandro reached Enrico Crippa at the Piazza Duomo in Alba, Norbert Niederkofler at the Rosa Alpina of San Cassiano, in Alta Badia, e Massimiliano Alajmo in Le Calandre di Rubano (PD): "traditional" restaurateurs but among the most attentive to the plant world.
With them, they shared the set of rules that goes from having always on the menu at least four vegetarian and / or vegetable proposals, with attention to seasonality and territory, to favoring the organic (all the ingredients in Joia's kitchen are organic) and small producers, from respecting animals and fish, opposing the logic of intensive farming, reducing plastic and energy consumption: a set of good practices that everyone should follow.
"It is important that change also takes place in the restaurant world: the kitchen is a formidable tool". This is demonstrated by the many young chefs who came out of his brigade to open new realities in very obvious contexts. The last two examples, which Leemann likes to remember, are Fabrizio Marino of the Maggese restaurant in San Miniato, in the heart of the most "carnivorous" Tuscany, e Rie Otsuka of Orterie, tavern in the small town of Stazzona, in the province of Sondrio.
DO SCHOOL
What comes out of the Joia is an articulated system that makes the training one of his hinges. With this spirit the was born Joia Academy in via Felice Casati, an institute for the dissemination of vegetarian culture open to professionals and amateurs alike.
And, above all, his most ambitious project, the "Code of vegetarian cuisine" (Giunti, 90 euro), a volume of almost 700 pages which is much more than a recipe book: an essential tool to create a "green" cuisine of the highest quality, respectful of living beings and the planet, which addresses every aspect: from techniques to equipment, from ingredients to scientific and philosophical insights, with 40 dishes signed by the chef and an appendix that brings together traditional Italian and oriental recipes.
"Because the kitchen can be theorized, but then it is also necessary to know how to put it into practice", says Leemann. "To make it become a source of happiness".
Francesca Romana Mezzadri
Photo Lucio Elio
October 2019
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