Put together the Rana family, a food giant, which has promoted fresh pasta made in Italy around the world, and an enlightened chef, not only from the Michelin star, Francesco Sodano. The result is the construction of an entrepreneurial vision beyond the boundaries of creativity. A liaison that speaks of dedication, foresight and planning combined with avant-garde, innovation and research (passion is the common thread, but without this there is little to build). Let’s tell you about the new Family Rana Gourmet Experiencesthe restaurant – just renovated – born from the vision of Gian Luca Rana, managing director of the Rana Group, and that of Francesco Sodano who, after Faro di Capo d’Orso*, in Maiori, on the Amalfi Coast, accepted the challenge, not certainly easy, to represent through his dishes a long family tradition, a territory to which he belongs, but also a vision of experimental cuisine, at the same time sincere, rich in flavors, travels and experiences. From this meeting of personalities begins Rana’s new gastronomic narrative, which starts from the dish and the territory, which crosses countries and cultures, to then return home again, to the virtuous farm of the Rana family, immersed in the Feniletto Valley, a few kilometers from Verona.
The restyling of the former rice and tobacco warehouse
The raw-design style venue, renovated just over a month ago, was created from the walls of what was once a building dedicated to the storage of tobacco and rice. Every detail, from the colors of the walls to the handmade plates and glasses – with many references to the earth – but also contemporary works of art, many natural materials – such as the Milanese clay vases Nina Salsotto – and goodies from the Rana family home, such as cookbooks wrapped in neutral white paper. Among the unique pieces, also the large installation suspended from the ceiling made of roots, herbs, flowers and plants from the Feniletto Valley, collected by the local floral artist Octavia Bosco. The menus, the work of, have also been researched THEN, which stands for “Then I do it”, a Turin-based graphics studio. Last but not least, the collaboration with the stylist Antonio Marrasa friend of the Rana family, who designed in his classic patchwork style, the aprons intended for the restaurant’s dining and kitchen teams, and the dining jackets that follow the colors of the seasons.
A journey between technique, head and soul
But this is just the content of a place that offers experiences that pamper and rekindle all the senses. Three tasting menus are proposed, different but united between the professional and personal past of chef Sodano – born in 1988 of Campania origins -, the present of the place and the meeting with the Rana family. The gastronomic journey undertaken was that of the main menu, “Ricomincio da tre”, freely inspired by the film by Massimo Troisi. A journey that includes 12 courses divided into 6 acts of dishes signature of the chef, like the very delicate Leek between smoke and ashand the new creations inspired by local raw materials, such as Paddy rice with sturgeon stockfish. Among the most surprising is the Dirty cuttlefish with broccolia mouthful that inebriates with the delicacy of the sea and the strength of the earth and vegetables.
Don’t call it bread and chocolate
While among the sweet proposals, what seduces without second thoughts is the Negative of Bread and Nutella, the famous snack that Sodano interprets by reversing the colors: chocolate bread and white hazelnut cream. On top of a quenelle of ice cream clarified with hazelnut, a pinch of salt and a shower of grated truffle.
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