"Life needs color". This is the leitmotiv of the revolution of Viviana Varese at the inauguration of VIVA, the new look of his restaurant inside Eataly Emerald, in Milan.
VIVA is the – natural – evolution of Alice, the sign that accompanied Viviana from 2007: first in via Adige then, after the Michelin star (obtained in 2011), in Piazza XXV Aprile, inside the branded food store Oscar Farinetti.
This new chapter in the history of the cook from Salerno has as its title theacronym of his name and surname, which is also an exhortation, a stimulus and an invitation to enthusiasm, vitality and vivacity.
VIVA: the local
The color enters bullying in the room. With the luminous and iridescent installations of Artemis, which fade from one color to another. With the play of light on the square and with the work of Marco Nereo Rotelli, a large panel composed of small works (20×20 cm) representing glyphs, pictograms, mysterious and magical symbols in a thousand shades of blue. With the small Murano glass vases, designed by Viviana with the designer Gaia Rotelli, which look like cobblestones gathered where the rainbow ends. With the intimate, cozy sitting area where you can sip a botanical cocktail created by the bartender Jessica Rocchi or a bio herbal tea selected by Roberto Merluzzi of The Art of Receiving.
VIVA: the menu
Art, light and design are the setting for a kitchen that is rich in inspiration and imagination but sets its feet firmly in the earth. The most striking example is the 7 variations of the vegetable garden, a signature dish that varies with the seasons and what Viviana collects (actually zero kilometers) in the greenhouses at South Agricultural Park.
The choice of plants is increasingly the signature of the chef, who remains faithful to his other great love, the sea. Dishes like Black and white, cauliflower and caviar panna cotta, or the Superspaghettino, in smoked broth with clams, calamari, tarallo and lemon, are destined to become timeless classics.
Viviana looks ahead, but with great respect for the past. It opens up to contamination without forgetting tradition and concreteness. Above all, he marries a philosophy of sharing and inclusion that is well represented in his staff: always looking for new talents, to the historical sous chefs Ida Brenna is Matteo Carnaghi, in brigade with a dynamic and multi-ethnic team, young but already super-professional faces were added to the room: the maître Luis Diaz is Gianluca De Marco and the sommelier Federica Radice, which is entrusted with the rich cellar that can count on sought after French labels, rare vintages, exclusive Marsala (including that of De Bartoli customized for VIVA).
"Viva is made up of people who are the vital energy of my restaurant", emphasizes the chef, who does not forget the importance of a return to authentic food and the culture of taste.
Concepts certainly shared by his partner and friend, the Indian cook Ritu Dalmia, present in the Alicette company (owner of the sign) together with the entrepreneur Analjit Singh.
Viviana's philosophy is the same that animates the international gastronomic scene with new excitement, as demonstrated by i thirty colleagues arrived from all over to hold the new venture, cooking their dishes during the magnificent inauguration party. Where, between a toast and a taste, "VIVA!" it was more than an exclamation.
As Viviana's manifesto says, a modern hymn to joy: "The flame burns. It is wonder and color. It is an idea and a feeling. The joy of creating and the hunger to do. To look like I prefer being. Bold, special, rebellious. enthusiastic, real. Being.
Francesca Romana Mezzadri
September 2019
Photos Sonia Marin, Serena Serrani and Francesca Brambilla
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