Tag: Food

Party in Vico 2024 between food and “feelings” (also) with us – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

«Festa a Vico is one of those places where anyone who loves food or works in the food world should go sooner or later. I have always thought this and when, two days ago, the maître d’ of a starred restaurant told me this phrase, I had the confirmation that even the professionals are convinced of it. Because the three days dedicated to gastronomy, meetings and charity organized every year by Gennaro Esposito, two Michelin stars at the Torre del Saracino in Vico Equenseis always everyone’s party: a meeting of pop and top, of popular and gourmet food, of traditional products and great novelties, to be discovered in the square, in the streets and in the great restaurants, simultaneously contributing to the many noble causes of which chef Esposito has always acts as a spokesperson.

Festa a Vico, the “feeling” edition

This year, the 21st edition, the appointment is from 10 to 12 June with the evocative title There is feeling and a program capable of embracing every nuance of food and that universal emotion that it is able to evoke. «Because where everything makes sense there is feeling to put it in the words of Pino Daniele.

Party in Vico e The Italian kitchen

Sentiment, therefore, but also a lot of concreteness, because Festa a Vico generates large numbers: this year 50 thousand attendees are expected, over 300 Italian and foreign chefs and more than 100 thousand food and wine delicacies. Among the news there is one that concerns us: this year we will also be there, in one of the most anticipated events.

Together with chef Gennaro Esposito, The Italian kitchen has thought of a new format for the traditional Festa a Vico gala dinner: a dinner with a title Bites of Italy, the celebration of Italian cuisine to support the candidacy of “Italian cuisine between sustainability and biocultural diversity” as a UNESCO intangible heritage promoted by our magazine. It will be an evening with a parterre of international chefs who will compete with Italian ingredients to propose dishes never proposed before. Among foreigners, for example, Narda Lepesbest female chef in Latin America in 2020 according to the international ranking 50 Best Restaurants; and then Christophe Peleexecutive chef Le Clarence Parigi (two Michelin Stars), Katsu Nakaji, two stars at Hatsune Sushi in Tokyo, and Antonio Iacoviello, head chef of Gucci Osteria in Tokyo (one Michelin star). Among the many Italians, Pino Cuttaia, two Michelin stars at La Madia (Licata) and the brothers Chicco and Bobo Cerea, three Michelin stars with Da Vittorio in Brusaporto (Bergamo) and seven overall in their restaurants around the world. A dinner for 240 people of which the entire proceeds will go to charities that operate at a local level, in the province of Naples and Campania, and nationally, such as the Umberto Veronesi Foundation.

The Festa a Vico program

The tastings of the dishes that chefs from all over Italy will create on 11 June, on the day dedicated to Republic of Food, among the streets, gardens, buildings and shops of Vico, which will be transformed into an open-air restaurant. Finally, on June 12th there will be the traditional one Sejanus Way in the fishing village where Gennaro Esposito’s Torre del Saracino restaurant is also located, which will transform into a haute cuisine experimentation hub with events dedicated to professionals bringing together young and promising chefs and sommeliers among the most appreciated in the world.

Last but not least, on each of the three days there will be parties, workshops, dances, songs, concerts and shows everywhere. All this in one of the most beautiful places in the world: la Sorrento Coast. In short, if you were looking for an idea to get started, here it is.

For the entire program, and to book places for the various events (including our dinner), click on www.festavico.com

Why do you get sleepy after lunch? The “food coma” explained easily – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

Because he comes here sleep after lunch? It is the most common question we ask ourselves, especially after having had a sumptuous Sunday lunch or on special holiday occasions such as Easter. Having finished a delicious Easter menu in style with a beautiful artisanal Colomba, coffee is not enough to keep your eyes open. All you want is to spend at least half an hour on the sofa – and if you are not at home this desire is likely to be truly in vain. So let’s understand together why after a big meal you feel exhausted and sleepy by investigating the postprandial drowsiness (o food coma). Let’s proceed in order.

Why do we get sleepy after lunch?

1. The digestive effort

The larger the meal, the more blood goes to the intestine to aid digestion. The digestive organs require large amounts of oxygen, which they achieve by reducing the blood flow in other districts in favor of the digestive one. With less blood supply to the brain, you feel sleepier.

2. Tryptophan

The large quantities of carbohydrates introduced during lunch favor the increase in the concentration of tryptophan, an essential amino acid present in many foods we commonly eat, including bananas, milk, tuna, cheese and chicken. This substance helps produce melatoninor the sleep hormone.

3. The parasympathetic system

During digestion, the parasympathetic system prevails, which promotes relaxation and restand at the same time the activity of the sympathetic system is reduced, which is instead involved in situations of fear and/or alert.

4. Carbohydrates

Foods with a higher glycemic index tend to cause spikes and subsequent crashes in blood sugar levels. In fact, to regulate the increase in blood sugar induced by the meal, the body produces large quantities of insulin, and this causes a sudden decrease in glucose levels, which can generate the typical effects of hypoglycemia, including drowsiness. It may be due to a drop in blood sugar when you are unable to concentrate on work or feel irritable and tired. Simple carbohydrates also make it easier for tryptophan to cross the blood-brain barrier, so their combination can cause drowsiness. Adding a little fiber (a salad, some Brussels sprouts) and filling your plate with protein can help counteract some of the lethargic effects of carbohydrates.

5. Alcohol

Wine can also help you feel relaxed and induce a feeling of drowsiness, although it can have a negative effect on the quality of sleep: it is always better to drink at least a few hours before going to sleep. If you fall asleep immediately after a meal, the quality of your post-prandial sleep may be compromised both by alcohol consumption and by the effort to digest all the food that has been eaten.

Useful tips when you get sleepy after lunch

Without giving up the pleasure of a particularly rich lunch, some precautions can be useful. Experts suggest have a good breakfast, perhaps based on wholemeal bread and eggs, which will help avoid overeating. Also drink a large one glass of water before the meal, in addition to helping maintain correct hydration, it induces the brain to think of reaching a sense of satiety sooner. Another strategy for feeling fuller is to chew five to ten times before swallowing. Then, if after lunch we still feel sleepy, no big deal: it’s a holiday, and we have plenty of time to rest.

Water and food combination: the best according to the hydrosommelier – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

The combination of food with water starts from the choice of the fixed residue.

The water card in restaurants

And he explains to us that water makes a difference at any time of the day Andrea Battaini, assistant restaurant manager of Roteo, the fine dining restaurant inside the 5-star MUSA boutique hotel on Lake Como. «Before any menu, we usually share the water menu with our customers, the first to be served; many remain intrigued, perhaps even initially confused, but let’s try to explain, without boring, that the choice must be calibrated according to needs” says Battaini. Needs that range from food pairing, such as that proposed with the dishes on the fixed menu Aqua, with dishes such as oyster pearl, ceviche water, green apple or risotto with hazelnut, bottarga. In these cases, when the menu is varied, customers start with one bottle and continue with another perhaps with a higher fixed residue. Then there are also those who need more mineralized waters after doing sports, and so the suggestion is more easily oriented towards waters with a higher fixed residue. Last but not least, the presence of Arab customers, for example, «who, not drinking alcohol, choose water as if it were a bottle of wine.

«Before any menu, we usually share the water menu with our customers Andrea Battaini, assistant restaurant manager of Roteo in Sala Comacina, on Lake Como.

In fact, by the summer, Roteo will also introduce some commonly unobtainable bottles into its water list, such as the Hildon, present on the Windsor table. «She was the favorite of Queen Elizabeth who chose her to accompany and lengthen her whiskey precisely because of the balance of her minerals. «With a neutral taste, it makes it perfect to accompany not only food, but also wines and spirits «so much so that since 1989 it has been the mineral water chosen by the sommeliers of the prestigious Institute of Masters of Wine. As well as the Canadian Iceberg or the Finnish Vellamo. Prices? From 30 euros up, like a bottle of wine.

The Hildon was Queen Elizabeth’s favorite water bottle.

The importance of water also in mixology

«Water is not just a simple tasteless and odorless chemical element, but a food in all respects says Elena Scordamaglia BRITA hydrosommelier and B2B marketing manager BRITA Italia, a leading company in water filtration. And he adds: «Its ingredients are mineral salts which help to stay hydrated, but also harmful substances, such as nitrates or volatile organic compounds, and chlorine which is used to disinfect the aqueduct pipes and which, although not harmful, it alters the taste and smell of the water.” To create culture there are some courses to follow, those of Aquademy by BRITA: a multilevel program to become experts in water and its areas of application. Aimed at everyone, even professionals especially in the coffee, mixology and pastry sectors. An example? Mosaico Spirits is the company that has patented a machine for personalizing gin that can be replicated anywhere through software. The water used is Brita filtered, in fact. «Gin is a cooking recipe based on a mosaic of ingredients, of which three are essential: water, alcohol and botanicals; water is essential for the success of a balanced premium product” explains Marco Bertoncini, CEO of Mosaico Spirits.

Gordon Ramsay Recipes