Where I ate i best spaghetti with garlic, oil and chilli? In Venice, yes.

Venice it is an open-air museum that fascinates with the beauties of the past and a city with an eye towards the future, fearless and proud as only the Serenissima can be. To the The Gritti Palace, A Luxury Collection Hotel, yesterday and today dialogue in a continuous exchange of ideas and original proposals in order to offer a high level of hospitality from every point of view. In fact, even at its fine dining restaurant Doge’s Clubthe attention to gastronomic excellence passes through continuous research between tradition and innovation, which today is transmitted by the new Executive Chef, Alberto Fol.

News in the lagoon

Born in 1974, chef Alberto Fol he has a long experience, including in starred restaurants, which has led him to prefer hotel kitchens, an environment he knows well – “I grew up there, my grandfather had two hotels, then my father too”, he says fondly. Above all, he appreciates the movement as a complete little world that offers many opportunities to get involved, «from the lobster omelette for off-menu breakfast to the course at The Gritti Epicurean School, he adds, smiling. By the way, the kitchens of the iconic Venetian hotel are nothing new for him: a good twenty years earlier he had taken his first steps here as commis to chef Celestino Giacomello. We don’t know if it was a sign of destiny, but life is certainly bizarre sometimes and it’s nice when the circles close.

It was the same Paolo LorenzoniGeneral Manager of The Gritti Palace, strongly desired the chef from Belluno, revealing his successful intent: «I had already known him since 2009 (chef Fol arrived at Danieli five years ago, preceded by what was then The Westin Europa & Regina, also in Venice, ed.), I was looking for someone who could prepare local cuisine while respecting seasonality and tradition. And then, Alberto and I both love the mountains, a point in common that has allowed us to bond a lot.”

In fact, Alberto Fol’s cuisine could be summed up in the concept “seas and mountains”, which expresses his personality as a man born from the Dolomites, integrated very well in Venice and well represented by a signature dish like the Cacciatore style scallops: «Ever since I started working on the menu now on the menu, one thing was immediately clear to me: I wanted to bring people to the places where I was born, raised and educated. Through these dishes, I wanted to tell a story, mine”. The autumn menu on the menu at the Club del Doge brings to the table the scents of the mountains, the fruits of the earth and the treasures hidden in the woods, in a balanced combination with the fish richness of the local waters, entering the lagoon and reaching the sea.

Chef Fol’s spaghetti with garlic, oil and chilli pepper

Alpine butter, selected flours, local products from the market, are just some examples that express the love for the ingredients at the basis of the cuisine of Alberto Folwhich starts from the big one respect for quality and attention to well-being: «On average 40% of Italians have health problems related to nutrition. It is essential to start giving food education right from school, providing complete information, investing in the value of food, which is strongly linked to our culinary tradition. Conscious consumption is what we should teach, not going to the supermarket with your eyes closed in a hurry. Institutions, municipalities, regions, together we should work for the well-being of the community through good and simple food.”