Tag: Michelin

La Fiorida, the first (and only) agriturismo with a Michelin star – Italian Cuisine

Farmhouse, cheese factory, farm shop, large tables and starred restaurant. At La Fiorida the Valtellina tradition is tasted in a sandwich or in a tasting menu, without betraying the zero km. To eat well in Valtellina, dishes like taroz. Classic or revisited? Both

La Fiorida is located in Valtellina in the valley floor, where the Orobie Alps meet with the Rhaetian Alps one step away from Lake Como. Accessible by car, from the SS 38 to Rogolo or even by bike along the Sentiero Valtellina. The company has 200 Bruna Alpina cows, 250 pigs and 80 goats. Milk and meat are processed in the dairy and slaughterhouse inside the company, used in the two restaurants and sold in the large company store. You work at closed loop and short chain, respecting the environment and animals. It has cozy wooden rooms, the Quattro Stagioni restaurant with four rooms, conference rooms and a wellness center. The dairy produces fresh and mature cheeses, both from raw and cooked milk. But the only case of its kind, this agriturismo also has a gourmet restaurant, baptized in Valtellina dialect La Preséf (The manger). In the kitchen there is Gianni Tarabini, Valtellinese, and from 2013 shines a Michelin star.

Eat from 5 to 110 €

La Fiorida is a unique place, because you can eat a sandwich, a cheese board (€ 12 or € 17.50), an ice cream in front of the fireplace in the farm shop for a few euros, order a la carte in the restaurant or rely on a path of the tradition for € 45. The lunch of Sunday all-inclusive costs € 37, with a set menu, or dinner at the starred restaurant, even with tasting menu for € 110. The ingredients are all self-produced, absolute quality, where you sit is more a matter of personal taste or occasion than quality.

The chef Gianni Tarabini

Born between these valleys and with the dynamics of the mountain already in the blood, it is the right man at the right time. At the reins of the kitchen of La Fiorida that begins to attend the kitchen of Massimo Bottura during "culinary excursions" outside the Valtellina area. Go home with ideas like a review of the five consistencies and maturing of Parmigiano Reggiano in a Veltellinese version with a variation of Casera: Casera 084 – Consistencies and temperatures of Valtellina Casera DOP, seasonal jam. Today serves the Taroz and its evolution, with potatoes, Valtellina Casera DOP, green beans, onion and sage. How do you revisit a traditional dish? "It's easier than you might think. These products are mine, you play with an ingredient you know, with recipes you've done well a thousand times and wrong a thousand times. When you know all the nuances, it's easy. A feature of our kitchen is that we put two or three ingredients, but of high quality. We are not vain but confident in the raw materials and despite this local cuisine, all butter and bitto cheese, we make a light cuisine .

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The taroz, classic or 2.0

The taroz it is a typical dish of the Valtellina that could be defined as: a rich, very rich potato mashed with cheese, bacon and other vegetables. At least today it is a rich dish: once it was a way to put together the dinner with the available vegetables and some scrap. It is a poor dish and its goodness is here due to the quality of the raw materials: potatoes, butter, cheese. Strictly Valtellina Casera DOP. The name taroz derives from the tool used to cream vegetables with butter or cheese (in dialect the operation is called "tarare", from which also the "polenta taragna"). «At the starred restaurant we use the same raw materials as in the other restaurant, but work with different techniques, for a new interpretation and new consistencies. For the taroz we cook the potatoes in a saucepan with water saturated with salt, to keep all your tastes. Then peel, are roughly broken and make a base with a pasta bowl. Green beans become a gourmet sponge, pancetta is a crispy waffle, sage is a powder. To complete, the dish is finished with a cheese fondue . For the classic version? "If the potatoes are good, the cheese is good, the butter is good and you are not in a hurry, the dish is good".

The classic taroz recipe

Ingredients for 4 people

400 g of potatoes
300 g of green beans
220 g of Valtellina Casera PDO cheese 180 g of butter
150g Nostrana bacon stretched
1 onion
Salt and pepper and common sage q.b.

Method

Boil the potatoes in lightly salted water 10 minutes after cooking them, add the fresh green beans, while preparing the lash with the butter, onion and bacon, finally add the sage. Everything must be beautiful "lashed".
Drain the potatoes and green beans from the water, coarsely mash them, add salt, pepper, bitto or casera, cover with a lid, let stand for a couple of minutes and add the nice hot whisk, mix well and serve

The Michelin Chef Woman 2019 award by Veuve Cliquot to Martina Caruso – Italian Cuisine

The chef of the restaurant Primo Restaurant, Lecce: "I could not describe my concept of femininity in the kitchen in a better way than through the gaze and empathy between women and in this case with Silvia, the maitre of my restaurant. A woman's look is first of all strength, not intended as a difference between man and woman, but understood as peculiarities.I speak of mine and in my there are no screams, broken dishes, or situations of chaos.In my, sometimes, a look reproaches more than words cry out loud and sometimes consoles and directs more than a sweet word: it is empathy, it is understanding, communicating with a glance, it is simply esteem and confidence elevated to the nth degree, because where my eyes do not reach come his, those of another woman, and where I can not be there, for example in the dining room with our clients, there is his look, and there are his words, which make me present, even without Being there is femininity in the kitchen goal, a journey made of many obstacles, trials, challenges. And finally having overcome, or at least trying to overcome, the gender distinction ".

What is the difference between one, two and three Michelin stars – Italian Cuisine

For a restaurant there is no recognition greater than that awarded by the prestigious Michelin star. But what is the difference between one, two and three stars?

The assignment of the prestigious star of the Michelin Guide it is the maximum recognition that a restaurant can get. This historical guide represents, in fact, a fundamental point of reference for those looking for excellence in the catering sector, as well as an ambitious goal that many chefs in the world desire to achieve or increase. Getting or losing a star can really decree the fate of a restaurant, as well as a great responsibility.

Starting from the history of this hallmark of internationally recognized culinary quality, let's find out what the evaluation process consists of, based on what criteria these awards are established and above all the difference between one or more Michelin stars.

The Guide and the Michelin stars, a bit of history

The refined Michelin guide he looked very different when it was launched in the 1900 from the well-known tire company; at the time, in fact, it was created as a paperback for French drivers to find, among other things, decent places to stay and eat while they were traveling. The manual arrives in Italy in 1956, while the first national stars appear in 1959.
At the beginning the Italian restaurants with one star were only 81, while in the edition number 64 of 2019 there are 367, out of almost 3000 in the world. Michelin has always used the appeals for the awarding of stars and the evaluation of restaurants anonymous inspectors visits, kitchen experts, catering and hospitality.

Classification criteria: stars and forks

We can not know exactly what the inspectors are looking for and what the inspectors evaluate, but Michelin claims to observe five criteria bases in the judgment:

1) Product quality
2) Mastery of flavors and cooking techniques
3) The personality of the chef
4) Value for money
5) Consistency between visits

The "stellar" system is also flanked by a less known, albeit important, yardstick, ie the one represented by a fork.
With this symbol, which ranges from 1 to 5, the service, environment, comfort, furnishings, wine list, or, in short, the quality of the experience provided, are evaluated; Michelin has specified, therefore, that all these factors are not considered in the awarding with the stars.

Difference between 1, 2 and 3 stars

Then we come to a crucial aspect for the restaurant and for the customers, that is the meaning of the Michelin stars.
With a star indicates a high quality kitchen where you can feel the hand of the chef, the restaurant deserves a break. Two stars they reward an excellent and high-level cuisine in which the personal touch and skill of the chef are clearly evident, in this case the restaurant deserves a detour. Three stars Finally, they symbolize an exceptional cuisine and impeccable details, which deserves a special trip.

Although a star is a great achievement for a chef, Michelin is keen to point out that the premiums are primarily designed to benefit consumers rather than cooks. Furthermore, in 1997, the guide introduced a prize called "Bib Gourmand" which describes as "not really a star" but a sign of approval for all "friendly facilities that serve good food at moderate prices". However, this it does not mean that a restaurant should be expensive to win a Michelin star, just think of the famous starry dish of Singapore (soy sauce chicken with rice or noodle) that costs less than 2 euros.

Photo: Dessert of the starred restaurant Vertig'O in Genoa_Wikimedia Commons_Hotel de la Paix Genève