Tag: Milan

The statue of a “sailor” in the center of Milan: why? – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

Captain Findus has become a statue, just arrived in the central city Piazza Gae Aulenti in Milan to remain there until March 10th. It is a six-metre blow-up of the PlayMobil character that reproduces it (which can be won in a competition) which at the time of the inauguration – a cold and windy morning at the end of winter – attracted the attention of passers-by of all ages. After all, this advertising character has been part of the lives of many of us, it is intergenerational. Here because:

How Captain Findus was born

Captain Findus was born in 1967, from an idea of the Australian advertiser Dave Broad: for the advertisement of fish fingers had a comic superhero sailor in mind, with a strong Cornish accent. And so the first one appeared in England Captain Birds Eye. This is still the name of Captain Findus in the UK, while in Germany it is Käpt’n Iglo and in France Capitain Iglo.

Who is the first Captain Findus

The first Captain Findus was John Hewer, English actor who passed away in 2008. He was, so to speak, the captain of us millennials: a reassuring-looking elderly man, with white hair and beard that made him look a little like Santa Claus. He was the protagonist of an advert with a crew of children dressed like him, with the iconic hat and sailor jacket. It was 1983 when he appeared on screens in Italy for the first time, but cod sticks were already a cult: Unilever began marketing them in 1967and in the Europe of the economic boom in which mothers were finally starting to also be workers, that tasty second course ready in a few minutes (as well as a clever way to get children to eat fish) was immediately appreciated.

What did Captain Findus mean?

Hewer remained in office until 1998but with a break in 1971. A real mourning, so much so that the British newspaper The Times published an obituary, underlining his «selfless devotion to the nutritional needs of the nation’s children. Again in England, in 1983 a poll nominated him “ the most famous captain in the world after Captain Cook”.

Who is Captain Findus today?

Riccardo Acerbi, Captain Findus
Not just the “statue”. Findus also launched “The Captain’s Adventures”, with Playmobil. A promotion until May 31, 2024 thanks to which it is possible to immediately win one of over 2000 Playmobil characters depicting the Captain. www.leavventuraedelcapitano.it is the site that accompanies the initiative.

Mimosa cake: in Milan, 10 addresses where you can buy the best ones – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

The Mimosa cake is the gastronomic equivalent of the plant that symbolizes International Women’s Day. A soft and joyful dessert, with sponge cake cubes, yellow like those same flowers. We would like to point out the 10 pastry shops in Milan that more or less remain faithful to the traditional formula, invented in the 1950s by Adelmo Renzi, a chef and pastry chef from Rieti.

We have already told you the story of the Mimosa cake, as well as the traditional recipe. So we decided to select the 10 pastry shops, between the historic ones and the more recent ones, located in the various neighborhoods of Milan and the surrounding area, so that for the anniversary of March 8th you can choose to buy it in the place closest to home or be inspired by the one displayed in the shop window (not just yellow…) and to replicate it as you wish. Happy March 8th everyone!

Our recipe for making Mimosa cake at home

The 10 pastry shops in Milan and surrounding areas

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Milan Fashion Week: 5 (+1) “fashionable” addresses to know – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

During the Milan Fashion Week the city is filled with fashion enthusiasts ready to invade the best venues in the centre. Because during fashion week Milan recovers its own atmosphere: that of a large metropolis that claims its identity as the capital of Italian and increasingly international fashion. A city open to the world, even when it comes to food. It is no coincidence that in recent years, starting fromExpo 2015 (“Feeding the planet, energy for life”), the city has seen almost spasmodic openings of restaurants, street food bars, almost all of medium-high level, with 18 starred restaurants, 13 with 1 star, 4 with 2 stars and 1 3 star restaurant.

This is why going out during the Milan Fashion Week it’s also an opportunity to try some of them, perhaps sitting next to the table of fashion super stars. Between one show and another, or at the end of the evening, Milan in its guise food city is ready to welcome buyers, models, but also fashion stylists and sector operators, offering classic or revisited menus, a more authentic expression of Italian cuisine, or more à la page as current trends require. For mere mortals, going out these days is perhaps not the best thing, but for some time now new places have opened in the city, each one different from the other, precisely to satisfy customer demand. Here are five, all new, those that the fashion world has already elected or will elect as the place to eat & drink.

Gordon Ramsay Recipes