Like a bistro, much more than a bistro. It is the Teca, in via Caccialepori 8, on the edge of the popular district of San Siro, in Milan. Coffee bar, kitchen with oven, in the evening too wine bar is jazzoteca. But there is more. Behind the wooden counter, under the soft lights of vintage bulbs, in the kitchen, between the tables. You can't see it with the naked eye and that's certainly not the reason why you come here. For Raffaella the strong point of Teca Bistrot the dishes remain, made with the right raw materials, in season, that come from trusted suppliers, cooked with care. The good" allows you to keep your accounts in order. The right" is a direct consequence of sustainability.
To safeguard biodiversity, not only natural but also human
"I chose to call him Teca because it is a word that in Greek means coffer, small case. When I wrote the project for the competition of ideas announced by the Vercellese Cooperative, owner of the space, I imagined a place where not only natural but also human biodiversity could coexist. I wanted a place that held the sacred right to be different. Raffaella, 53, a son of 16, a brother with Down syndrome. The border between his profession – for years has been social worker – and the private sphere has always been very weak. Much of her life has been spent dealing with people with disabilities, especially psychic ones. In his spare time he never stopped cultivating passion for cooking. As a young man he lived in France. There a Berber girl taught her the grammar of Middle Eastern "smells". An art that he cultivated in every project he worked on.
Teca Bistrot in Milan, "a fairy tale that is realized every day"
The former Psychiatric Hospital Paolo Pini was in charge of the Garden of Aromas, a non-profit organization that promotes the social reintegration of disadvantaged people through orthotherapy courses. From that experience came the idea of Full-flavor aromas, a cooperative that offers vegan and vegetarian catering and delivery services and involves psychiatric users. Teca Bistrot it is nothing but the natural outcome of his journey. Here they work there eight people, in addition to Raffaella, all with psychic problems, "Yet" he explains "since we opened they have an impressive table of attendance. Everyone lives alone, everyone has a current account, without needing a support administrator: in the case of a disabled person it is not so obvious that he can have his own money. This for me is the answer to the discomfort created by being "different". This is a fairy tale that is realized every day ".
Simple dishes, genuine products, mix of flavors, popular prices
THE bakery products – bread, croissants, cakes and biscuits, including vegans – are prepared on site, using only mother yeast. At breakfast you can choose the continental formula, with scrambled and plum cake, or the traditional one. For lunch and dinner the menu offers a selection of simple dishes to a popular price. Some are typical of Italian cuisine, like the Bolognese lasagna, others related to the seasonality of products, others that recall i Middle Eastern flavors, such as chicken curry tajine with basmati rice. For the aperitif there is the formula tapas tasting, a selection of organic wines served in combination with a series of Spanish tapas that do not have much, apart from the name, given that the ingredients are mostly local. In the kitchen Raffaella and the master chef, a couple of guys work alongside her. The selection of wines, instead, is the work of Max who, as a true enthusiast, is always looking for best labels of small producers.
Not only in the center, even in the suburbs the lights are always on
The job is not lacking. The restaurant is open from morning to evening and quickly became a reference point for the neighborhood. The mix of people who attend it is not given only byintegration operated by Raffaella at work level. Thanks to the location between the popular area and the residential area and by word of mouth, the public is growing and is increasingly diverse. that's how a window has been turned back on who risked being left with the gate lowered for who knows how long.
