Tag: Restaurants

At the start Restaurants against Hunger: to do good at the table – Italian Cuisine

In the month in which the is celebrated World Food Day, which aims to draw attention to food emergencies in the world, restarts Restaurants against hunger, the initiative of the international humanitarian organization Action against hunger present in Spain, United Kingdom, France, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Guatemala and, since 2015, also in Italy.

HOW DOES IT WORK
The mechanism is simple and tested. The restaurants participating in the project (for the complete list, click here) can donate directly 2 euros for each dish or "solidarity" menu combined with the initiative. But also organize special evenings or dedicated events by donating the collection, in whole or in part, to Action against Hunger. In addition, they can invite customers to make a donation, adding 2 euros to the final bill, perhaps "taking advantage" of "Truffle of happiness", the limited edition chocolate made for the occasion by La Perla di Torino.

A BIT OF FIGURES
The 5th edition in our country is also the time to draw conclusions. In numbers, the results achieved are significant: 600 restaurants involved, 500,000 customers, 350,000 euros collected. And especially, 12,000 children of the world who have received life-saving therapeutic food.
Unfortunately, equally significant are the figures relating to the crises underway, which put 40 million people at risk of malnutrition, of which 5 million are small. The populations involved are concentrated in difficult realities such as Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Afghanistan, but also in regions such as the Sahel and East Africa. And the first triggering cause is war and violence, endemic in many areas and directly responsible for the increase in hunger, famine, and water shortages.
THE WORD OF THE CHEF
"We have joined this concrete action because at this moment, as never before, we need to be united and educate to compassion, a value of life that is too often ignored." Cesare Battisti of the Ratanà, one of the Milanese chefs involved in the initiative since the dawn together with many colleagues working on this front throughout the campaign period, and even beyond.
"We are promoters of various initiatives related to Action against hunger," he says Andrea Provenzani of the Liberty. "We immediately married the cause, we contribute as a restaurant and we try to raise awareness among our customers, inviting them to donate. It is a moral duty to those less fortunate".

On the same wavelength Tano Simonato: "For us, who have everything, it should be an automatic gesture to do our part to help those who do not have our possibilities. Action against Hunger is a serious association with high credibility. This is why I decided to join immediately and with immense pleasure. And this year I will dedicate to the fundraising the opening night of my new restaurant ". The new Tano pass me the oil in fact it will open on November 24th, moving from the Navigli to Via Petrarca.
In his restaurant, Claudio Sadler decided to link the initiative to the tasting menu: "It's what I sell the most, so I'm sure to make a good contribution. It is important to participate to feed even those who otherwise would not."
As a note Felice Lo Basso, of the Felix Lo Basso Restaurant, "our premises recall luxury and it might seem a contradiction to talk about world hunger. But, on the contrary, this is an opportunity to show everyone that we have a heart, and we know how to open it to those in need".
"We should all have the right to a healthy and complete meal a day and it is shameful that there are millions of children who die of hunger when we sail in food," he emphasizes. Elio Sironi of the Ceresio 7, which confirms that the public, over time, has always given good feedback. This year, his solidarity dish will be a risotto with fermented 'nduja and saffron: "Risotto always goes, this one especially intrigues while remaining close to tradition and I bet it will bring a good result".

A CONSTANT INVOLVEMENT
The enthusiasm of the chefs is also due to the fact that the restaurants are constantly kept up to date on the goals achieved by Action against Hunger. "So, we are really involved and it becomes easier to raise awareness of those sitting at our tables. And then, doing good is good for us too", notes Daniel Canzian that from the restaurant menu Daniel has chosen to offer its bestseller, the contemporary vegetable soup: "Besides, it also has a nice symbolic value, being a simple and nutritious dish of popular cuisine".
Also Tommaso Arrigoni of Innocent Evasions he chose one of the first to go the most popular, beetroot dumplings and chestnut flour with duck sauce in red wine. "Participating in a solidarity operation is good for the heart. And it is nice to see that with so many colleagues, you are teaming up throughout the whole initiative and in the end, when we meet again for the final event. Where you cook, laugh and joke but above all, something important is shared ".

Francesca Romana Mezzadri
October 2019

The best restaurants in Paris with "Italian flavor" – Italian Cuisine

In the new docu-series "Sapore Italiano", broadcast on Food Network, our director Maddalena Fossati Dondero and chef Emanuele Pollini go to the discovery of the best addresses to enjoy food at home abroad. In the second episode, the places not to be missed in the Ville Lumiere

From New York to Paris the step is short if the mission is to discover the best Italian restaurants in the world. The director of "La Cucina Italiana" Maddalena Fossati Dondero and the chef Emanuele Pollini, in the second episode of Italian flavor, broadcast on Food Network, continue their journey to discover the best home-based food abroad. Always riding a Vespa, this time they venture into the streets or, rather, through the arrondissements of the Ville Lumière.

The Piedmontese Tasting

In Paris there is not only French cuisine. Even the Italian one here knows how to give its best. And a demonstration is found sitting at the tables of Tasting, restaurant of the Castille hotel, in the 1st arrondissement. Here the Spanish chef cooks traditional Piedmontese dishes revisited with innovation such as veal with tuna sauce, but also veal tongue and baby bath. You eat in an elegant environment and in the summer you can also sit on the patio characterized by a Roman fountain and some frescoes.
Dish not to be missed: Cream of milky cream at the time
The experts' votes: Authenticity 7, Style 9, Tradition 8, Innovation 10
Badges of La Cucina Italiana: 3

Stern coffee, antique and modern with style

In the 2nd arrondissement, along the Passage des Panoramas, one of the few remaining in Paris, is the Coffee Stern. Owned by the Alajmo family, the restaurant occupies an old printing house where spaces dating back to 1834 were enhanced by the design of Philippe Starck. On the menu only quality Italian raw materials and dishes that revisit tradition with innovation like in the Cappuccino alla bolognese. The most particular room to sit in is the one that served as a safe, all in reinforced concrete and today embellished with a play of mirrors.
Dish not to be missed: Dill tagliolini with shellfish
The experts' votes: Authenticity 10, Style 10, Tradition 9, Innovation 9
Badges of La Cucina Italiana: 4

Dilia

It recalls in style a French bistro with a few seats, about twenty, but in the menu Dilia reveals a perfect integration between French and Italian cuisine. The dishes signed by the chef and owner Michele Farnesi are offered in the tasting menu: for example, from bruschetta on tomato water and anchovies to turbot green on hazelnut and cherry pesto, with angel hair, peas and sardines crispy sesame, strawberries and custard.
Dish not to be missed: Lamb, broad beans, algae
The experts' votes: Authenticity 6, Style 8, Tradition 7, Innovation 10
Badges of La Cucina Italiana: 3

Tasty treats

As always, our experts let themselves be carried away by curiosity, especially when it comes to food. Passing in front of the sign of Canard Street, concept restaurant focusing on duck meat, they are groped and enjoy a duck tartare and a duck burger: for true fans. How not to take a ride to the Belleville market to taste all the street food delicacies that you can find, from grilled cheese to croque monsieur?

the best Italian restaurants in New York – Italian Cuisine

In the new docu-series "Sapore Italiano", broadcast on Food Network, our director Maddalena Fossati Dondero and chef Emanuele Pollini go to the discovery of the best addresses to enjoy food at home abroad. In the first episode, the places not to be missed in the Big Apple

Give me a Vespa and I'll take you … to discover the best Italian restaurants in the world! In the first episode of Italian flavor, Maddalena Fossati Dondero, director of "La Cucina Italiana", and the chef Emanuele Pollini they run through the streets of New York with this medium so unusual for the Big Apple as perfect for telling that authentic Italian style that the two van looking for in the places of the City.

Home food in New York

Once the target is reached and the helmets are laid down, sit down at the table. And we seem to take our seats too, with curious menus to browse through, dishes to order among the embarrassment of choice, focaccia to be spiced in the wait, forkful to exchange to try everything. We would almost like to say ours on the plates and participate in the discussion if it were not for the moment that we can only frantically write names and addresses and postpone tasting to the next trip. The addresses, precisely: where you can eat – well – Italian in New York? Let's find out by retracing the gastronomic tour of the episode among the restaurants that have won the "La Cucina Italiana" badges.

Cardoncello: mushrooms and wine

The first stop of the two experts is Divine Cardoncello, a modern Italian tavern where, as the name suggests, most of the menu revolves around the cardoncello, a delicious mushroom, a symbol of a cuisine linked to the land, which can be enjoyed from appetizers to second courses through first courses. For the wine with which to accompany the courses, an expert sommelier can advise you. The atmosphere? Homemade but at the same time chic.
Dish not to be missed: Braised beef cheek, cardoncelli and baby zucchini
The experts' votes: Authenticity 8, Style 8, Tradition 9, Innovation 7
Badges assigned by La Cucina Italiana: 3

LaRina fresh pasta

The second Italian restaurant where the couple stops is La Rina Pastificio e Vino, a place located in Brooklyn, open for three years and owned by four young members. There is no shortage of Italian products such as Parmesan, Parma ham and burrata (produced in Brooklyn by Italians). The strong point, however, is the pasta, freshly prepared every day, which can also be bought inside the small restaurant market.
Dish not to be missed: Smoked spaghetti with garlic and oil
The experts' votes: Authenticity 9, Style 10, Tradition 10, Innovation 9
Badges assigned by La Cucina Italiana: 4

Felidia: tradition and innovation

Third best New York Italian restaurant: the manager and the chef come from Felidia, the place of the famous Lidia Bastianich, mother of Joe Bastianich. Opened in 1981 with the intention of offering regional Italian cuisine, it is now an icon of Italian food in the Big Apple. The menu combines tradition and innovation, in the atmosphere one breathes the Italian style perfectly integrated with the American one.
Dish not to be missed: Ravioli with cheese and pears
The experts' votes: Authenticity 8, Style 7, Tradition 9, Innovation 8
Badges assigned by La Cucina Italiana: 3

Tasty treats

Between one restaurant and another, Maddalena and Emanuele are tempted by other delicious insignia. From Myrtle Bagel they enjoy tasting bagels, typical of Eastern Europe, but much loved by New Yorkers: good with salmon, cream cheese, red onions, capers and tomatoes, minus the one with strawberry cream cheese. To the Pisellino Bar the two experts taste, instead, a real Italian coffee, drunk at the bar and served with a glass of water and cantucci.

The next episode

Now all that remains is to fly to Paris for the next tour!