Tag: tells

Culinary harmony, when music tells the story of Gualtiero Marchesi – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

Culinary harmony, when music tells the story of Gualtiero Marchesi


What if Gualtiero Marchesi had he not been a cook, but a musician? This alternative vision is suggested by the format Culinary harmonya special dinner in which its historic dishes are expressed through the music proposed byAlinde Quartet. The debut took place on the evening of 94th anniversary of the birth of the Maestrolast March 19, in the only restaurant in the world that brings his authentic gastronomic works to the menu, the Gualtiero Marchesi Terrace at Grand Hotel Tremezzo.

At the table I was lucky enough to be in the company of co-protagonists of this important piece in the history of Italian cuisine: on the one hand the Maestro’s son-in-law and right-hand man, Enrico Dandoloand on the other i Mr and Mrs De Santis, owners of the hospitality facility and family friends. There are many unpublished anecdotes that paint a portrait of Gualtiero Marchesi much more human than what the books want us to believe – for example, those evenings concluded with chocolate ice cream and Crêpes Suzette despite diabetes, described affectionately by Mrs. De Santis (also a great fan of La Cucina Italiana).

Investigating the human side of great figures enriches official portraits with even unexpected nuances: hearing from Enrico Dandolo as he knew Simona Marchesi (volunteering in the Red Cross was a prisoner) and he asked the Master for her hand is exciting to say the least. Enrico was indispensable for 27 years alongside his father-in-law, going from computer scientist to his right-hand man, to put it simply – after all, it was he who computerize the Marchesi restaurant at La Rinascente first, then at the Fondazione. «He came to the office in the morning with a new idea, when there were 100 others still to be developed!, Like the (mis)adventure of Marchesi signature sandwiches for McDonald’s in 2011he says smiling, aware of the great treasure that together with his family he is destined to protect and disseminate.

Seeing your eyes shine Simona Marchesi in the memory of his father he is engaging as are the words he chooses to describe him with disarming sincerity: a harmonious, sweet, affectionate, refined, elegant, always light-hearted, optimistic, humble, simple person with brilliant creativity, very determined and courageous, above all a man free from preconceptions, open and very curious about life, in search of beauty – a man of intellect in search of essentiality. And yes, adds the Master’s daughter, perhaps cooking was not his ambition, but a way of expressing his need to search for beauty and therefore to make the dish immortal through the sublimation of the cuisine used: «as he himself maintained, the cuisine of truth, the cuisine of form, the cuisine of matter. Attracted by art, music and adventure, Gualtiero Marchesi felt the need to develop his inclinations and passions, so he cultivates his artistic talent through frequenting artists, painters, sculptors and musicians. He even starts studying the piano, ending up marrying his teacher, Antonietta Cassisaa wonderful pianist, daughter of art, who becomes his muse.

How much sugar does my child consume? The sugar meter tells you! – Italian Cuisine

How much sugar does my child consume? The sugar meter tells you!


A new online tool is born to compare how much sugar our children consume with how much they should consume to avoid health risks

Excessive consumption of sugar in the diet can cause health problems. According to the Larns (Reference Intake Levels for the Italian Population) drawn up by the Sinu (Italian Society of Human Nutrition), the consumption of sugars (those naturally present in foods and those added) should be limited to quantities of less than 15% of the energy introduced daily, while a high intake, i.e. greater than 25% of the total daily energy, is to be considered potentially risky for the development, for example, of obesity is diabetes. In this sense, the most at risk are the children, more subject to the consumption of baked goods, sweets, juices, ice cream For this reason, nutritionists and pediatricians engaged in the service of Grana Padano Nutritional Education, the sector of the Grana Padano Consortium that has been promoting and disseminating the principles of balanced nutrition for over ten years, have devised a tool which allows you to calculate sugar that every day is consumed compared to what one should consume, also proposing healthy alternatives with less sugar.

Sugarometer, a tool for pediatricians, schools, families

The sugar meter can be used by smartphone, tablet or PC and is already available at this link. The program, supporting a pediatricians, schools and families, it can be used by the doctor and dietician as part of the food anamnesis, in the classroom as a teaching tool and in the family to guide the parent towards a more responsible choice of food for their children.

How the sugar meter works

With a simple click on the foods that are consumed daily and after indicating the quantity, the tool adds up the simple sugars consumed in a day from males and females from 2 to 17 years, measuring both the sugar naturally present in the food, and the added sugars during the processing of baked goods, ice creams, creams, etc., such as sucrose and fructose. After displaying the sum of the teaspoons of sugar consumed in a day, the program la compare with the amount of sugar you should be taking instead according to the Larn benchmarks. The sugar meter does not just warn about the excessive consumption of sugars, but also provides a free pdf manual that offers healthier alternative foods with less sugar, including simple recipes to make at home, as well as useful notes to learn more about the food and its consumption limits.

Beware of added fructose

An 8-year-old male child should on average consume no more than 7-8 teaspoons of sugar in a day, including that naturally contained in the food. According to the experts it is fine favor the sugar naturally contained in food, for example fructose in fresh fruit or lactose in milk, but you have to limit the added amount and to sweeten prefer honey. It is also important to limit the consumption of beverages and foods formulated with fructose and high fructose corn syrups, as well as reducing the use of fructose such as sweetener.

"In addition to the excessive consumption of sugar, a big problem that we have been observing for a long time, in recent years the intake of fructose added to drinks and foods has increased," explained the professor Claudio Maffeis, Full Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Verona. «This contributes to the appearance of fat liver and the increase in circulating levels of lipids and has been indicated as one of the factors that promote excess weight and metabolic syndrome. So good there fresh fruit, but pay attention to sucrose (commonly understood sugar as well as disaccharide, ie glucose + fructose) which is usually added to drinks and foods, to fructose used to sweeten some drinks and to fruit juices or packaged foods .

Beppe Palmieri, the best maître in the world, tells his story – Italian Cuisine


Interview with the master and sommelier of the Franciscan Osteria in Modena. That reveals the honors and burdens of a room master. Between rigor, passatelli and zero alcohol. In 25 career years

"This is the historic office of me and Massimo, it has existed for about 15 years. A space only ours .

I'm with Giuseppe Palmieri, called Beppe, restaurant manager, maître historian and sommelier of the Franciscan Osteria in Modena, in his "secret refuge" a stone's throw from the restaurant, a place full of contemporary art, a long wooden table, like those of the famous Franciscan Refectors of the Food for Soul project, for their meetings and a wardrobe room where he, very elegant, changes every day before the service. Called "the most famous waiter in the world", Palmieri is practically a legend in the sector. But he mocks "I consciously chose the role of wingman years ago", but without victimization, indeed "the real revolution takes place in the dining room. It is here that the economic success and ideas of a chef are decreed. What makes the difference? The human factor . We at La Cucina Italiana spent a day with the staff of Massimo Bottura's restaurant, (the service in the July issue, co-directed with the chef) twice better in the world according to the ranking World’s 50 Best Restaurant, also meeting him, since 2000 at the service in via Stella, in Modena, in the room taken 5 years earlier by Bottura. Born in Matera in 1975, a strong and determined character, he has a blog with the evocative name Glocal, a manifesto of his vision of food and catering, a book «Room and Kitchen (Artioli 1899, pp. 169, 35 euros), logbook of his experience in Osteria Francescana. Entrepreneur, he managed for 7 years a grocery store selling high quality sandwiches, in Modena, the legendary Geni Alimentari Da Panino, which after the lockdown decided to close but only to look at new adventures and «keep up with the times .

How do you manage a hall from the first in the world?
«It has always been natural for us to look at the collective, there are no groups: for this reason, from the oldest to the youngest we have always placed and related on the same level. I built it immediately: to function, our structure could not be vertical but horizontal, making us equally responsible ".

What does a good waiter stand out from?
«I love to repeat that waiters are made, not born, experience, work ethic are required. Then the leadership and talent actually emerge on their own. A leader is recognized for his sense of responsibility towards his colleagues. I find the term "collaborators" detestable. If you invest in an authentic way on a relationship of esteem and friendship between colleagues in a strong way, great respect is born, there are no subordinates .

Explain yourself better
«If you have a dream, you need others to make it happen: everyone must give something, with the same commitment, with the utmost pride. Then of course, it takes self-discipline and an exceptional psychophysical condition that allows you to go beyond your limits. We must be well, be happy with what we do. If the individual is not aligned, it compromises the work of the whole .

It is said that even if Hell is in the kitchen, Heaven must reign in the dining room. How do you find time to recharge and how do you manage to always transmit harmony, even in your busy days?
"There is a very important moment for me and it is when I come to my" bedroom ", as I call it, right in this studio. Here I change and pick up my clothes. I have a ritual that particularly relaxes me: I rinse my face, always rest the keys on the same place, brush my teeth, choose the dress, polish the shoes, tie my tie. In all, I don't spend more than 10 minutes .

Very short as relaxation.
"It's the spirit of the room, you can't stop."

It is always very elegant: is shape also substance?
«I think so, given my role. Even in what I wear, I want to give importance to my past, and therefore to things that are of a certain age. Let me give you an example: a shirt or a jacket even if they wear out, I am certainly not to be archived: first of all because they remind me of experiences and those lived moments give value. Then because a quality garment, the older it gets, the more beautiful it is. Imperfections give charm .

Is there a dish that you associate with many meals eaten with the staff of the Osteria Francescana? Maybe a holiday recipe?

«I think what I loved most here was the passatelli in broth. When we grant them, and occasions are really rare, that dish takes on the connotations of a kind of comfort. It represents us more than others because it is a great historical recipe from Emilia. Then it has a symbolic value: it is the recovery dish par excellence, although prepared with noble ingredients. Broth is a luxury: to make it good, you need excellent raw materials and a long time. Finally, there is a world in the dough for passatelli: the bread crumbs and another main ingredient for us of the Francescana, or the crusts of Parmigiano Reggiano. Finally, to prepare them you need the contribution of an entire community because you have to collect many ingredients. Usually it works like this: there are those who remember that there are two bags of leftover bread or a little grated Parmesan. Then in 2 or 3 the broth is prepared. It is one of the dishes of our collective in which I have not seen anyone reject the encore. Then, every time there is a comic aspect … ".

Comic?
«Yes: the moment you use passatelli, the rough path from the pot to the chair begins. We see broths falling, people sliding. We laugh. This too is part of the party, of the magic .

In the Franciscan hall, there are incredible works of contemporary art: what do they represent for you?
"Those who make avant-garde re-discuss the classics: here, these works are the proof, the summa. On the other hand, I like to think that we have always lived in rigor. "

In fact, his motto is "low profile, very high performance". It has a military feel to it.
"Exact. From an artistic point of view there is a work that represents me and that I find at the same time a milestone. It has been exhibited for several years right here in Franciscan: Us Navy Seals by Vanessa Beecroft. For the first time a woman managed to photograph these deployed US Navy soldiers. It means breaking a bulwark. The same approach that guides the creation of our dishes .


You are a great sommelier: how does the staff toast?
"It does not do it. In our history of the Franciscan, in 25 years, we have never drunk a glass of wine. We love what we do so much that we couldn't do otherwise. The luxury of a good glass of wine, whether it is a Nebbiolo, a Sangiovese, a Lambrusco or a glass of Bordeaux, we grant it when we are not operating. The secret for those who do our job is concentration in the intensity of the effort. Always".

Proudly powered by WordPress

By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. Click here to read more information about data collection for ads personalisation

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Read more about data collection for ads personalisation our in our Cookies Policy page

Close