Tag: years

After 20 years of broadcasting, La Prova del Cuoco has closed its doors – Italian Cuisine

Elisa Isoardi conducted the latest episode of the Italian generalist television program par excellence, brought to success by Antonella Clerici with songs, challenges between chefs and gaffes that went down in history

It was October 2, 2000. Humanity had now escaped the pitfalls of the millenium bug for a few months, the radios played obsessively compulsive "Vamos a Bailar" by Paola & Chiara at any time of day or night, and jeans at low waist – sometimes very low – depopulated without shame in the wardrobes of all the under 25s of Italy. Meanwhile on Rai 1, just before the appointment with the mid-day news, a program made its official debut to rewrite the relationship between television and kitchen: that was the day on which the very first episode of "The cook's test", daughter of the British "Ready Steady Cook" format, with a radiant Antonella Clerici ready to extricate itself daily between the proposals of the two rival kitchens of the game. That of the Red Tomato and that of the Green Pepper, of course.

Today, almost 20 years after that epic debut, the broadcast has officially closed its doors, with its current presenter, Elisa Isoardi, visibly moved next to co-host Claudio Lippi. In between, two unforgettable decades of small screen, during which a simple cathodic challenge between chefs and more or less skilled cookers has been able to turn into a real cultural bulwark, capable of stimulating the Italian passion for cooking like no generalist television program has ever managed to do.

So, while in the Rome studio, pots and pans are being cleaned for the last time, the most faithful viewers can only get excited by remembering these 20 years dotted with improbable culinary lessons between Anna Moroni and Antonella Clerici, of recipes sometimes only half done, of treatises of gastronomy of the meticulous Beppe Bigazzi, of "Tagliatelle di nonna Pina" in abundance and of television faults gone down in history. But also of a lot, a lot of food culture, told through the experience and the smiles of the chefs, sommeliers, housewives and yes, obviously also of the two conductors who succeeded each other at the helm of the show, Antonella Clerici and Elisa Isoardi.

Of course, perhaps the last seasons of the program have not been able to shine for listening, with the changes introduced in the race – in the themes and in the protagonists – that have not always met the expectations of the public. "I'm sorry because it was beautiful, because it was twenty years old and because I carry everyone's smile in my heart. Thanks for what you have given me, I hope this is a goodbye and not a farewell ", wanted to underline Elisa Isoardi at the end of the last tip of today. Meanwhile, however, there are already those who hypothesize a return in September by Antonella Clerici in the noon of Rai1, with a new program ready to somehow reap the legacy of "The Proof of the Cook". That yes, beyond the legitimate nostalgia of today, it will always remain the most shining milestone of the TV of the stove: because before MasterChef, before 4 Restaurants, before all the Nightmare Kitchens and the Courtesies for the Guests there were the songs and the sautéed in joy of "The Test of the Cook". And we can never forget this.

85 years of history in a saffron sachet – Italian Cuisine

It was way back in 1935 when Saffron 3 Chefs he created the first sachet of saffron powder as we know it today, or almost. And so are 85 the candles that blows out the June 12th the product of the company founded by Gianni Mangini in 1933.

If today a normal gesture appears open the saffron sachet to cook, for example, the classic saffron risotto, 80 years ago it was far from a foregone conclusion.
Back then saffron was a wanted grocery product: it was sold in bulk, complete with a pharmaceutical balance, since it has always been a rather exclusive item (Currently, 150,000 flowers and 500 hours of work are needed to obtain 1 kg of dried saffron).

Here the story begins …

At the beginning of the twentieth century there were several companies that worked saffron, used for centuries as a dye, in cosmetics and medicine, even before in the kitchen.

But Mangini's great intuition was to focus on food use, packaging a high quality saffron in sachets already dosed and ready for use. Luxury product, yes, of course, but also practical. From the beginning.

The very first bags they were sober, bearing only the name of the entrepreneur and that of the grocer who sold it to retail. The innovation of 1935 it was precisely to characterize them with the illustrated brand that we know today: thanks to the contribution of an English painter, the image is studied with the characteristic 3 chefs, evidently from three different corners of the world, to offer three dishes with a cloche that they suggest extraordinary delicacies.

Knowing the history of Italian companies of the past always has a certain charm. Rummaging through the papers of the 1900s, in fact, it emerges that to regulate the matter was a Royal decree of 1936, which identified only the apical part of the stylus as saffron, the one with the stigmas of the Crocus Sativus Linnaeus. The importances label it already emerged back then: in fact the wording "pure guaranteed" was reported in the packaging to underline the high quality.

Before and after the Great War

Quality was the guiding thread even in the dark years of the Great War.

The most extensive crops saffron in Italy at the time were in Central Italy, particularly in the province of L'Aquila. When northern Italy was separated from southern Italy and contacts with L'Aquila were interrupted due to the war, Mangini decided to temporarily suspend the activity, so as not to find himself offering an inadequate product compared to the usual standards.

And after the war, the rebirth and the blossoming of the creativity:
from the wooden container for the saffron sachets in the shape of a 1948 pickup truck, a toy loved by children, to metal boxes displayed in drugstores of the 1957, from wooden boxes as a small furnishing accessory to store small items from 1958, to the first innovative advertising posters from the 60s and 70s. All items today cult and collectible.

Over time, the certainty and safety of innovation and research, which have allowed over time to create blends of high and constant quality over time, with all the care, work and attention that are due to the flowers.
With 20 saffron flowers and 60 pistils you get a bag of Saffron 3 Chefs of 0.15 g and, add the real gourmands, also an excellent risotto, lasagna, aromatic bread and unusual sweet creams.

Barbara Roncarolo
May 2020

101 years old and not hearing them: at Battaglino di Bra – Italian Cuisine

A historical trattoria that has seen a lot of history pass between its tables, sliding from generation to generation, to date, led by Alessia Battaglino

Trattoria it comes from french traiteur, referring to the person who "treats" or prepares the food to serve it cooked (from Latin tractare, handle, take care). Tavern has in itself the full concept of hospitality (from the Latin hospes) and indicates since ancient times a place to eat and often even sleep.

Once upon a time there was a train …

That of Battalion of Bra it is a story that begins in 1919 with a woman and with a woman he goes up to the present day. The founder is called Emma Berrino, born in 1884, and her whole life was marked by the rattling of trains on the rails: not only is she the daughter of a railway worker and she has married a stoker, Sebastiano Battaglino, but his restaurant is close to the station, if God wants, so that his most loyal customers are also employees of the railway tracks, in addition of course to people in transit. Everyone appreciates the traditional recipes prepared by that petite and shy woman with a stubborn, very Piedmontese care, who gets help from her two children, Carlo and Gigina.

The story: all from Battaglino

Sebastiano, for his part, passes casually from the boiler of the puffing locomotives to the stove and when the dark years of fascism as a good socialist arrive he refuses to join the party and is fired: so he takes off his railway uniform and wears the white chef apron, that will never take off again.

Colleagues remain loyal to him. "Where do you go to eat? But from Battaglino! " And if a traveler asks where to put his legs under the table, the answer is always the same: at Battaglino, isn't it?

In the thirties Emma and Sebastiano move and grow. They move in piazza Rome, just in front of the Bra station. It is a large house, with a farmyard embellished with a spectacular wisteria. The restaurant becomes the Battaglino restaurant "with accommodation, stable and garage". All this is very pleasing to the cadets and official students of the nearby military schools in the Cuneo area and even in Turin, who on Sunday, in free exit, go to Battaglino for lunch with the whole family.

The young Battaglino, Carlo and Gigina, have catering in the DNA: she will work with her parents until 1947, when she will marry a regular of the place and will open a restaurant of her own in Turin. Carlo, more adventurous, is passionate about opera, he volunteers for Abyssinia to forget very romantically a love he believes lost and only on his return, when he finally manages to crown his dream and marry his beloved, while putting on the ring on his finger he lets his apron fasten to his waist, while new winds of war begin to blow.

History on the plate

Bra intensely suffers that eventful period for the Cuneo area, barracks and military garrison area, occupied by the SS after the armistice of 8 September 1943 and bombed by the allies, and Battaglino continue to feed everyone, dominating the apprehension for partisan relatives.

When the war ends and normal life begins again, a table must be reserved for a new illustrious client. Is called Luigi Einaudi, was born less than thirty kilometers from Bra and in 1948 became the President of the republic. Sebastiano, more modestly, will have the knight's cross.

In the meantime, Carlo's children, Nino and Beppe, grow up, with the satisfaction of seeing the volcanic father also participate in Leave or double? It will be up to them to "double", on the death of their father, in 1974, and prove themselves up to past traditions, with the extraordinary wives, Elsa and Maria Teresa, who leave their external employment one after the other for the love of Battaglino.

A special territory

And after all, in Bra you can breathe this passion for catering: right there in 1989 a famous D0c Bravo gourmet, Carlìn Petrini, friend and assiduous customer of Battaglino, founded Slow Food, to "restore the right value to food, with respect of those who produce, in harmony with the environment and ecosystems, thanks to the knowledge of which territories and local traditions are custodians .

In 1996 Beppe remains only for the untimely death of Nino. When his wife Maria Teresa falls ill, their daughter Alessia, who graduated in Milan in 2002 and is following a completely different path of life, returns home to help out. It will never go away: the "call of the Battaglino" is too strong. Since 2010, she, Alessia Battaglino, has held the helm of the family business and led her to overcome the milestone of the century of history.

The founder's wisteria is always there, beautiful, transformed into modern dehors, to mark the seasons, the generations, to flourish every spring, to celebrate these first hundred years, to demonstrate the resilience of a territory, its people, its splendid women.

The president's recipe

When he stopped at the Battaglino passing through Bra, going towards his Dogliani residence with his wife Ida, Luigi Einaudi always ordered the same thing, his favorite dish: tajarin with butter and a chicken leg boiled from the boiled meat cart.

This is the recipe that Battaglino gives to readers of La Cucina italiana, while waiting to welcome them in person in Bra. In the meantime, from April, it also makes delivery!

Battaglino's Tajarin

Ingredients for 4 people

flour (semi-wholemeal), 400 g.
eggs, 5 (4 yolks, 1 whole)
water, ½ glass
Salt to taste. (a pinch)

Method

Mix everything together with the lukewarm water and work the dough carefully until you have a smooth and firm ball. Roll out the dough and let it dry for 15-20 minutes. Gently roll the pasta sheets and cut them into very thin strips, by machine or with a smooth blade knife.

They can be seasoned with ragù (perfect that of Bra sausage, made with 80% beef), for a tastier dish, but many love them simply with butter and sage.

Recommended wines in combination

For the Tajarin with ragù: Barolo di La Morra (preferably vintage 2011 or 2013).
For the Tajarin butter and sage: Roero

Battaglino restaurant
Piazza Roma, 18 – 12042 Bra (CN)
Tel: 0172 412509 – email: info@ristorantebattaglino.it
Also delivery

Text by Marina Migliavacca