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April/May 202 2 IX MAGAZINE __________________________________ BOX Major feed platforms Internet sites www.atrattoria.it www.eltacomaki.com www.facebook.com/insultaresutrip/ www.facebook.com/vecchiapertura www.gomez.restaurant www.ilmororistorante.it www.lafiletteriaitaliana.it www.liquorsbar.it www.magnaki.it www.particolaremilano.com www.plateform.app www.qualitando.com www.restaurant.thedryaged.it www.saintmonza.com www.thebeachluxury.com __________________________________ AT PAGE 32-35 CHEF’S FACES La Mantia: my way HE HATES FRIED FOOD AND LOVES CITRUS FRUITS, HE WORKS IN THE RESTAURANT AND IS ALSO A WAITER. IF SOMEONE DOESN’T LIKE A DISH, HE DOESN’T CHARGE FOR IT. HE CALLS HIMSELF A RESTAURANT ANARCHIST. THE SICILIAN CHEF, AFTER THE PAN- DEMIC, STARTS AGAIN WITH A NEW RESTAURANT. by Anna Muzio If you have your own idea of what a professional chef should be like, the right way to unhinge it - because unhinging stereotypes is always a good business - is to have a chat with Filippo La Mantia. We meet the Sicilian “owner-chef ” in his new restaurant at Milan’s Mercato Centrale, opened after the “pandemic closure” of his previous establishment. It’s a warm place, a little bit home, a little bit lounge, a little bit restaurant and art gallery. With armchairs to sit and read a book and, on the walls and shelves, black and white portraits by Gianmarco Chieregato, “a mix of people I have cooked for”, the surreal photos of Maria Vittoria Backhaus, the Sicilian heads of Stefania Boemi. Born in 1960, he made his debut as a photojournalist in 1970s and 1980s Palermo with Letizia Battaglia. “We lived in the same house I was engaged to her daughter. She opened up parallel universes to me, made me read a lot of books, explained to me what perception and intuition were, not art. She was one of the most important people in my life. Then, at the age of 25, she was imprisoned for seven months for a miscarriage of justice. WHERE DID THE COOKING COME FROM? I’ve always had it inside me, I grew up in a family where food was linked to well-being, to family, to happiness, to exchange. There was my grandmother’s house where, on weekends, all the children and grandchildren would gather and you could smell the mixed scents of tomato, aubergine, cinnamon and almonds. It was a sort of private market where inside each hatch there was something to eat. For me, food has always been a means of communication, to make people understand where you come from, who you are: it’s pure identity. WHAT INGREDIENTS ARE A MUST IN YOUR KITCHEN? I don’t have a fetish ingredient but I love citrus fruits. Orange is a paradox, it’s winter but when you eat it you think of summer because it’s fresh, sugary, sour. Lemon is almost always there; I like bergamot a lot even if it’s not Sicilian. Citrus fruit is a universe on which I have based all my cooking. I’ve never liked garlic, onions, shallots or leeks. And I’ve always cooked without them; with all due respect to the farmers who produce them, sautéing doesn’t exist for me, and I’ve done without it for 26 years. ADVICE FOR KIDS STARTING TODAY? I talk to them every day. I’m doing hundreds of interviews because I can’t find the right fit in the restaurant. The guys today are discouraged but I understand them too: they tell you they have been exploited, paid badly, they’ve had promises broken. I could never afford to exploit an employee, for me it’s science fiction. Now I’m forced to have interviews with my labour lawyer at my side explaining how hours, payroll and overtime work because they are prejudiced about everything. They idealise us as rich and famous superstars, but it’s not like that. I have always lived through work, until 2014 I was on a payroll. I even worked 18