QUALITALY_128

April/May 202 2 X MAGAZINE hours because I was hungry to learn, to understand table service, washing, that universe that has opened up since 1997 and where I wanted to do everything. I also tell my 15-year-old daughter: whatever job you decide to do, you have to get your hands dirty and understand all its aspects. THEN THERE IS THE PROBLEM OF THE DINING ROOM... If I were born again I would be a maître d’, I already am but people see me as a cook. I’m in the dining room all evening, I’m a sommelier, a waiter, I explain, I tell stories, attend to things. The chef host was an all- round figure who took care of everything. Then there was TV, which created a lot of wellbeing but also idealised the role. The chef is a figure that people have invented and that they are starting to hate: the more you talk about it, the more people hate you, especially in times of global crisis. HAS COVID CHANGED ANYTHING IN YOUR APPROACH TO THE RESTAURANT? Covid is the present and will be the future: everything has changed. But it has allowed me to do the thing I like best and have been doing for 33 years: looking after others through food. They called me from Niguarda hospital and I opened the kitchens of my restaurant for them when everything was closed. I started cooking for the needy in Palermo at the beginning of the 1980s, and I have always cooked for communities, the poor, prisoners; with Emergency I did refugee camps. RELATIONSHIPS HAVE CHANGED AND SO HAS THE SENSE OF TIME. The time is lost, if I live in here from 9 a.m. to half past midnight what’s my lifestyle? I admire the courage of those colleagues who have managed to work less, devote themselves more to themselves and have totally changed their lifestyle, which unfortunately I cannot do. I finish and am reborn, I finish and start again. HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE YOUR CUISINE? Social, dedicated to others, plural. That’s all. Every palate is a trial, if the customer does not like a dish I will change it or he won’t pay for it. HOW WAS THE NEW RESTAURANT DESIGNED? It’s a new concept, and I like the fact that it’s frequented by my clients from Piazza Risorgimento (the previous venue closed in 2020, ed ). They come to see me in a place that’s not easy - we are at the station, you have to find parking, you have to fit into an environment that is a central market, the bathrooms are shared - but my architect friend Piero Lissoni, who has always done my restaurants and for whom I have great admiration, recommended it to me. He stitched together part of what we already had from the previous restaurant. People like it, it’s a bit industrial, a bit workshop, there’s design. From September I’ll be having music four times a month, blues and rock, because it’s an idea I’ve had for at least ten years: and this time I’m going to do it, I’m going to take some more time to settle in. “IT’S ALL ONE. THERE WOULDN’T BE A COOK IF THERE WASN’T A PHOTOGRAPHER, THERE WOULDN’T BE A MOTORBIKE IF I HAD NOT PLAYED THE HARMONICA. I’M SOMEONE WHO REPRESENTS THE ‘60S IN FULL: A LITTLE BIT OF A ROCKER, A LITTLE BIT OF A BIKER, A LITTLE BIT CRACKED BUT NOT TOO MUCH: THAT’S MY GENERATION.” __________________________________ RECIPE COUSCOUS WITH BASIL PESTO, ALMONDS, LEMON AND CAPERS Ingredients for 4 people 200 g pre-cooked couscous a bunch of basil 10 mint leaves 100 g peeled almonds 20 lemon segments, peeled raw 50 g salted capers extra virgin olive oil salt Preparation To prepare the couscous, place the semolina in a container, pour in boiling salted water to cover and leave to stand for about a minute. Add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and work the semolina with a fork to separate the grains. For the pesto, coarsely blend the basil, some mint leaves, the almonds and the previously desalinated capers with three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and three tablespoons of water. When the pesto has reached an even appearance and consistency, slowly add it to the couscous, with the lemon wedges and the remaining mint leaves. __________________________________ AT PAGE 36-38 DID YOU KNOW? The chocolate winks at the savoury Chefs and chocolate experts suggest some ideas for incorporating this tasty ingredient into different savoury recipes. by Elena Consonni Can chocolate break the mould and go beyond the dessert section of the menu?