CULINARY / WINE
- Paolo Lopriore
- Davide Scabin
Nuove Tradizioni
The Italian kitchen is one of the most nomadic worldwide. As Italian immigrants travelled abroad their kitchen crossed all confines to become one of the most beloved for its simple ingredient combinations, winning flavours and healthy composition.
With critical acclaim from international journalists and gourmet guides such as Michelin and The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, a new generation of Italian chefs are challenging traditions and making ones of their own. For the occasion of the 2012 Tuscan Sun Festival in Florence, five outstanding Italian chefs will be sharing their ideas and unconventional creations with diners at the restaurant of J.K. Place and the Four Seasons Hotel in the heart of Florence.
Each lunch will begin with a chef’s demonstration. The demonstration will describe in detail the concept and technique behind one of the dishes prepared during the 5 course lunch. Each meal will be accompanied by a carefully chosen wine pairing. The chefs will be available for discussion and questions after lunch service.
There are 30 reservations available at each lunch, creating an exclusive and informal atmosphere for the most discerning and select diners.
J.K. Place
Tuesday 12 June 2012, 12.30
with Paolo Lopriore
Head Chef, Il Canto, Siena
A poet in Collodi's landscape, unlike Pinocchio Paolo Lopriore never tells lies. A heartfelt reflection on tuscan cuisine, his dishes always take the road less travelled. Lopriore's menu draws from the vegetable garden behind the ex-monastery at Certosa di Maggiano with a wide range of flavours from bitter to smoked through all the unaltered states of a courageous palate.
Menu
Amuse bouche
"Zimino" of squids
Tomato ravioli with cacio-ricotta cheese & oregano
Pigeon in vin santo
Coffee & sambuca
Parfait of smoked sugar with liquorice & fennel
Thursday 14 June 2012, 12.30
with Davide Scabin
Head Chef, Combal.Zero, Rivoli (Turin)
From Piemonte’s glorious land of wine and truffles, comes Davide Scabin's spin on the multilayered bourgeois tradition. A world of complex saveurs brought back to life from a long forgotten past through the eyes and the imagination of the hectic, frantic, unpredictable, uncontrollable truly enfant terrible of Italian cutting edge cuisine. Scabin's menu will focus on the irreverent side of classical traditions.
Menu
APPETIZER
Vitello tonnato Combal style
Pasta Shake
LUNCH
Cyber eggs®
Empire State Peppers
Saffron “Ricetube” with burrata and black truffle caviar
Eggplant tataki and Tomato Combal Blend®
Piedmont Fassona beef fillet in the fireplace
An Americano in Florence
Baby Bonnet
Friday 15 June 2012, 12.30
with Carlo Cracco
Head Chef, Ristorante Cracco, Milan
The handsome modernist Milanese chef and TV star treats his high end cuisine with truly rigourous sensuality. Full bodied flavours meet ironic gestures and come together in pure, clean shapes. Cracco's menu pulls some classics out of the hat from his much acclaimed Milan Restaurant Cracco and adds a few never seen before tricks just to keep you on your toes...with style.
Menu
Caramelized russian salad
Crunchy egg yolk with sea scallop and marinated turnip with shiso leaves
Risotto with green tomatoes, toasted pine nuts and row shrimps
Pork fillet with liquorice, tropea onions and celery
Almond granite with peas
Frozen fruits
Sunday 17 June 2012, 12.30
with Massimo Bottura
Head Chef, Osteria Francescana, Modena
From the robust and hardy flavours of Emilia Romagna comes a three starred chef who has his feet on the ground but his head in the clouds. This dreamer will take you aboard his 1.500 mile poetic journey through Italy. A singular invitation from the northern flatlands of the Po river down to the furtherest southern corner of the Sicilian coast, Massimo Bottura's menu reminiscences the historic Grand Tour while leaving behind any form of indulgent nostalgia. Come to Italy with me.
Menu - Come to Italy with me
Sicilian granita with almonds, capers, coffee cream and bergamot
Salt cod filet in verdute olive and tomato broth, served with dried tomato pesto, bitter almonds and fragrances of Pantelleria
Caprese: raviolo of ricotta from Rivabianca, tomato confit and basil oil and basil extract
Veal roast in truffle crust with red beet emulsion with extra old Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena
Bell'Italia: Buffalo mozzarella foam, smoked Alpeggio ricotta, candied taggiasche olives, candied bergamot, capers, mint, oregano, hot pepper oil and hazelnuts.
Tuscan Sun Festival 2012 Friends of the Festival lunch at Four Seasons Hotel Firenze
Saturday 16 June 2012, 12.30
with Head Chef Vito Mollica
Vito Mollica, Executive Chef of the Four Seasons Hotel Firenze, aims to preserve the culinary origins of Basilicata (Italy), his home 
region as well as supporting small producers, old-style markets and local varieties of beautiful Tuscany. Vito bases his kitchen philosophy on ‘knowing the man behind the product’ while the main value of his dishes is the quality of the most genuine ingredients. This is a memorable year for Vito’s career: with the first Michelin Star freshly received, “Il Palagio” joined the list of the new 2012 starred Italian restaurants.
