The new course of “Il Palagio” (Four Seasons Hotel Firenze) told in 6 courses
We stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel Firenze to try the tasting menu of the starred restaurant “Il Palagio”, by the new Executive Chef Paolo Lavezzini. From entrée to dessert, we present it dish by dish.
“Il Palagio” restarts with the new Executive Chef Paolo Lavezzini and its new “della Gherardesca” menu. Last 8 October the enchanting starred restaurant of Four Seasons Hotel Florence has finally reopened its doors in the name of news. The legacy left by Vito Mollica in the kitchen, on the other hand, is an important one, but after 10 years of work in Brazil, the former Chef of the Hotel Fasano in Rio de Janeiro and Four Seasons Hotel São Paulo is back in Italy. with clear, very clear ideas.
Your tasting proposal? A journey to discover Tuscany and the flavors of its nature through the seasons. A menu in perpetual motion, conceived not by chance during a walk in the Gherardesca Park, the splendid private park that frames Four Seasons Hotel Firenze among plants, trees, colors and scents, which already leaves a clear imprint on the new food course of one of the most popular and sought-after structures in the city.
In the welcoming “Il Palagio “, with an impeccable service and a wine pairing well studied by the Sommelier Cosimo Massaro, the six courses prepared by Lavezzini and his brigade take the guest – Florentine, Italian or international – by the hand and guide him on a sensory journey that plays with sight, but certainly does not joke with smell and taste. But not before having consumed the sacred ritual of the aperitif, with an elegant bubble or letting yourself be surprised by the whimsical signature cocktails Edoardo Sandri and more generally “Lobby bar”, served together with a special casket box reminiscent of a jewelry box, where each snack deliberately recalls a specific sensation of the Gherardesca Park.
What better way to tell you about the new tasting menu of the restaurant of the Four Seasons Hotel Florence, fresh from the confirmation of the star and for a long time determined to win a second one, if not by presenting every single course in detail?
1) Beetroot, almonds, bay leaves
Combining a beetroot with almond ice cream might seem like a gamble, but Lavezzini’s entrée immediately suggests his philosophy: a “cuisine of memory”, which takes the diner back in time thanks to familiar flavors such as that of ice cream , but then literally leave him speechless through unexpected contrasts of temperatures, shapes and colors. Also thanks to the wine pairing (this of the many is the one that struck us most), since the aforementioned dish is served together with a sweet sake.
2) Amberjack from the Tyrrhenian Sea, apple, radicchio and leavened butter
Bitter-sweet and refreshing, this second course breaks the taboo of cheese with fish, offering overall a minimalist harmony in its presentation and an enveloping totality in its tasting. In this case we have the perfect link between the audacity of the entrée and the local certainty of the risotto.
3) Lightly smoked risotto and seasonal cabbages
Here we are with the first, destined in all likelihood to become the manifesto of Lavezzini’s cuisine. The protagonist here is the past, a past that comes back to life in the memories and in the palate of the guests with an icon of Italian tradition such as risotto. Behind this dish, however, there are modern and advanced techniques, which allow you to link together different types of cooking and textures of food with smoked butter as a never cloying thread.
4) Guinea fowl agnolotti, Parmesan cream Reggiano and porcini mushrooms
The second first that is proposed to us is the other signature of Lavezzini, but what a difference the chef’s Parma origins from the previous one instead of relying on the diner’s memory. The memories that arise thanks to the agnolotti are in fact those of Lavezzini himself, who takes one of his grandmother’s recipes to take it one step further through the guinea fowl filling and the creaminess of Parmigiano Reggiano.
5) Lamb shoulder braised and glazed with wild licorice, mixed salad with grapes and hearts of lettuce
I told you about a trip and expectations are certainly not disappointed. The path of “Il Palagio”, after Emilia Romagna, brings us back to Tuscany with a second course that well represents the land that today sees the chef as protagonist. A mix of textures and shades, combined with a full-bodied red to give that sense of fullness typical of a self-respecting meat dish.
* And for those who don’t like lamb? As an alternative to the second on the tasting menu, you can choose a dish that Lavezzini in Brazil had dedicated to Tuscany and which here, vice versa, is dedicated to Brazil: Stewed Sienese suckling pig in olive oil, black cabbage, green banana and chilli.
6) Variation of green apple and lime, extra virgin olive oil and basil and almond pesto
Cherry on the cake? Indeed, an apple and not a cherry, rebuilt as with a 3D printer to cyclically close our walk in the Giardino della Gherardesca. All this, through raw materials that enhance the excellence of the wide range of our country.
“My cuisine is dictated by the seasons, by the producers, by the ingredients and by Tuscany. We have selected suppliers who respect the territory and who work in an ethical way, and starting from that, we have studied new recipes based on traditional ingredients representative of our region “, explains our Virgil of the day Paolo Lavezzini. “The menu often varies, following the seasonality of the raw material, and is inspired by our Parco della Gherardesca. For me it is to let you taste Tuscany in all its elements that dinner is important, starting from the most unexpected ones and arriving at those who know better than home. So too the bread is a loaf to be divided at the dinner table, with different grains that dishes follow the seasons, to continue with the seasons whose acidity and textures are the masters, for with desserts that experience contrasts of flavors “, glosses the new Executive Director of the Four Seasons Hotel Florence on his new personal and professional challenge, as difficult as it is suggestive and ambitious. Who starts well …
“Il Palagio” is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 7pm to 10.30pm.
Information and reservations: 0552626450 // [email protected]