Aromi, Italian haute cuisine in Venice, where the lagoon inspires dishes
Qhen a road is marked and fate has decided, there is little to do: that must be it. For Luca Nania that of the kitchen was an almost obligatory choice, driven by a necessity born almost by chance, when he was little more than a child.
A chance encounter that gave birth to a great love, a passion that became a professional life for the Sicilian chef who, after having traveled half the world, now leads Aromasrestaurant the modernHilton Molino Stucky Venice on the Giudecca. One of the most exclusive places in Venice, with a curriculum that speaks for itself: Luxury Hotel Restaurant of the Year 2019, Italy at the World Luxury Restaurant Awards; Destination Restaurant of the Year 2018, Italy at the Luxury Travel Guide Food & Drink Awards; Fine Dining Experience of the Year 2018, Veneto at the Travel & Hospitality Awards.
In short, to get to govern one of the largest, most popular and award-winning structures in Italy, you need a not indifferent experience. And it makes you smile to think about where Nania started from before arriving in Venice: “In the kitchen I found myself almost by chance, out of necessity – he tells us -, then it became a love”. And her passion is found in her dishes, from gnocchi with sea cicada and scampi to loin of lamb. Dishes not tied to Italian taste, but capable of intercepting an international clientele such as that of the Hilton. And among the dishes not to be missed are the tortelli with creamed cod, the turbot cooked in hazelnut butter or the vicciola with marrow and mustard (absolutely to try).
How did it all start?
«The beginning was due to motocross. I loved that sport but when I realized how much it cost to play it, I realized that I had to work hard to be able to afford it. I remember I was just 12 when I decided to dare a hand to the owner of the motocross track, an important track on a national level, where many champions trained. So I started to dare a hand in the kitchen: I washed and cut the vegetables, sometimes I sautéed, every now and then I also served the pilots meals. I started like that, by pure chance ».
Then the trips abroad made her a real cook.
«America, China and Russia, but also a lot of Italy. Every experience has given me something, every adventure has made me grow as a man and as a cook ».
Luca Nania of Aromi at Molino Stucky Venice
For a chef who has traveled so much one would think that fusion is his world. Is that so for her?
«More than fusion I like to talk about them. Fusion is not something that belongs to me but perhaps if it is meant as a culinary technique different from the one used in Italy then yes, cooking technique, drying, smoking or salting technique, all techniques that maybe used in Italy but that then they disappeared because cooking techniques are changed, not just the dishes ».
His training took place almost completely away from Italy. Is there one that was particularly significant?
“We can say that my university, also as a manager and not just as a cook, was at the JW Marriott Beijing, a flagship hotel with 140 rooms, large events, 2 ballrooms, 4 kitchens and 110 people under my control. That’s where I went from executive sous chef to executive chef: that was my greatest managerial experience at my university. I worked almost four years without a day off to keep up with everything that was going on. We did everything: services for 1000 people and much more ».
And what does Italian cuisine mean to you?
“It means everything, and rightly so. I have grown a fresh fish, pasta. And today I love to cook risottos and I love to eat them. For me, Italian cuisine is definitely the priority that I have returned to mine, but I do not exclude that if one day I had to move to another country, with another culture, I would try to adapt to their knowledge and then give it my own interpretation. “.
So fusion.
“In that case, yes, I could call it a merger. Certainly, however, this is not the case at the Hilton Molino Stucky ».
At the Hilton today you serve something like 600 breakfasts and over 100 covers. How can you always make it work so well?
«Surely the brigade is the one that gives you security also because you can be attentive to every detail, but you can’t always get to all sides. So the secret is to have trusted people by your side, professionals who know where to put their hands and intervene when something doesn’t go the right way “.
How much inspiration is Venice and its lagoon?
«A lot, a lot. Do you think that my collaborators and I often do it outdoors, looking at the Giudecca, rather than in the office. The lagoon not only inspires us but also influences us: we always try to put it on our plates ».