Venice consecrated capital of cuisine by Gambero Rosso
VENICE – Venice, in twenty years, has gone from being a city where looking for and finding the right (in terms of quality) and right (in terms of price) establishment was not exactly easy, to a small capital of taste. It is now that Gambero Rosso, in its year-end balance sheet, has elected Venice (ex aequo with Naples) as the gastronomic city of 2022, certifying a growth that, especially in the last decade, has been decidedly sustained.
It all began 18 years ago, when Corrado Fasolato from Vicenza, thanks to the intuition of Gloria Beggiato, arrived at the Met, the restaurant of the Hotel Metropole, and soon conquered the Michelin star, joining the historic Osteria da Fiore on the podium of the red guide by Maurizio Zanetti and Mara Martin. Soon Met stars became due, thus paving the way for the future. The arrival, seven years later, in 2011, of the Alajmo family at the Gran Caffè Quadri in Piazza San Marco, definitively ratified the change of pace, representing a boost that involved almost everyone, from historic restaurants to the tables of large hotels, from from trattorias to taverns up to bacari, spreading an idea of hospitality and an attention to quality that the city had partly lost over the years. Obviously with worthy exceptions, from the legendary Harry’s Bar to the Antiche Carampane, from Covo to Fiore itself, just to name a few.
THE LADDER
In the last ten years, from Massimiliano Alajmo onwards, the list of starred chefs who have invested work and credibility, professionalism and resources in Venice is very long, and – from Perbellini to Klugmann – it reaches as far as Riccardo Canella, Paduan, former soul of the Noma of Copenhagen, for five years the best restaurant in the world according to The World’s 50 Best Restaurant, approved last spring by the kitchens of the Oro del Belmond Cipriani on the Giudecca and by Lorenzo Cogo, from Vicenza, a former enfant prodige of Italian haute cuisine, who for a few months he leads the Dama, at the Hotel Bonfadini overlooking the Rio di Cannaregio: «An increasingly buzzing restaurant panorama writes Gambero Rosso which combines the classic bacari all ombre and cicchetti (many also renewed for proposals and wine selection, such as VinoVero ), the historic trattorias (for example the Antiche Carampane), the original bistros (Estro, Stappo, CoVino, Giorgione da Masa) and valuable gastronomic restaurants, thanks to the there the atmosphere of Venice, experiencing it as a city and not as a tourist destination, is today fascinating and evocative».
A framework in which brands of ancient and consolidated prestige mix with a native (but not only) nouvelle vague in love with the city, also giving life to extraordinary synergies such as that of Osti in Orto, the very recent fruit and vegetable cultivation project that a group of Venetian restaurateurs set out on the island of Sant’Erasmo.
THE STAR
And if the arrivals of Canella and Cogo were the news of the year, there is no shortage of other extraordinary performers, from Salvatore Sodano who confirmed the Michelin star conquered a year ago at the Local by the native Matteo Tagliapietra, to Donato Ascani, a talent from Lazio who has already brought the double star to the lagoon for a couple of years at Glam, the restaurant of the Venart hotel, in San Stae, up to Chiara Pavan and Francesco Brutto, who in Venissa exalt with their talent and a decidedly green and ethics, the extraordinary heritage of the lagoon ecosystem. Not to mention the large cafés, the extremely dynamic and motivated hotel catering, the cocktail bars, so widespread and highly qualitative as to have merited the arrival of Paola Mencarelli and her prestigious Cocktail Week, a format which, born in Florence, has been replicated in the Lagoon with great success for the second year in a row.
«It is wonderful news, comments Chiara Pavan, starred chef in Mazzorbo together with her partner Francesco Brutto, also because it truly certifies the reality of the facts, that of a city full of passion and dynamism, which combines the quality and diversity of products with a great tradition available. And it is an award for one category, that of restaurateurs, who have created a real network, mixing the old and the new, and who carry on a story without rivalry but with the desire to improve for the good of the city. We are very happy that our work and our commitment have been recognized».
A satisfaction joined by the administration, with the voice of Simone Venturini, councilor for tourism: «It’s a pleasure that the most influential sector magazine in Italy indicates Venice not only as a tourist destination but as a city to be fully experienced. The arrival of numerous starred chefs, the landing of the Venice Cocktail Week, the investments in quality in the high-end hotel sector are the tip of the iceberg which will also give great satisfaction in the future, guaranteeing qualified jobs and interesting collaborations».