It also deserved the attention of the American magazine Travelscore magazine, Gianfranco Pulina, forty-year-old chef from bortigiadas, in Gallura. He was elected chef of the year 2016. Now we want to move to America, but not to the north but to the Caribbean, to the Dominican Republic. Since September 28 of this year, he has been running a restaurant named after him, in Las Galeras, a tourist resort in the province of Samana. Here are 7 of the most beautiful beaches in the world, few residents and growing tourism. Above all that of weddings celebrated on the beach and of those who love wild nature more than the all-inclusive hotels found on the east coast of the island.
“For me, the real Caribbean is found on the Samana peninsula – says the Gallura chef – because it is still a very well-preserved area, a fishing village with lots of quality fish. I came a while ago for a consultation and I fell in love with it. But it was always a dream of mine.
I go in Dominican Republic since 2012 and every time I said I wanted to do something important in this extraordinary territory”.
In Las Galeras Village, by Sergio Boschetti from Brescia, 60 years old, a factory of preparations for pastry shops behind him, now Gianfranco Pulina brings his Gallura cuisine with "fusion" dishes, such as Roasted octopus with Yuca, Sardinian oil and Cabras bottarga, but also for the classics of the Sardinian and Italian tradition made with the best raw materials, from Malloreddus At Campidanese, to spaghetti carbonara with bacon and pecorino. Gianfranco was surprised by the similarity of the cuisines of the two countries, both dedicated to the sea. “I have managed to replicate some of our dishes with their Atlantic fish and then they have many herbs and fruit in quantity”. Some courses on the menu are entirely Sardinian, even if the ingredients must necessarily be local but in the cueva there are bottles of berchidda e santadi.
“It is a parallel project to my activity in Sardinia”, concludes the chef who does not completely leave his Golden Gate a Tempio which will remain open entrusted to his family members. “I bring with me the best of Sardinia, bottarga, wines, cheeses, just to name a few. In this I will be helped by a great friend of mine whom I want to thank, Pietro Vardeu, a Sardinian who has become a real institution of Italian food in Miami".
Strengthened by the long and successful experience in Sardinia, Gianfranco feels ready for the big leap and to compete with an area incredibly rich in tropical fruit, vegetables, fish, meat and thanks to the genius of Sergio Boschetti, now also cheeses and sausages produced by him and aged in a cave at a constant temperature. one of those in which this karst land is rich and which were used by the “Tainos” Indians for shelter and to perform their religious rites. Now in the "cueva" cow's cheese and pork salami are aged, bottles of high quality Italian, French, Spanish and even some South American and some ham imported from Italy.
“I will bring together the two islands, which in some ways are very similar. The clientele will be American for about 80%, international for the remaining 20%. Over time I have discovered that when you introduce our products to Americans, they literally go crazy. From bottarga to simple salad with local vegetables. Of course, you have to know how to tell them about them because they are very curious and eager to know good what they are eating".
Unfortunately, recently, due to the premature and sudden death of his father-in-law, who ran the restaurant in Sardinia, Gianfranco had to return to Bortigiadas, his land, but he said he will not give up his Caribbean project. He will find a solution to return to the pristine beaches and the ingredients that his experience knows how to enhance so well. The project is interrupted, perhaps for a few months. Meanwhile, the Dominican brigade, made up entirely of young cooks, has absorbed the foundations of his cuisine and now, unexpectedly soon, they will have to demonstrate that they have learned the rudiments of Pulina's gastronomy, to propose them again in their restaurant. In any case followed by the attentive eye of Sergio Boschetti who as well as an entrepreneur is an excellent gourmet.
