It didn't take the Lock-down for Giulio Terrinoni, a starred chef originally from Fiuggi but firmly anchored in Rome, where for a year now he has opened "Per me" a refined restaurant in the elegant Malpasso alley between the historic and papal via dei Banchi Vecchi and via Giulia, to understand that in the world of quality catering, a bit self-referential for some time now, there was a need for an adrenaline rush, to change the cards a bit to play other paths that prefigured new scenarios on the horizon of gastronomy.
In fact, since last year Terrinoni had already started, some loyal customers had asked him and he had embraced the cause, a service whereby anyone who liked it could have the chef's starred dishes and a representation of the "Per me" staff anywhere wish it at home too.
In short, a reversal of the concept that to eat starred you need to go to the temple, such as if the mountain does not come to Mohammed, Mohammed goes to the mountain.
A formula that has met with great success, emphasizing even more customer loyalty to the original Chef of Via Malpasso.
A decision that didn't come suddenly like a lucky publicity stunt but one could say is in line with his professional philosophy.
The very fact of having called his restaurant “Per me – Giulio Terrinoni” gives a sense of belonging to those who cross the threshold of his restaurant, creating an empathetically direct relationship with the chef with whom, in any case, it is not difficult to immediately harmony, is the affirmation of a catering concept tailor-made for the customer.
Born in 75, Giulio Terrinoni grew up in the kitchen in contact with traditional Lazio cuisine in the family restaurant in Fiuggi.
It is true that as a young man he wanted to be a carpenter, but his passion was not furniture, but the large wine barrels that his grandfather made in Fiuggi. As if to say that, unconsciously, a predisposition for the pleasures of the table could be sensed in the boy even then.
Terrinoni, wastes no time and immediately aims to gain experience in the main structure of his hometown, the Grand Hotel Palazzo della Fonte. But where he begins to think seriously is at the La Torre restaurant, alongside Antonio Ciminelli, the chef-sommelier who launched the Relais Le Jardin in Rome towards the end of the 80s. Terrinoni is not, however, a man to shut himself up in the kitchen. He wants to deepen and master all aspects of catering, and here he is continuing his training path, expanding managerial points of view and learning new culinary techniques with Fabio Tacchella from Verona, best chef of the year 2000 for the Academy of Italian Cuisine, international gastronomic consultant but also an inventor who has collected numerous awards and recognitions in his career.
We owe him the patent for Carta Fata, a special film that introduced a new cooking system, now used by chefs from all over the world. or the Fata Bags, which since 2010 represents an innovative technology of the highest value: with the Fata Bags you can cook in a vacuum at 180-200 degrees, cooking the product contained in the bags directly on electric grills. In addition to giving a more pronounced flavor to food, it prevents the formation of acrolein - toxic to the body - and recovers cooking times, saves fat and condiments, energy, less kitchen material to clean and wash.
A passage that of Tacchella is fundamental for deepening the techniques of cooking and safeguarding the matter, principles that Terrinoni then develops in a personal way and puts into practice in his growth process Calando in Rome as Executive Chef of the Panda restaurant in the elegant Parioli district of the capital.
The keystone on a professional level, however, comes with Acquolina Hostaria: a fish restaurant in Collina Fleming, where the Chef takes over the reins of the kitchen and the team in the dining room. A venue marked by unanimous success and satisfaction with the public and the press: crowned in 2009 by the prestigious Michelin Star.
Terrinoni has now entered the gallery of great chefs, he stands out for his capacity for innovation and originality which however never betrays the deep flavor of the raw material and, above all, does not give in to exasperating fashions.
They call him to join the circuit of the JRE Young Restaurateurs of Europe, to hold lessons at the most prestigious schools in Italy; they ask him for important consultancies in Italy and abroad: as in Iceland, Moscow and New York.
And like all the Chefs who have arrived, he also signs a book where he explains his culinary philosophy: The Importance of the Hedgehog.
However, Terrinoni is a pawing horse: passion and desire for growth push him not to rest on his laurels and, indulging his intuition and his creative drive, he decides to leave the restaurant where he won the Michelin star five years earlier (it takes courage) and embarks on a new adventure of his own. He opens, in the historic center of Rome, "Per Me - Giulio Terrinoni", it is recent history.
By now he is a chef who makes noise and Gambero Rosso awards him the novelty of the year award. Not a year goes by after the opening that a new Michelin star consolidates his fame.
But even if the honors arrive, the Chef maintains with great conviction the friendly and familiar aspects of his character, the propensity for bonhomie, the disposition towards others which then, together with the recognized qualities of the levels of his cuisine, are the fundamental weapon of success of his place. People come here to eat in a comfortable and friendly atmosphere, to relive the atmosphere of the taverns that once swarmed in the alleys of the papal historic center, in an exclusive, refined, elegant environment.
Refined environment and, of course, refined his cuisine that offers you a memorable Carpaccio of scampi, foie gras, red onion gel, a dish that he has always kept in the menu and has received great favor from his customers, intriguing in fact, the sweet tendency of the scampi that accompanies the flavor of the soy-marinated foie gras and the acidity of the red onion gel.
But the Super Spaghettone 2006 (Sea Carbonara) should also be mentioned. The year corresponds to his date of birth even if he has undergone interesting developments in his growth. It is the meeting between tradition and innovation. The chicken eggs are replaced by fish eggs, the guanciale is replaced by bottarga, while preserving the traditional ingredients, pepper and pecorino.
And still to mention the Variation of Monkfish. It is a dish that was born in full respect of the chef's almost obsessive philosophy of not wasting anything in the kitchen. It is the "fifth quarter" of fish because different parts of the monkfish are used, from the head to make the Coppa to the stomach and the innards to make the Tripe. Recycling is in fact a fundamental part of the restaurant's routine, an example of which are the fish boxes that arrive and are returned to be reused.
And then there's the kitchen, whose fundamental idea has always been based on the concept of "Zero Waste", of zero waste, to educate and calculate, not to throw anything away and to ennoble the simplest ingredient”. Zero Waste on the one hand and a solid relationship with the territory on the other are two essential principles of his culinary philosophy.
A choice as a contribution to the development of small but valuable territorial economies, Terrinoni is in fact very careful in choosing the raw materials that must be an expression of authenticity. In the Per Me restaurant, the chef has always relied on small and selected producers, to help their economy and bring the best of the territory to the dishes.
But the real ruler of his table is fish for which the chef has an irrepressible passion, the result is that approaching the fish dishes on his menu is equivalent to embarking on a sensory journey of unusual aromas and flavors
If he admits, with difficulty, to being touchy, in reality the overwhelming aspect of his character is generosity with his collaborators combined with a natural propensity for calm discussion, for understanding. Not only towards others, like the guys in his brigade, but also towards himself.
Even in this difficult period for everyone which has hardened spirits and tends to exasperate them, Terrinoni maintains a calm and constructive attitude. Meanwhile, it must be said that the bitterness of the Lockdown at the beginning of the year was amply repaid by a happy event at home which represented a strong injection of positivity. But beyond the birth of little Cecilia, dad Giulio is someone who tends to face obstacles rather than seek consolation in discomfort.
So here he is after the forced closure ordered by the government to get to work to devise new solutions. “We are already facing these uncertain times dictated by the pandemic - he says - in the first lockdown we started to offer "I Tappi" (our lunch formula, tasting portions conceptually inspired by Spanish tapas) also at home. There was an initial experimental phase which then gave excellent feedback from our customers, so today this service is a reality".
What to say? That today, more than ever, there is a need in this field for people who know how to look beyond the hedge (of brambles) of the moment, Giulio Terrinoni is one of those, he had already thought about it for some time. “I like having fun at the table – he usually repeats – curiosity about everything is always alive, so I continue to study. with friends". And to find new ways, to be precise.
