Too much media exposure, too many TV juries, too much advertising and too many potato chips have hurt Carlo Cracco, the super-celebrated and controversial chef from Vicenza. The experts of the Michelin restaurant guide have in fact decided to remove one of the two coveted stars that had been awarded to him in past editions, making him relegate one step in the 2018 qualification of the best chefs in Italy.
If Cracco goes down (but he can console himself with the opening of new premises, one of which in partnership with Lapo Elkan) Norbert Niederkofler of the St. Hubertus restaurant in San Cassiano rises to the Olympus of the three-star chefs. A completely different personality than Cracco, all home and work. The motivation of the Red Guide jurors is almost a poem: “The dishes reveal the chef's personality. Those of Norbert Niederkofler can tell a thousand and one stories. The protagonists are nature, culture and the pure and intense tastes of its mountains, the passion and daily effort of the farmers and breeders, the excellent quality of their products, the traditions and methods handed down, the warmth of the farms, the desire to traveling to learn and returning to rediscover one's own lifestyle, commitment, care, constancy that are combined with enthusiasm and lightness. In Norbert Niederkofler's dishes you can taste these flavours, you can see the mountains, you can hear these stories. The encounter with this kitchen is not a meal, but an unforgettable human experience. For the Michelin inspectors, three exciting stars.” In short, it is impossible to resist the call of Niederkofler's bewitching mountain sirens.
In life you go up and down. Claudio Sadler, a recognized and refined interpreter of culinary ingenuity who has distinguished himself over the years for a personal and innovative style that reinvents the traditions of classic regional Italian cuisine, also loses one of the two stars he had won many years ago. He posted on Instagram with his own elegance
a photo that portrays a plaster covering the lost star then comments: “Today I lost the permanence record of the two continuous stars of Milan, 14 years old, back to a star, a hiccup. We're in the ER, but we'll heal soon, I promise!! A little bitter in my mouth, but I accept the opinion of the Michelin inspectors with serenity, we will continue to work and improve!! Thanks to all the friends who have expressed their solidarity, I am also sorry for Carlo Cracco who I believe experiences the same feeling as mine".
But there are also other interesting innovations in the 2018 edition of Michelin. In total there are 356 restaurants worthy of stars in Italy, which places our country in second position for excellence in world catering recognized by the strict inspectors of the "Rossa", immediately after France. In total there are 9 restaurants that have been awarded three stars or deserving – according to the jurors – of a special trip. In addition to St. Hubertus, there are Piazza Duomo in Alba, Da Vittorio in Brusaporto, Dal Pescatore in Canneto Sull'Oglio, Reale in Castel di Sangro, Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence, Osteria Francescana in Modena, La Pergola in Rome, Le Calandre in Rubano.
On the other hand, there are 41 restaurants that can boast two stars and therefore "worth a detour". With three novelties this year: Andrea Aprea, from the Vun Milano restaurant
"which brings to the table the taste of the Italian tradition and its Neapolitan origin revisited in a contemporary key" with an innovative cuisine that "looks to the future without ever
forget its origins”; Matteo Metullio, from the La Siriola restaurant in San Cassiano, a very young 28-year-old chef with an "innate talent" who passed through the St. Hubertus experience, with a great "desire to get involved and improve", and Alberto Faccani, from the restaurant Magnolia, from Cesenatico. “As for Matteo Metullio – comments the director of la
Michelin Guide – also for Alberto Faccani, chef of the Magnolia restaurant, in Cesenatico, whose cuisine stands out for its “elaboration, imagination and original combinations, which enhance the raw materials of the territory, going beyond its borders.”
Making a few statistics from the 2018 edition of the Guide, Lombardy is the most dynamic region, with 7 novelties: 63 restaurants (2 with three stars, 6 with two stars, 55 with one star. Second position for Campania with 41 restaurants, ( 6 with two stars and 35 with one), Piedmont closely follows, with 40 restaurants (1 with three stars, 4 with two stars and 35 with one), followed by Veneto with 38 and Tuscany, with 35 stars.
Rome is the most starred province in Italy with 28 stars, and bares Naples from the first podium, which boasts 23 starred restaurants. Milan comes in third place with 20 stars overall.
“It is interesting to note – comments Sergio Lovrinovich director of the Michelin Italy Guide – how the Lombard dynamism and the charm of the capital are recognized
also from recent Euromonitor data, which see Milan as the only city on the rise among the top 10 European destinations, second tourist destination in Europe among Italian cities after Rome and seventh among European cities. Among the most starred provinces, the fifth place of the Granda Province is significant, which reflects not only the gastronomic richness of the area, but a growing vivacity in the valorisation of its products.
As is right, the Michelin Guide – Lovrinovich continues – offers an overview of the country's culinary situation. In counting the stars, therefore, we do not include others, which we however remember with great pleasure, because they represent the excellence of our cuisine beyond our borders. Throughout the world, there are 35 Italian chefs who stand out for their cuisine: 30 with one star, 4 with two stars, 1 with three stars”
It is still interesting to note that among the 26 restaurants entering the Gotha Michelin this year, 30% are led by young talents under the age of 35 and among these, 4 are even under the age of 30, which bodes well for the gastronomic future in our country.
One more interesting fact. There's no need to pass out to eat in a top-notch restaurant. Among the 2700 restaurants examined by the Guide to decide the awarding of the awards, 504 offer a complete meal for less than €25 and 2086 offer a good meal with quality products,
Finally, it should be noted that the Guide is not only on paper. All the restaurants in the Michelin Italy Guide can also be found in the Michelin Restaurants app, which can be downloaded free of charge for iOS and Android. The www.guida.michelin.it site works as a search engine for the Michelin Italy Guide, and allows you to choose a restaurant according to tastes, occasions and budgets.
Each restaurant corresponds to a detailed description, with exclusive content on starred restaurants and chefs.
