Two 28-seat doors in via Corsico on the Navigli in the middle of the Milanese nightlife: you cross the threshold and suddenly you find yourself involved and immersed in a concept of Mediterranean philosophy, a corner of Southern Italy with all its ancient and modern values that affect various aspects: the kitchen, evidently, because we are talking about the restaurant "28 seats" a place that has conquered a place of absolute prominence in the map of restaurants loved by Milanese foodies, and not only that, but also the solidarity that is one of the cornerstones of southern culture in history, but also that effect of a metaphysical dimension whereby Naples time does not seem to pass or at least it seems closed in a timeless display case in which the past, present and future dynamically confront each other without there ever being a solution of continuity.
Chef and co-author of this original project is a young man from Procida, Marco Ambrosino thirty-five years old, a background in economics studies before moving years and luggage to the kitchen to fulfill his desire to write something new about his gastronomic traditions. His adventure begins at the age of 14 starting from the bottom: he works as a dishwasher in some restaurants to scrape together some money for his basic necessities. But then there is a change so a bit for those for that randomness that is recurrent in so many adventures an uncle takes over a winery-restaurant and calls him to work with him until one day ambrosino finds himself having to cook based on experience matured at home by seeing the prodigies of the mother, the aunts and above all the grandmother in the kitchen, who knew how to produce great flavors and great aromas. But the first real commitment comes immediately after when Marco Ambrosino decides with some friends to open a restaurant. This time it's not a matter of improvising but of committing seriously and that's where the spark comes from. Ambrosino, abandons his studies in economics and he understands that this will be his job and then also his profession and he diligently goes to learn serious cooking, in a famous starred restaurant in Ischia, that of Libera Iovine which introduces him to great cooking and knowledge of raw materials. At this point another big pike jump, and with great courage, the young man goes to René Redzepi at the Noma restaurant in Copenhagen, awarded with 3 Michelin stars and elected best restaurant in the world four times according to the annual ranking of The World's 50 Best Restaurants. In short, the leap is into the future and this will also mark its culinary culture which aims at a balanced union between traditional Campania cuisine and experimental and avant-garde cuisine. For Ambrosino, the Mediterranean with its many fascinating stories has much new to tell for the future without falling back into the usual aspects of a caricatured tradition. So feet firmly in the Mediterranean but the brain wanders in the rarefied atmospheres of northern Europe as well as in the subliminal ones of the Far East.
The positive value of diversity and the return to origins: awarded by the Michelin Guide and reported by the New York Times
The philosophy of his Procida also returns, in the nightlife of the canals of the Italian capital of opulence, in the cuisine that refers to that of the grandmothers, which does not waste but recovers everything, which uses raw materials that are apparently poor but full of meanings, which knows how to exalt with a new language the aromas and flavors of the past, which transforms waste giving them an incredible nobility. Just as it is a supportive heart of Procida that pulsates under the project of Mediterranean Collective which brought together cooks, journalists, anthropologists, architects, popularizers, artists to create a strong, aware, authoritative Mediterranean identity that starts right from the story of the other, of the different. A concept that wants to transform that diversity into a positive value which in some opinions is considered as a limit.
In fact in Ambrosino's 28 seats everything speaks of diversity, starting with the construction works carried out by the prisoners of the Bollate Penitentiary Institute, from the carpentry works entrusted by the Liveinslums Onlus Ong association, to a carpentry workshop inside the prison which made tables, doors and cabinets for the restaurant to continue with objects that are proudly displayed in the dining room and in the kitchen, self-productions from the Mathare slum and from the iron workshop of Jua Kali (Nairobi).
Un totalizing concept of diversity, which reverses the trend that has been going on for some years in this part of a restaurant that seeks gallons that are sometimes more aesthetic than content. Not here, it's as if the chef five years ago forewarned the need for return to the origins, to their exaltation, to the simplicity of natural and healthy things that the Pandemic tsunami has detonated. A rewarding and rewarding choice: the Michelin guide he assigned the dish and a cover charge to the chef; Espresso 2018 two hats the Touring Club awarded it for the "Best Pasta Dish", Identità Golose included it in the "Author's Restaurants" Guide and even Il New York Times in a section dedicated to travel in the online edition, he included it among the things to see and do in Milan in 36 hours in the city.
Marco Ambrosino: his Chiajozza recipe
For the readers of Mondo Food Marco Ambrosino offers his recipe for Chiajozza, a dish that takes its name from one of the most suggestive bays on the island where the chef has his home and interprets nostalgia for his native island, a triumph of sea scents and Mediterranean intensity. He explained «The idea of the dish comes from desire to tell a place, through the use of evocative ingredients. The Easter rites, the hooded salad, the mantis shrimp, the pine, maritime. Finally, the sea urchin, the great star of the island summers”. Chiajozza is therefore chosen as a symbol of its origins, chosen for its ability to refer to distant places. “A nostalgic dish, a small way to bring Procida to Milan and me to Procida, a piece of the Tyrrhenian coast in a dish with a strong identity».
The Chiajozza recipe
Ingredients for 4 people:
8 mantis shrimps
80 g sea urchin pulp
200 g of cabbage
2 whites
maritime pine needles
grapeseed oil
procedure
Blend in the Thermomix equal weight of maritime pine needles and grape seed oil.
Combine sea urchin, salt, pepper, lemon juice in a container; put the mixture in an ice cream maker.
Bake the shells of the mantis shrimps in the oven at 180°; whip two egg whites until stiff; add a spoonful of cuttlefish ink; dry in the oven at 60°.
Blend the meringue and shells to obtain a fine sand.
Season the mantis shrimp with maritime pine oil.
Add julienned cabbage seasoned with apple cider vinegar and mint, complete with a quenelle of sea urchin ice cream and the faux sand.
28-seat restaurant
Via Corsico 1
20144 Milan
