The chef of Cascina Vittoria, between Milan and Pavia, churns out 300 kilos of doves a day: “The real difficulty is the glaze, that makes the difference”
Cascina Vittoria is a historic farmhouse from 1870. It is located between Milan and Pavia. It is one of the gastronomic cases of the moment. Purchased by the Ricciardella family in 2003, it was renovated after 20 years of work. Today there is a sophisticated restaurant, a vegetable garden, a laboratory where some of the best leavened products in Italy are prepared and, starting this year, three rooms as well. It is a family business because it is run by four brothers together with their parents: Giovanni, the chef, Marco and Simone who run the hall and cellar, Alessandro who takes care of the laboratory. The extra gear came with Giovanni, 32, who in 2014 took over the kitchen, built a convincing gastronomic line, and then dedicated himself to his great passion, leavened products. A few months ago he won the Gazzetta competition for the best panettone, now he is confirmed with one of the best artisanal doves. He churns out 300 kilos a day which he checks one by one. He discards the imperfect ones. A lower wing, an icing poured more on one side than the other. Details that customers wouldn’t even notice, but you know what perfectionists are like… Giovanni is different from his colleagues and has a chef’s approach, which makes him see a leavened product as a dish. He builds it the same way. “The colomba has the difficulty of the icing, which not only must always be crunchy but can make everything too sweet. For this reason I don’t use the same recipe as the panettone but I have developed another sugar rush. So balance the two elements”.
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The funny thing is that the farmhouse was bought in 2003 with the idea of letting Giovanni work as a cook. Except that at the time he was 12 years old … “It seems strange but I was already cooking. I had my chef’s jacket on, I was preparing excellent risottos”. In short, a destiny linked to Cascina Vittoria. Sunday is already sold out with a set menu for 80 euros (drinks included) which celebrates Easter and the area around the farmhouse: the farm egg with asparagus and black truffle; lasagna with Bertagna pumpkin, risotto with mushrooms and raspberry powder, boned leg of lamb accompanied by a base made with grass and bones.
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