The Marche region has given Italian cuisine chefs of extraordinary talent and great creative flair, and you of all people are undoubtedly their trailblazer. If you were the first to scrutinize the work of Gualtiero Marchesi and take up his concepts and bring them into the wonderful dishes of Marche's culinary tradition. Your work of rethinking, lightening and introducing surprising elements into the dish was the cue that gave way to other creative geniuses of this area such as Moreno Cedroni, Mauro Uliassi, Lucio Pompili, just to name a few. How would you define your mental path that led you from the tradition acquired in your family to today? Of reworking? Of restructuring? Of modernization? Or what else?
I would like to start by thanking you for your curiosity about this work of ours (or better yet a world of dreamers, artists, sometimes a bit of a rebel) .I love cooking, experimenting but above all answering your question , I can safely say that it is true that the tradition of good food is learned in the family and that there are historical flavors and smells that are part of my wealth of experience. My cuisine is: in reworking, modernizing and restructuring but to all this must be added the curiosity of wanting to deepen, dare and modify the raw material; but not for this to ruin it or alter its original flavor, therefore acquiring a technique and this is dictated only by experience.
Today your activity takes place at the sea, in your restaurant Damiani e Rossi Trattoria al Mare (Porto San Giorgio) that you lead with the help of your wife Ornella. How do you conceive of the territory's two cuisines of land and sea? Are they two distinct approaches or are the basics you start from always the same for land and sea dishes?
The technique adopted in cooking, regardless of the type of dish, that is, it doesn't matter whether the dish is fish, meat or vegetarian because in any case the cooking should always be divided according to the raw material I work with. Because each raw material has its own personality , so you cannot trivialize its cooking e.g. not everything comes out well with low-temperature vacuum cooking, or with violent and quick cooking but depending on the raw material in front of me I choose the ideal cooking.
Another of your characteristics is that the menu is dictated by the daily supplies that you personally operate: recipes change, appear, disappear, change.
We have an a la carte menu, a tasting menu and a menu of the day that change depending on what I find at the market. Every morning I get up at 7.00 a.m. and start my shopping trip that starts from the fish market and continues to the farmer I trust and ,of course, before I buy I see what the market offers and I start with the fish, then the vegetables and based on what I find I make the dish .
I think this freedom that you have given yourself is the result of careful rationalization of the use of ingredients and I think it requires a lot more organizational skills than it seems. How do you manage to contain waste and safeguard your food cost, since the price of a meal eaten in your establishment has excellent value for money: that is, you eat divinely with low expense?
Dear, you ask how do I optimize costs? This actually a method acquired over the years, of course it is not the most important, but I am an excellent balancer,(being at the sea) although I suffer from strong winds or swells, I am still here to enjoy the amazement of my welcome guests intent on tasting the dishes. This is the greatest reward I can wish for.
This blog is much frequented by professionals, or aspired professionals, bartenders and chefs. Your vast experience can be of great help to many young people who aspire to this profession, and it certainly is for all those who are lucky enough to be able to learn and grow in your kitchens, but for everyone else, do you feel like giving a suggestion, a piece of advice, something that those who want to take on this beautiful profession absolutely must learn or understand?
I would not advise a young person to take on this profession for the simple fact that it takes a great deal of commitment and also the hours are terrible. And then there is this crisis. It's already difficult for people who have been working for decades in the industry and right now starting from scratch would be quite difficult...however , however, nothing is impossible, determination with time always pays off.
For those who would like to learn more, are you online with sites, blogs, or social networks?
For those who would like to learn more, I am on facebook under my name Damiani Aurelio.
Interview by Monica Palla
