La Credenza Restaurant in San Maurizio Canavese, just outside Turin, is home to a rare culinary symbiosis, that of two great chefs Igor Macchia and Giovanni Grasso,who complement each other and exchange roles without ever losing their personal identity. How does one achieve this?
I think in these cases it takes "intelligence" and humility on both sides.In 2004, we made a decision, which is turning out to be the winning one, to divide the roles within the restaurant, leaving me with the management and development part of the kitchen and Giovanni with the customer relations part. Having more arrows available in one's bow, I believe, never hurts, and customers feel reassured by the presence of a chef in the dining room.
1 Michelin Star since 2006 and then many other awards from the Espresso guide to the Gambero Rosso guide, from Paolo Massobrio to inclusion among the "Stars of Piedmont" and many awards won: points of arrival, departure or what else?
For my character, quite restless, these are points of support, gratification and stimulus to project into the future, having the knowledge that I am working in the right direction.
Today many people fill their mouths with concepts that appeal to many but succeed to few: "revisiting tradition" "experimenting without loss of roots.".... These are the phrases we read everywhere, the ones that often disorient the customer who sometimes does not quite understand how the thread of a dish that is proposed to him or her unravels...where it starts and where it wants to go. What is your (your) criterion for working and choosing that makes all the best food critics assert that at La Credenza the marriage of respect for the past and experimentation is so happily successful?
Experimenting, revisiting, modernizing, these are all concepts that can be developed and can give great satisfaction, however, we must remain attached to the idea that dishes fall into two categories, good and bad. When we create a dish, we start with the basic idea that it should be good and "understandable," then it can be more or less experimental, more or less revisited, but taste remains the building block on which our cuisine is based
Is talent alone enough to become great chefs ? What weight do technical knowledge, chemistry, quality of professional equipment, technologies.... have in your (your) experience ? In short, is success all "genius and unruliness" or is it knowledge?
Talent, like technique and technology, are elements that must be joined together and cultivated, with passion but above all with humility and a great desire to get involved. It is also true, however, that ours is not a properly "normal" life, where sometimes it is not easy to manage "genius and unruliness."
How important is the territory of birth and operation in the choices of menu proposals ? I know it may seem a bit of a dumb question because the most obvious answer should be : "it matters 100 percent," but I ask it to you because you are not a "settled" chef one of those all-home, market and store, on the contrary you are a great traveler, a person of tireless curiosity and certainly attracted to food and wine cultures far removed from our own.What do you bring back, if any, of your travel experiences in the dishes you offer ?Is there any contamination in your recipes, or are travels just personal enrichment and a professional endeavor ?
Question that is difficult to answer in a few lines.The territory is very important and our roots are even more so, but at the same time they should not be an obstacle to the professional growth of a cook or a restaurant. We must therefore explore, know and preserve what are our ties with our land, and at the same time look around, with the eyes of those who have the humility to learn and see that there are other cultures and other territories that can give us something important. From my travels I first bring many human experiences, contaminations at times, and in any case only if they are useful to improve the making of a dish
The passion for the world of cooking is growing, and the number of young people who "when they grow up" no longer want to be firemen, actors or rock stars, but dream of being a great chef is growing.What do they need to know first if they really want to pursue this professional career?
That on television, very few people go there, and that the best part of this job, is experiencing the kitchen itself, the (positive) stress generated by a full a la carte service or a month of December lived at 1000 per hour and the interpersonal relationships that are created in a multicultural environment such as a modern kitchen can be. Television is just the tip of an iceberg, beautiful but capable of sinking a ship like the Titanic
With Giovanni Grasso you have achieved in a relatively short number of years a remarkable success and credit in the panorama of the new great Italian chefs.Do you have a dream, a project, a goal in common ?
The sideboard has been in existence for 21 years, so time has taken its course and we and the restaurant have grown hand in hand, or as it sounds better today step by step. Acquiring and maintaining a certain stability.The projects are many and every day, thanks to our staff, we add a piece toward the next step, which is always aimed at giving the customer a better experience. The world then, is big and Italian cuisine always has its appeal
What was the last major event, the event you participated in ?
Identità golose in which we were busy with the presentation of our first book entitled La Credenza The New Season, written in Italian and English, not a cookbook, but a travel diary, made of people, emotions and sensations.On the same day Chiara Patracchini, our pastry chef, who has been following us for many years, gave a talk in which she presented our work this year with goat's milk. Ivan Onorato, our other collaborator, and I, prepared backstage tastings for the audience. The next day..... departure for India for a trip to New Delhi.
If you had not been a chef, what other profession might you have pursued?
Fortunately I have always been quite clear about my future, if I had not been a chef, I would have liked to become a veterinarian or Papa...... a dream that is not exactly common but still a dream
Are you a frequenter of social networks ?If any of the frequenters of this blog would like to get to know you further how can they contact you ?
I love technology so also social networks, which if used in the right way can be excellent means of communication, unfortunately they are trivialized to the nth degree by too many people.In addition to the website www.ristorantelacredenza.it, I can be reached through my Facebook profile (Macchia Igor) or at the La credenza Restaurant facebook page
Interview by Monica Palla
