Portrait of an Italian Chef
Chef Giovanni Ciresa, originally from Valsassina, has extensive experience working in some of the most prestigious international restaurants, including Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence and Tokyo, the Terrazza of the Hotel Eden in Rome, as well as the Côte d'Or in Saulieu and La Pinède in Saint Tropez. He has brought an international style to the cuisine of the De Pisis, the Bauer's Gourmet Restaurant, and yet maintains a respect for the flavours and traditions of the land.
From this popular union comes interesting choices like Bigoli al Torchio, with broccoli and black truffles in anchovy sauce, veal livers in 'tempura', with onion fondue and polenta, or fillets of sole in 'saor', with grated Scorzanera and cream of potato. He gives attention to the ingredients allowing the integrity of the flavours to stand out, enhanced by Mediterranean influences. The creativity of a modern cuisine combined with the mastery and originality of a chef with indisputable experience are irresistible for those who love to reward themselves by indulging in unforgettable food.
Chef Talks
Your curriculum vitae is rich with experience gained both in Italy and abroad, thus enriching your cuisine. Can you tell me something about this evolution?
My first and most important experience was in Florence at the Enoteca Pinchiorri, where I first came to appreciate the meaning of 'top-level Italian cooking'. It was thanks to that experience that I had the chance to go to the East, initially to Tokyo and then to Singapore, where I was able to get closer to Asian food and their particular way of taking very good care of the ingredients, whether they be fish or vegetables... and I became fascinated by it.
If I have understood correctly, your passion for experimentation has led you to travel and discover the traditions of countries which are far removed from the European culture, and to create a cuisine that is a sophisticated combination of Mediterranean flavours, embellished with components of the oriental tradition.
I believe that Italian and Asian cuisine are not that far apart, and that is why I have managed to create a fusion between the sophisticated products of the Mediterranean tradition and oriental techniques. The basis of my cuisine is mainly Italian, but I have tried to lighten it with cooking techniques that are not too long, and by pausing to pay attention to the ingredients so as to give primacy to the integrity of flavours.
I understand that you use very little fat in your cuisine, without this however meaning that you sacrifice the particular taste of every dish.
I try to use products which are natural, fresh and in season, usually raw, dressed with extra virgin olive oil, and these days it's important to consider the calories too. For example, when I was working in Rome at the La Terrazza restaurant, one evening I found myself cooking a steamed John Dory and vegetables with soy for Michelle Pfeiffer, and for the whole week I ate nothing else. On top of that it was an experiment I was working on right then.
Once again, the word 'experiment' has appeared in your dictionary.
Cuisine is experimentation, research and imagination, and I have built my philosophy on the harmony of these aspects.
Your cooking can be defined as a blend, in which Italian and Asian culture...
... and French... it's no coincidence that the special attention I pay to the presentation of a dish is the fruit of the time I spent in France, where I learned new techniques with which to formulate the ingredients - after all, as well as promoting the pleasure of the palate, you also need to involve the appearance. My cuisine is rich in international influences, but in spite of that it has always remained linked to the Mediterranean tradition. It's a cuisine that takes all aspects of ingredients into account and exalts their purity, that's why I always love to use fresh products that are in season... asparagus in the spring and peas in the autumn, indulging in pumpkin, pomegranate, white and black truffles, chestnuts and mushrooms, of course... all types of mushroom...
But what should the clients who come to you at the De Pisis expect?
Mediterranean cuisine with international references, created out of respect for the seasonality of flavours in which the ingredients become absolute protagonists, exalted in the entirety of elements defined in all their facets... but words cannot describe what only palates can tell...
From this popular union comes interesting choices like Bigoli al Torchio, with broccoli and black truffles in anchovy sauce, veal livers in 'tempura', with onion fondue and polenta, or fillets of sole in 'saor', with grated Scorzanera and cream of potato. He gives attention to the ingredients allowing the integrity of the flavours to stand out, enhanced by Mediterranean influences. The creativity of a modern cuisine combined with the mastery and originality of a chef with indisputable experience are irresistible for those who love to reward themselves by indulging in unforgettable food.
Chef Talks
Your curriculum vitae is rich with experience gained both in Italy and abroad, thus enriching your cuisine. Can you tell me something about this evolution?
My first and most important experience was in Florence at the Enoteca Pinchiorri, where I first came to appreciate the meaning of 'top-level Italian cooking'. It was thanks to that experience that I had the chance to go to the East, initially to Tokyo and then to Singapore, where I was able to get closer to Asian food and their particular way of taking very good care of the ingredients, whether they be fish or vegetables... and I became fascinated by it.
If I have understood correctly, your passion for experimentation has led you to travel and discover the traditions of countries which are far removed from the European culture, and to create a cuisine that is a sophisticated combination of Mediterranean flavours, embellished with components of the oriental tradition.
I believe that Italian and Asian cuisine are not that far apart, and that is why I have managed to create a fusion between the sophisticated products of the Mediterranean tradition and oriental techniques. The basis of my cuisine is mainly Italian, but I have tried to lighten it with cooking techniques that are not too long, and by pausing to pay attention to the ingredients so as to give primacy to the integrity of flavours.
I understand that you use very little fat in your cuisine, without this however meaning that you sacrifice the particular taste of every dish.
I try to use products which are natural, fresh and in season, usually raw, dressed with extra virgin olive oil, and these days it's important to consider the calories too. For example, when I was working in Rome at the La Terrazza restaurant, one evening I found myself cooking a steamed John Dory and vegetables with soy for Michelle Pfeiffer, and for the whole week I ate nothing else. On top of that it was an experiment I was working on right then.
Once again, the word 'experiment' has appeared in your dictionary.
Cuisine is experimentation, research and imagination, and I have built my philosophy on the harmony of these aspects.
Your cooking can be defined as a blend, in which Italian and Asian culture...
... and French... it's no coincidence that the special attention I pay to the presentation of a dish is the fruit of the time I spent in France, where I learned new techniques with which to formulate the ingredients - after all, as well as promoting the pleasure of the palate, you also need to involve the appearance. My cuisine is rich in international influences, but in spite of that it has always remained linked to the Mediterranean tradition. It's a cuisine that takes all aspects of ingredients into account and exalts their purity, that's why I always love to use fresh products that are in season... asparagus in the spring and peas in the autumn, indulging in pumpkin, pomegranate, white and black truffles, chestnuts and mushrooms, of course... all types of mushroom...
But what should the clients who come to you at the De Pisis expect?
Mediterranean cuisine with international references, created out of respect for the seasonality of flavours in which the ingredients become absolute protagonists, exalted in the entirety of elements defined in all their facets... but words cannot describe what only palates can tell...
