Every now and then it happens that we stop to take stock, of life, work, relationships. The end of the season is always a propitious moment. A time to decide whether to continue or stop.
We still carry with us the adrenaline of the working days, but we are already thinking of meeting to plan the new season, when Chef Paola informs us of the outcome of what she calls a 'therapeutic exercise'. She also tells us that she wants to take a break from working in the kitchen after eight years, but leaves us with a great testimony of recipes, dishes, colours, flavours and incredible planning.
She picked up the 2021 and 2022 menu diaries and started singing. Now, we know that we are so likeably crazy as to try to propose different menus every day, but the encounter with the real numbers left us astonished: in every season, for every course, we offered our guests more than 100 different proposals. You read that right: over 100 starters, 100 soups, 100 dry first courses, 100 main courses and 100 different desserts!
This observation alone raised Chef Paola's self-confidence level, but being her usual fussy self, she went further.
The next question was: did we respect the objectives we had set ourselves, i.e. the use of seasonal and organic raw materials, the promotion of local producers, the creation of 100% vegetable menus, the fight against waste, plastic-free packaging? And here our self-esteem went through the roof!
Objectives hit: seasonality was ensured, winter was studded with every variety of cabbage, fennel and other leafy greens typical of the moment, and it took all our creativity to propose them in so many different ways.
Our battle against food waste has been perfected by adding new dishes, among which soups with kohlrabi or long white radish leaves have been particularly popular. A triumphant entry into our kitchen has been made by Capriana gold, the precious saffron produced in the valley by Chiara and Michela Corradi, two young women who run Maso Doss with all the courage it takes to dedicate themselves to mountain agriculture. Theirs is a saffron of 'stamina', rich in decisive pigments and a fragrance of great intensity. This has resulted in extraordinary dishes, from the risotto enriched with gold leaves proposed on New Year's Eve, to braised vegetables, savoury creams and the apotheosis of sweet Bavarian creams. For the coming season, they will be among our preferred and sustainable suppliers with their production of strawberries and vegetables.
We are already working on new combinations of flavours and colours. Chef Paola will no longer be in the kitchen with us, but she will always be here. The challenge continues with the new chef Pravas and his vegan fusion cuisine!
Thank you Paola, and now it's your turn Pravas
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