Il luogo di Aimo e Nadia – Milano, Italy

Stefaniamoroni, Alessandronegrini, Fabio Pisani

Is This Food, Art or Both – Tortelli Filled with Ossobuco of Piedmontese Veal

Aimo is history – a journey that began nearly sixty years ago undertaken by Aime e Nadia, who arrived in a Milan that was very different from today, with a suitcase that smelled of Tuscany and the memories of war still fresh in their eyes.

Here they took over a trattoria, perhaps unaware that it would later become a popular destination for gourmets.

Today, the chefs Alessandro Negrini and Fabio Pisani proudly carry on the tradition of Aimo e Nadia Moroni, whose daughter Stefania is at the helm. An orchestra of many hands, but one that finds its common theme in all its recipes, a luxurious map of the very best culinary traditions of the Belpaese.

The cuisine explodes with different flavors, but with no loss of identity. Every ingredient on the plat tells its own story, its origins, its history and the mastery those who produced it.

Freshness, seasonality and Italian style are what make this gamble a total success.

The warm reception follows the same rhythms of dedication and care. Chefs Alessandro Negrini and Fabio Pisani say “Every action is an act of love for our guests.” In the dining room, the guests are immersed in a minimalist environment with constant reminders of Milanese design from the Fifties.

La Buca, Cesenatico FC, Italy

Bartolini Family

Is This Food, Art or Both – Spaghetti With Granola Crab Sauce

On a daily basis, the Adriatic Sea bursts with relentless flavor into the dishes of the La Buca restaurant and creates a clamor of coastal aromas and delicate tastes in the noses and mouths of its guests.

Chefs Gregorio Grippo and Mattea Tonin work unceasingly to celebrate the Riviera’s oft-underappreciated heritage from the briny deep, which can generously offer dishes of pure enjoyment.

In savoring the myriad of fish tastes, ranging from the aw to more highly-structured signature dishes, the guests embark on a truly epic sea voyage, worthy of the most fearless navigators.

The setting echoes this vision of a craftsman-like devotion to nature – everything has been ingeniously designed by Andrea Bartolini, the architect in this entrepreneurial family, with the precise intent of withdrawing from the hubbub of the Cesenatico canal port and letting the guests share the sensations of fishermen in their fishing boat galleys.

Pervaded by this essential, poetic simplicity, the dining room has suffused lighting, iron, sheet metal and muffled sounds.

When delicacies from the sea embrace the nobility of Italian restaurant prowess.

Sarri, Imperia, Italy

Andreasarri Pesce & Alessandra

Is This Food, Art or Both – Buttons Stuffed With Ricotta and Lemon with Catalan Oneglia Shrimps

A terrace overlooking the sea offering picturesque snapshots with every blink of the eye and colors ranging from the blue of the water to the pastel shades of houses.

Sarri restaurant in Borgo Prlno di lmperia swings open its doors revealing a prized gem of Ligurian wisdom.

In the kitchen, chef Andrea turns the simple richness of local ingredients into unique, unexpected and exciting flavors.

In this way, his offer becomes a real voyage of discovery for tastes, where the focus remains the concept of conviviality rather than of sacredness.

Al Sorriso, Wolverhampton, UK

Valazza Family

Is This Food, Art or Both – Scallops with Parmesan Cheese and Porcini Mushrooms

The medieval village of Sodso, with its beautiful backdrop of the verdant hills of Novara, its quaint cobbled streets and unquestionable tranquillity, has provided the setting for Luisa and Angelo Valazza to become true champions of Pied.mont cuisine since opening Al Sorriso in 1981. For almost forty years, they have nurtured their passion for the culinary traditions of the region, promoting a cult of taste from simple, well-known recipes, turned into unforgettable experiences.

In the dining room, Angelo provides impeccable hospitality while Luisa, a self taught chef, busies herself daily with devising designs with contemporary flavors inspired by the essential simplicity of two or three ingredients. Seasonality underlies her culinary choices to support the idea of a sustainable cuisine, in step with the times.

Even the cooking styles are lighter to aid digestibility and respect the original colors, taste and fragrances. The thou.sand or more labels on the wine list are selected with similar scrupulousness, enhancing a territory -the Piedmont – where vines are the masters at creating goblets of intriguing complexity.

Pierino Penati, Viganò LC, Italy

Piergiuseppeand Theo Penati

Is This Food, Art or Both – Risotto With Wild Red Chicory And Marinated Egg Yolk

From the undulating Lecea hills of Brianza, a relentless stream of marvelous flavors flow from the kitchen of the Pierino Penati restaurant that talks about strong, robust culinary traditions.

For more than seventy years, the location has seen the turnover of three generations personified today by chef Theo and papa Piergiuseppe, in charge of the dining room.

A story about gastronomy and hospitality, lived like a theatrical play, with dialogues between the past and present, reinterpreting dishes with an eye on enhanced healthiness without having to forego the flavor.

The menu of the day and the permanent menu describe sublime culinary journeys which gourmets are unlikely to forget. Dinners are immersed into a charming setting.

The cosy, familiar atmosphere, framed by the windowed perimeter providing stunning views over the borders of the Po Valley as far as the Ligurian Apennines.

The garden with its aromatic plants and herbs and the appealing, mirrored dining room on the first floor.

This dimension of Italian savoir faire opens its doors to the world with the Cape Town project: the South African restaurant where Theo Penati’s recipes and the noblest of Italian ingredients are graciously served at table.

Trenkerstube, Tirolo BZ, Italy

Dobitschfamily, Chef Gerhard Wieser

Is This Food, Art or Both – Seabass – Aubergines, Tomato and Basil

Trenkerstube is luxurious, refined, strongly characteristic and much more.

In Castel di TiroJo, a village not far from Merano, at the foot of the Val Passiria, chef Gerhard Wieser has held the reins of the restaurant for almost thirty years and, over this time, he has been able to elevate it to the very heights of South Tyrolean cuisine.

Chef Gerhard Wieser ‘sstyle of cooking is Alpine, but not exclusively. His dishes also speak of the Mediterranean and international venues, awareness of biodiversity and health consciousness.

The richness of tastes is the constant reminder of fresh, quality ingredients, personally selected by this chef who fosters perfection and loves the active outdoor life of skiing and hiking. The perfect symbiosis between the substantial approach inspired by Central European traditions and the lightness of Mediterranean influences affords this culinary proposal a relentless sense of naturalness and simplicity.

Trenkerstube is a true gastronomic spectacle that engages the senses of the guests from the very first moment they are immersed in a typical Tyrolean wooden residence overlooking the Merano countryside where Princess Sissi was at home.