Between towering Ancient Greek temples and the pristine Mediterranean Sea lies the vast Piana del Sele Paestum. Known for millennia as the “plain of the gods,” this region of Campania in southern Italy is also home to the water buffalo that produce some of the world’s most heavenly mozzarella. The…

Nestled on the tip of the Sorrentina Peninsula, overlooking the Bay of Naples, seventeen acres of lush organic gardens and orchards provide the raw ingredients for Don Alfonso 1890. Run by Alfonso Iaccarino and his wife Livia, the restaurant is an extension of the land the Iaccarinos began cultivating 25…

Describing food as “honest” sometimes can sound as confusing as when a chef talks about how he “respects the ingredients”. Dishes and the ingredients they are made of are not people to be respected for their honesty. Yet, this is how I would describe the cooking at Il Luogo di…

Caramelized “insalata russa” at Cracco ( 2*, Via Victor Hugo, 4, 20123 Milano, Italy; tel. +39 02 876774 ), most famous thanks to a feature in the Oscar nominated movie “I am love”. This snack, I’ve already had before, was still pretty ingenious, but I couldn’t say the same about the rest. It…

There is gelato and then there is Il Massimo del Gelato (Via Lodovico Castelvetro, 18, 20154 Milano, Italy), a small, independent gelateria, 1o minutes drive from the city center. Fresh fruit sorbets like orange, mango, passion fruit and various ice cream are excellent and turn out to be identical to…

One of my favourite Milanese dishes is risotto al salto, made by pan-frying leftover saffron risotto with a little of butter and some grated Parmigiano Reggiano. And where can you find it better than at a simple, traditional, family-owned trattoria like La Bettola di Piero (Via Orti, 17, 20122 Milano,…

I think half of this croissant with peach jam filling at Sant Ambroeus café in Milan is pure butter, the other half – pure pleasure. As for the cappuccino… Oh well, coffee is just one of the bunch of things Italians know how to do better… ( like shoes for example!)…

I first time heard of Le Calandre (Via Liguria, 1, 35030 Sarmeola di Rubano, Padova, Italy; tel. +39 049 633000) and it’s risotto from Andy Hayler’s FT.com interview, where he mentioned that there he had the best saffron risotto ever. If someone, who’s been to all the 3 Michelin around…

Bone marrow with various smoked herbs at 3 Michelin starred Le Calandre. Will post more soon… (By the way, it’s sister restaurant is opening on Paris passage des Panoramas in May.)

What I love about Italian cuisine is its simplicity and its respect for ingredients. In that sense, one could draw many similarities to cooking philosophy in Japan. Here, at Armando al Pantheon trattoria in Rome (Salita dè Crescenzi, 31, 00186, Rome, Italy; tel. +39 06 6880 3034) anchovies and prunes on…