Imagine yourself gently sailing into the Monte-Carlo bay; its sunset and everything start to light up again, while another day in the Mediterranean is about to end. The air is full of the smell of olive trees, sea salt and shining glamour; fresh evening cocktails are ready to be served while linen and silk elegantly envelop bronze bodies descending to the harbour runway. What’s missing to complete the picture? A glorious food experience. That’s the cherry on the cake. What if you could steal this cherry and bring it with you along with your trip; I’m not talking about sweet memories of ashore chef’s delicacies but rather having the chance to enjoy an everyday journey through the flavours thanks to a new on-board pleasure.
How? Well, that’s the storytelling. Il Palato Italiano is an exclusive club for food-lovers dealing with the selection of top-quality Italian products and the promotion of the peninsula’s culinary arts, combining tradition with technological innovation, research and passion. Thanks to its Chef Patron Mr.Filippo Sinisgalli and his teams of young talents, this venture has travelled the world for the last five years by following a precise schedule of tailor-made experience; New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London, Milan and right last January the Event Manager Tiziana Sinisgalli booked a portion of the winter agenda and sent them on a private three-deck yacht in the blue waters of the Caribbean. “Ready to reach you anywhere” is the right payoff of this brand of outstanding professionals able to recreate the equilibrium of the palate in any corner of the world, even when it comes to bringing the best raw materials in the middle of the ocean for ten days.
And that’s the eureka moment when the bulb of creativity transforms the tenderness of a tempura mussel laid on an icy lemon curd and tomato extract from simple texture and ingredients into a scalable business model. Because that’s the goal of Sinisgalli’s food-lab: how to make limitless food-solutions when the MasterChef is not physically in your kitchen?
One of Archimedes most famous quotes says; “Give me a place to stand and I will move the Earth” which essentially, in this case, can be paraphrased as “(…) with the proper tools anybody, even those of limited skills or knowledge in the field, can reach the same results.” And that’s the answer, that’s the goal of the customized isothermic box containing what is known as the “last mile” that is the missing step to finalize a dish and bring it to the table. Nothing can be easier and tasteful at the same time; in fact, thanks to the controlled temperature monitoring the condition of the accurate food-selection and vacuum-sealed storage, creating a masterpiece becomes just a matter of putting together every single building-block of the recipe; a rule that works from the elementary to the most sophisticated one.
What’ the difficult part of the game? “Well (…)” says Chef Sinisgalli, “(…) my job, for sure! In my quest, I firmly believe that craftspeople, manufacturers and refiners are my true heroes in life. I love to recount what thrills me, and the best way to do it is by putting my culinary abilities at their service to grant my clients the appreciation of their work in every bite. This hard task, which I live as a mission, is enhanced while my team and I prepare what we call – the last mile ingredients – because for this particular business line we intentionally have to arrange the recipe in a way the client can assemble it, especially if we are talking of gourmet preparations that involve very limited edition productions.”
“Starting from big yacht’s requests is helping us to train the machine to work for special targets interested not only in sharing the best in the best way possible but also to feel the virtual presence of a Signature Chef that is not only remotely in charge of their food but also takes care of their specific needs”, continues Event Manager Tiziana Sinisgalli. The implementation in the near future, in fact, will grant the client a wide range of personalisations to encounter not only the taste but also the particular and private desires related to health, wellness, anti-age program, children, training athletes and so on. Every one of us is special in their own way, so “listening” carefully will be the key ingredient in the choice of Il Palato Italiano’s new business line consumer.
The quality and the habit of trusting a skilled food-partner can also make us run the risk of positively changing our routine, knowing that there is always a wise eye taking care of the second most important thing for our body after breathing, eating, and not just eating, but eating properly. Nonetheless, one of the goals would be reducing fridge-waste by having a sustainable supply chain; a non-stock approach that substitutes an accumulation food mentality with a more efficient schedule of high-quality personal or family planning.
Rumours in the field talk about a new brand specifically designed for this interesting project, but Chef Sinisgalli keeps the information still confidential: “(…) The impact of the official launch will completely revolutionise a model of food-consumption by giving the opportunity to have my chef’s brigade – à la minute but with a roadmap and a time plan – which essentially means to be able to eat a freshly made meal with simple instructions and a customised agenda. The habit will become a frequent routine and hopefully an addiction…at least a virtuous one.” So get ready to be amazed, a revolutionary concept is coming soon!
A menu for the Principauté de Monaco
We asked Chef Filippo Sinisgalli to dedicate a menu to Monte Carlo. Here is what he proposed: a menu created between sea and land, just like the two souls of the Principality. It starts from the Lucanian origins of the Chef, but there are many inspirations from all over Italy because each place gives special products and unique inspirations.
Let’s start with a vegetable entreè, “Crusco pepper with cod, cream of turnip greens and dried tomatoes”, “Ravioli filled with vaccinara tail and bitter radicchio cream”, “Gragnano fettuccella cooked in cuttlefish ink emulsion”, “Small gigot pot lamb with spring onions” and “Gianduiotto with gold leaf ”
The chef tells us: “The dishes that best represent me reveal the influences that accompanied me during my working life, starting from my Lucanian origins. I was born in Basilicata, and for us, cooking is a family passion that embraces wonderful local products. I believe that Italian cuisine speaks a language understandable to everyone, as it is made up of a few simple ingredients, it can take those who approach it by the hand, accompany them in every single country, countryside, mountain, plain or unknown place in Italy and make them feel at home.
Time, the time dedicated to researching products, the time for preparing and the one to taste the finished dish together with friends, relatives, colleagues, becomes a fundamental ingredient for listening to the authentic taste. ”
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Article edited by Virginia Scarfi