Federico Zanellato, chef-owner, LuMi, SydneyMy hometown is Este, not far from
Padua, in the Veneto region. It has a
beautiful castle that’s nearly a thousand
years old, and a little river running
through the town. It’s lively in summer
with a lot of people having aperitivo
around the main piazza, and lots of kids running around
and old people chatting.
Whenever I go back I try all the new restaurants – both
fine dining and more casual, traditional food. I usually go to
Osteria l’Anfora, a trattoria where they serve all the classic
dishes such as bigoli made with chicken-liver ragù or sarde in
saor, sweet and sour sardines. They serve excellent horse meat.
My wife and I usually visit a few winemakers every year in
the Veneto region and Friuli, close to the Slovenian border.
Recently, we’ve been to a couple of really good restaurants
worth visiting. Ristorante Aga, near Cortina d’Ampezzo, and
the Michelin-starred el Coq and la Peca, both in Vicenza, are
very special. And for a new style of gourmet pizza, I Tigli,
near Verona, is not to be missed.
We always make time to go to Venice, which is less than
an hour’s drive from Este. For cicchetti, Osteria Alla Ciurma,
Al Merca and I Rusteghi are some of my favourites.
I really miss all the artisanal local produce in Veneto.
Things like goose, donkey meat, wild asparagus, baccalà
that’s made with Ragno stockfish, the heirloom tardivo
radicchio, and cheeses from the north of my region.Enrico Tomelleri, chef, 10 William St, SydneyI’m from Verona, which is pretty close
to Venice. Verona sits close to the Lessinia
mountains and Lake Garda, the biggest
lake in Italy. In a few hours by car you
can reach the Adriatic Sea or Austria and
Croatia. It’s busy in summer with tourists,
but because it’s a historical city it still tends to keep pretty
quiet. After six in the evening you can visit a public square to
drink your Negroni or beer under a statue of Dante Alighieri.
It’s guaranteed good vibes and a good way to socialise.
My favourite thing to do back home is go carp and trout
fishing with my father and friends – or in the winter I go
snowboarding on Monte Baldo. Living in Australia I really
miss a proper winter: proper jackets, a scarf and beanie, the
snow. What makes me homesick is the smell of cinnamon,
juniper and cloves. And I miss the Christmas markets.
Sydney has a great choice of proper Italian food, but
there’s no place like home. I was recently in Adelaide and
the Barossa Valley reminded me of the hills in Valpolicella,
Verona’s wine region.
If you visit Verona, you must go in search of some horse
meat. Not the most popular choice for an Australian, but a
straight horse-meat tartare is incredible – and if the weather
is cold, enjoy a nice glass (or two) of mulled wine with a
donkey stew and sauce pearà by a fireplace somewhere.Eugenio Maiale, chef-owner, A Tavola and Flour Eggs Water, SydneyI’m Australian-
born, but my
parents are from
a town called
Palmoli, in the
Chieti province
of Abruzzo. I was there last year
meeting the winemakers who supply
my restaurants.
National parks and nature reserves
cover much of Abruzzo, along with
hilltop towns dating back to the
Medieval and Renaissance periods.
It’s extremely beautiful in winter,
with snow-peaked mountains, and
then in half an hour you can be at the
sandy coves of Costa dei Trabocchi.
The first thing I do when I’m back
in my parents’ village is go to the local
pasticciera for a tray of traditional
biscotti to take to my zia’s house. It’s
always a big family gathering with lots
of cousins and even neighbours. I’m
overwhelmed with their eagerness for
me to try their homemade prosciutto,
ventricina and pork liver, fennel and
orange sausages cooked over hot
coals, as well as olives (only just ready
to be eaten) and soft pecorino. This is
just a prelude to an explosion of some
of the best food one will ever eat.
Maccheroni alla chitarra is a style
of egg pasta very typical of my region.
The name comes from the tool used
to make it, the chitarra, which means
guitar, and looks like a stringed
instrument. The pasta dough is rolled
into sheets and then pushed through
the strings of the chitarra with
a rolling pin, which cuts it into strips.
It makes a unique shape of
maccheroni – similar to a square-edged
spaghetti – and is the perfect shape
and texture for ragù. I like it with ragù
di agnello e peperoni: slow-cooked
local lamb, with red peppers grown in
the garden and pecorino.
I’m always overwhelmed with how
self-sufficient the people of Abruzzo
are, and what a simple and happy life
they lead. You can’t ignore the slower
pace of life, the breathtaking scenery
and the sense of freedom that engulfs
you on arrival. To the Abruzzese, food
is life and life is food – a mantra that
I hold close to my heart, too.Abruzzo
Veneto
PHOTOGRAPHY JESSICA WYLD (JOEL VALVASORI-PEREZA90 GOURMET TRAVELLER