A pageant of “bufala” from the “Fienolento” (literally “Slow Hay”) cheese factory at San Gregorio, on a bed of “misticanza” and PGI cherry tomatoes from the “Concime Ingrato” (literally, “Ungrateful Fertilizers”) farm. It sounds a bit of a joke, but you must all, at some point or other, have been confronted with a baroque-sounding menu of this kind. When the dish actually arrives, however, one’s palate undergoes a somewhat minimalist experience because – when all is said and done – what’s on offer is quite simply mozzarella with a bit of salad.
The chefs who have recently been awarded their stars (one, two, or three), or have had them reconfirmed, by the Michelin Guide 2023 seem to be distancing themselves from this style. Instead, they churn out dishes that sound more like a football team: “sole, lettuce and bergamot”, “hay and chamomile”. Now and then an “onion reduction” or an “undecided gunard” peep through, but on the whole the style is pretty dry; we must simply be trusting of our multi-star generals, celebrities to whom we look for guidance with their battle-cries of “Top-quality EVO (extra-virgin olive oil)”. But all this isn’t just television’s fault: the adamancy predates the advent of TV. Italian writer Carlo Emilio Gadda, who was known to exclaim: “I say no to margarine! And no again to butter that tastes like soap”, sounds quite contemporary – yet he was in fact born in 1893. Not to mention his intransigence when it came to the official “risotto” recipe.
Chefs are well aware that behind all this rigour lie clever communication spins that make for allure and style. Deep down, however, they are equally aware that there can be no creativity in a regime where all is neat and tidy (after all, panettone was the result of a mistake). So here, then, is our own, imaginative, little salad. No doubt Gadda, who penned a novel entitled “That Awful Mess on Via Merulana”, would call it “That Awful Mess from Inarea’s Kitchen”.
Qualcuno forse si è accorto che in questo tour manca l’Europa, un po’ assonnata negli anni dell’affermazione delle piattaforme social. BeReal è stata creata nel 2020 da un team francese, ma si sta facendo notare adesso. Permette di condividere solo foto del momento esatto che si sta vivendo: arriva una notifica e parte un countdown di due minuti. Tutto ciò di cui abbiamo bisogno per pubblicare. Un po’ una corsa contro il tempo, come fu il viaggio di Phileas Fogg e del suo assistente Passepartout: non sappiamo infatti se BeReal resisterà alla sete di novità, o ai cloni.
Però quest’app porta a galla una cosa: i contenuti hanno bisogno di un tagliando, cominciamo a fidarci poco. Forse il nostro occhio, diventato un po’ troppo pigro, dovrebbe allentare questo flirt con le immagini e iniziare a guardarle dalla giusta distanza. Dall’alto, appunto! Partiamo…