Gianfranco Vissani Presides Over Chef of the Year Award in Peschiera del Garda
Arrived straight from Rome, after the Rai live broadcast of “Uno Mattina,” because, as he says, “I would never miss the commitment I made”: thus Gianfranco Vissani, renowned interpreter of Italian culinary art, made his debut in Peschiera del Garda for the first time to preside over the jury tasked with selecting, at the restaurant “Al Fiore,” the “Chef of the Year.”
He is the main figure of an afternoon filled with tension and spectacle, with the six Chef of the Year finalists competing for the title: they are Mario Di Cristina from Palermo, Sonia Facca from Trieste, Giuseppe Fraia from Naples, Paolo Gallo from Vieste, Giovannangelo Pappagallo from Bari, and Carlo Pazzaglia from Arezzo.
The only woman in competition teaches at the Hotel Institute in Trieste; her students and colleagues came by bus to cheer her on: this is also part of the event, now in its ninth year, which has been holding its final stages in Peschiera for the last three years.
In the jury, alongside Vissani, are Umberto Chincarini, mayor of Peschiera; Enrico Merenda, president of the Apt Riviera degli Olivi; Giuseppe Bruni, president of Verona Restaurateurs; and Alessandro Martini, manager of Martini & Rosi.
The event and the awards ceremony
The festival kicks off, and it’s pure spectacle: for the Chef of the Year performances, almost like actor’s scenes as they manipulate their tools at Lampada and describe the aromas and flavors of their regions from which the ingredients and wines originate; and because he, Vissani, doesn’t hold back, engages in conversation, jokes, and also clarifies the choices and actions of the contestants.
After the performance, there is a written test at the table; finally, the verdict: Chef of the Year 2000 is Giovannangelo Pappagallo, with “mantis shrimp and cardon mushroom on a bed of fava bean purée”; second is Giuseppe Fraia with “Red snapper fillet with shrimp rolls and vegetable flowers”; third is Sonia Facca with “Tricolor sole pouches”; the other three tie for fourth place.
Finally, a break before dinner, and it’s time for some questions to Vissani, who immediately sets the first—and fortunately, the only—rule: “Let’s not talk about politics.”
He, who has come into national headlines especially with Prime Minister D’Alema; he who has cooked for Clinton, but also for Reagan, Soviet premiers, Solana Jospin, and numerous monarchs; however, never for Queen Elizabeth.
“In this visit as well, by the way, no outsiders were invited: when it is the President of the Republic inviting, only his ceremonial chefs are at work; it would be different if the invitation came from the Prime Minister.”
Defense of a supremacy or a professional clarification? Probably both. He only says that local politicians do not throw tantrums and that some are more “gourmet” than others, but he doesn’t mention names.
He loves his work and the people who stop him on the street to say hello; he gets upset when talking about today’s youth who “feel like chefs without having done the right apprenticeship and earned it in the field”; he emphasizes that cooking is a matter of culture and sensitivity, key to understanding and discussing the history of various regions, as well as environmental preservation, because washing foods with chlorinated or calcareous water not only alters the flavor but also the hygienic quality of what must be cooked.
Today, Vissani seeks the simplest things and flavors, “territorial cuisine to rediscover amid this sea of amateur cooks,” and when asked about Garda, he replies, “Are you talking about the lavarello?”
At the awards ceremony, he explains to the contestants that they all performed well, but their execution was closer to an elaborate, complex gastronomic dish than to the classic, simple flambé.
Advice from a master who did not hesitate to travel halfway across Italy by car to honor a commitment made especially to remember Maria Luisa Speri, wife of Raffaello, owner of “Il Fiore,” whom the trophy was named after: a year ago, she participated in the event and was shortly thereafter awarded, the only woman in Italy, the title of Grand Master of Ristorazione. She passed away last April after battling a serious illness with great courage.
Vissani wanted to be in Peschiera for her, and she was remembered with a heartfelt applause from everyone present.
Giuditta Bolognesi