Walter Rossi Crowned Maître of the Year at Italian Hospitality Competition
With a very simple and quick dish prepared “at the lamp,” meaning directly in the dining room but in the presence of a qualified jury, Walter Rossi was crowned “Maître of the Year.” In the national final, held for the third year at Lake Garda, the professional from Cervia – who is also an instructor at the Riolo Terme hotel school – simultaneously won the trophy dedicated to the memory of Maria Luisa Speri, the only woman admitted to the prestigious “Great Masters of Gastronomy of the Amira” society.
“Finally, I’ve achieved this great satisfaction,” says Walter enthusiastically, who works at “Burchielio” in Milano Marittima and is participating for the third time in the national competition organized by the Italian maître association of restaurants and hotels, which counts over three thousand members, not only Italians.
“For the first time, the prize arrives in Romagna,” comments the petite (in stature) yet highly skilled professional, while posing for photos with the patron and host of the event, Maria Teresa Ruta (pictured by Marchiori).
The Event and the Selections
“The competition,” highlights Amira president Giuseppe Sinigaglia, “grows in professionalism every year, as the goal is to emphasize the importance of the maître’s role within the field of national hospitality.” And professionalism shone brightly in this eighth edition of the national contest, which from January to October saw about 150 sector professionals participating in various selections across Italy, with the fixed theme “white meats”; last year focused on crustaceans, and next year, it’s likely they will return to red meats.
The national final of the event was held at the Hotel Fiore, run by the Speri family, and the top figures in hotel and restaurant service oversaw a high-level challenge. The “hostilities” opened with Vincenzo di Donna from Paestum, who presented a well-executed dish of “veal rollatini with brandy on a bed of potato foam,” paired with a Joaquin Barbera Igt from Paestum.
Domenico Di Nardo from the Abruzzo section competed within the fifteen-minute time limit, preparing “rabbit ribs with black truffle,” paired with a Montepulciano d’Abruzzi Cerasuolo 2000. Then it was Ferdinando Parrinello from Palermo, who captivated the same Maria Teresa Ruta—engaged in presenting the candidates—with a “chicken supreme in old Ausonia style.” Walter Rossi, whose recipe is shown in the side box, demonstrated great skill in presenting his dishes paired with a Bornese Chardonnay 1998, and to conclude the challenge, Antonio Zambrano from the Milan federation presented an “Imperial-style chicken thigh” paired with an Arneis Blangé Doc.
