The Forbes ranking dedicated you 25 most influential chefs in Italy comes at a particular time. The latest presentation of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants was not magnanimous with the Italian gourmet representation. Net of the excellent “rookie” performance of Norbert Niederkofler, with a generic loss of positions and the total exclusion of Enrico Bartolini, the next edition of the event does not seem to promise great revolutions for our colours, and we certainly cannot expect favoritism for our position as hosts, given that the red carpet will be held in Turin.
The critics’ response was almost unanimous, hoping – with little enthusiasm, in truth – for a more orchestrated and organic action of our gourmet catering, with actions aimed at telling and representing our talents in the best possible way in the eyes of the professionals, chefs and enthusiasts who make up the academy that draws up the glossy ranking every year. It’s about time, because with the pure talent of individuals, from Romito to Camanini, we have really done everything that could be done.
In this very delicate conjunction here comes Forbes on the scenea newspaper accustomed to drawing up value rankings, like the highly sought-after “Under 30”in which every year young talents in various sectors are celebrated, from entertainment to science, which gives its contribution to the cause with a further classification, that of “25 most influential chefs”, in its first year – we can therefore deduce that others will follow – and written by the director of La Cucina Italiana Maddalena Fossati Dondero with the collaboration of Casa Artusi, the Italian Academy of Cuisine and the Culinary College.
The ranking
Now, all rankings are debatable, and that’s why they’re made, to create debate. And each of the chefs present has his own justification, sacrosanct of course. On the other hand, it certainly can’t be said that the editors of this ranking have made any great effort of imagination given the names: Bottura, Cannavacciuolo, the Cerea family, Crippa… sacred monsters, whose place in the culinary Olympus is certainly not in question. It’s the concept of “influential” that leaves me perplexed. If they had called it “gran gala” or “telegatti della cucina” there would have been nothing wrong with it, but we are sure that these sacred monsters are exerting an influence in the kitchen todayand therefore to concretely modify what we will find in the gastro-ghetto dishes of tomorrow?
What do we mean by influential chefs? Who is missing from the 25 in our opinion
Thinking of those who have perceptibly changed the panorama of Italian catering in just a few years, the first name that comes to mind is that of Jacob Ticchi, chef of the Lucio restaurant in Rimini, his work on the maturation of fish is one of the very few true revolutions in the strict sense that have crossed the catering industry, sometimes providing inspiration, other times creating followers, as is natural. With a new seaside restaurant on the way and already a presence in Forbes’ Under 30 list, has anyone thought to include it? TO
similarly one can think of the work of Edoardo Tilli on the meat, of Antonio Chiodi Latini on vegetables, of Mark Ambrosino on the intellectual approach to cooking.
And if Diego Rossi he certainly left his mark, effectively starting the spread of neo-trattorias, calling him an “outsider” is a bit funny. However, I fear there is nothing to laugh about the presence of Alessandro Borghese.
Let’s be clear, it’s certainly not up to Forbes to take command of the situation and give order to the maneuver of our star-studded team, but he helped us to understand a problem: a gathering for a fashion show and an ego massage is always welcome, let’s hope there is one equally careful in group thinking, to be ready for “our” edition of the 50 Best and don’t find yourself then pissed off about why the rest of the world doesn’t understand how much better we are than them.
