It bears the signature of Cesare Casellaa chef from Lucca who has moved to New York for years, the new one Miracle no. 8 of Caffè S. Zita, the biscuit which, since 2017, has been the iconic product of the place in Piazza San Frediano managed by Michele Tambellini.
The new biscuit creates a sort of ideal bridge, this time intercontinental, between Lucca and New York, along the lines of what was done in 2023 with Sicily for the Miracle no. 7 created by Pierpaolo Ruta, owner of the Antica Dolceria Bonajuto in Modica. For the occasion, Tambellini moved the traditional presentation by a couple of weeks (which is usually on April 27th, the day of Santa Zita) to May 11th. when chef Casella will be present in Lucca. The chef from Lucca, who took his first steps in the family restaurant – Vipour in Pieve S. Stefano – since the early nineties of the last century he has resided in the United States where, particularly in the Big Apple, he has become a point of reference for a refined and selected clientele not only in the catering sector, but also in the field of consultancy and teaching.
A Miracle no. 8therefore, particular and international in conception, but very Lucchese in realization because rmade with ingredients that are found more in savory preparations than in pastries. It is chef Casella himself who explains not only the idea of the new biscuit.
“When Michele proposed the project to me – he declares – I was very happy. We’ve known each other since we were kids running around the fields of Pieve S. Stefano and I always come back to visit him at Caffè S. Zita when I’m in Lucca. Then I became a chef and he became a footballer and now here we are again. It is an honor to sign this biscuit in the wake of my predecessors. The goal was to create a savory biscuit perfect for afternoon ‘the time’, assembling rosemary, olive oil, thyme, catmint, pepolino, honey and the essence of lemon peel”.
Casella – for whom cooking is memory and tradition, simplicity and quality raw materials – mentions rosemary as the first ingredient also because the ramerino, as it is called in Tuscany, has become a distinctive sign for the chef from Lucca who, as a sort of quirk, shows it off in his jacket pocket instead of a pocket square.
“In my youth – recalls the chef -, when I worked in the family restaurant, when the restaurant was closed I would travel around Italy and France to discover the secrets of the best cuisines, of the starred chefs, and I understood the importance of aromatic herbs, of the scents that arise from here. In the fields adjacent to the family restaurant I created the aroma grove, as the Lucca journalist Domenico Acconci had renamed it. A herb garden created also thanks to the advice of university professors and Angelo Lippi, historic curator of the botanical garden of Lucca”.
Now those scents, those aromas mentioned by Casella, those flavors of home and the Lucca countryside, come back to life in the new Miracle no. 8, the savory biscuit which – to move from culinary creativity to artisanal skill – is made by the pastry chef of Caffè S. Zita, Matteo Mazzoni.
Cesare Casella is an acclaimed restaurateur, chef, consultant, author and educator based in New York. He is best known as the rosemary chef and is rarely without a small bouquet peeking from his jacket pocket – a nod to his youth in Tuscany. For over 35 years, Chef Casella has been committed to helping people understand that Italian cuisine is defined by its simple but quality ingredients, just as Italian culture is defined by its regions and history. He began his career in the family trattoria, Vipore, which he transformed from a simple trattoria to a world-famous restaurant, eventually earning a Michelin star.
Chef Casella began his American journey in 1990 as executive chef at the famous Coco Pazzo restaurant on Madison Avenue in New York then went on to create and manage critically acclaimed New York restaurants, including Beppe and Maremma; she launched the Italian studies division of the International Culinary Center and served as program dean from 2005 to 2020; She has written numerous books including the 2013 James Beard Foundation Award nominee, The Foundations of Classic Italian Cuisine, and 2016’s Feeding the Heart, winner of the Independent Publisher’s Gold Award for Adult Nonfiction.
Today chef Casella holds the role of director of DNA, the Department of Nourishment Arts, supervising a team of chefs, nutritionists, therapists, farmers and educators at The Center for Discovery, a residential facility in upstate New York for medically fragile people. Chef Casella’s contribution to the culinary scene has been recognized by the media, from Forbes to Food Artsto the New York Magazine et al New York Times. He was voted one of New York’s best chefs by the magazine Food & Wine and has appeared on hit shows such as Iron Chef, Top Chef, Best Thing I Ever Ate, After Hours with Daniel Boulud And No Reservation by Anthony Bourdain. Chef Casella has been named honorary president of the Association Italian Chefs of New York. In addition to his work in the kitchen, he is involved in several charities.
The official presentation will be held on Saturday (11 May) at 11am at Caffe Santa Zita in Piazza San Frediano.
