Divine Foods – Capretta brought his Ark to San Benedetto del Tronto

Massimiliano Caprettachef from Teramo, born in 1972, opened The Ark in Alba Adriatica in 1998 when he was just 26 years old. He called her that because she appeared to him in a dream Noah who told him to do as he did, to save food after he had saved the animal world. It’s all written in the book Organic Mediterranean Cuisinereleased by the publisher Minerva in June 2023. What a year ago Massimilianoand with him his sister Delilahpastry chef, could not yet know that, after twelve months, it would close in one place and reopen in another.

I Little goatand with them the chef Edoardo Massari, they even changed region, a matter of a dozen kilometers, from Abruzzo to Marche, from Alba to San Benedetto. It doesn’t seem like much, but anyone who lives on a border, whatever it is, knows how being on this side or that side, in this case the Tronto river, has an impact. They had now squeezed everything out of where they were, they needed a change that would have a positive impact, that would infuse them with new life and new energy. The answer came from a room that had been vacant for months on the Risorgimento seafront, a branch of the hotel Emerald.

Independent entrance, external garden, much larger spaces, in the living room and in the kitchen, with Delilah which now has an underground laboratory in which to take care of bread and pastries. With the last service in the former mother house officiated on June 9, for the first in the new location there was little waiting. Everyone at the table already on Saturday 22, less than two weeks. Obviously the menu was that of Alba due to a total lack of time, even if they are already studying an Melanzana in carrozza that mimics its goodness the Mozzarella in carrozza.

I’m getting away with it or Apple Tacos with Scampi

But there they look further precisely because the Teramo coast has other characteristics compared to that of the Lower Marche. Little goat has dusted off Marcuzzo, a word that begins in the Marche and ends in Abruzzo or Marche + Abruzzo = Marcuzzo. It doesn’t sound good, but people like it Little goat because it embraces two distinct plates, supported by the same scale. It is thus a little here and a little beyond the course of the Tronto, which has always divided the Center North from the Center South, there is a lot of history there.

With so little time behind us, it is obvious that the proposals of theArca are the same as Alba Adriatica, news coming soon. In the kitchen, for example, they are working on an aubergine in a carriage that resembles the classic fried mozzarella toast, with Delilah which, finally, moves into spaces never had before, free to also think about leavened products for Christmas 2024, starting obviously with panettone.

Black Cod, saithe fillet in cooking pot

In the meantime we delighted ourselves with the Mussels all’amatriciana; Meditazione, Oysters with cherries, shallots and datterino tomatoes; the deconstructed salmon Uramaki; the Me la scampo or Apple tacos with scampi, fake tapioca caviar, Salicornia extract and yogurt; Omega 3, spaghetti with black garlic, oil and chili pepper, parsley chlorophyll and anchovies; Black Cod, Cod fillet marinated in miso with vegetables cooked in a jar; Yogurt Alga e Mele, a creamy yogurt ice cream, apple with calvados, soft biscuit with spirulina algae and crunchy apple…

THE ARK
Viale Rinascimento, 143
63074 San Benedetto del Tronto (Ascoli Piceno)
Phone: +39.0735.488908
Email: [email protected]
Average prices: starters 17 euros; top 20; main courses 27.5 and dessert 11
Tasting menu: four, 50, 55, 65 and 90 euros
Bread and cover charge: 7 euros