The marriage is over. It Chef Antonio Zaccardi let the Pasha Of They converse. The reason is easy to say: «Different visions» and «professional disagreements». This is how the collaboration – lasting six years – between the owner of the Apulian restaurant Antonello Magistà and the chef who was the first to win the Tre Forchette of the region for the Gambero Rosso Ristoranti d’Italia 2024 guide, also awarded on the sweet front, thanks to the fundamental contribution of Angelica Giannuzzi, pastry chef of the year in the Gambero Rosso Ristoranti d’Italia 2023 guide, has reached the end of the journey.
In an interview with Gambero Rosso, Zaccardi explained that “the problem with Puglia is that it has always sold itself as a place for orecchiette (even badly made ones) and wine”, as can be read on the online portal. A bomb from the blue (or almost, evidently) that exploded in the middle of the tourist season. And it is precisely tourism that has led Zaccardi and Magistà to act on different levels. The chef, originally from Chieti, is critical of the potential of the Puglia region which, in his opinion, has managed to sell itself “badly”. “In Puglia there is a lot of medium or low-level catering that only looks to the summer months”, he said in the interview, underlining how in the region the number of starred restaurants decreases over time instead of increasing. According to the chef, this is due to a lack of objectives (“what type of tourism do we want to address?”) and poor communication even in the kitchen, which is instead done by professionals in order to promote the Region and quality work throughout the year, not limiting itself “only to the 4 summer months but we need to try to spread the work over the rest of the year, otherwise we can’t do it”.
So, the marriage is over, and now? Zaccardi will allow himself a sabbatical for the first time in his professional career, then we’ll see, but if he were to decide to stay in Puglia, his ideal place would be one “surrounded by greenery from which to draw inspiration for my cuisine”.
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