Maria Luisa e Michelina Fischetti

Not one but three women in the kitchen! Sisters Lina and Maria Luisa Fischetti and their sister-in-law Maria Grazia Luongo explain the values behind their cooking.

“Our menus changes often and are strictly based on the finest available seasonal produce and reflect our love of traditional recipes and dishes. We try to recreate the best of the past with one eye on the present: that is, we conserve the original character and taste of the dishes, but make them lighter and fine tune the balance of flavours.

Which is why our restaurant is called ‘Oasis, Sapori Antichi’ (old-fashioned flavours)”

Bean Soup
This is truly a dish from the past, and almost every region of Italy has its own version. The important thing is to use the best possible ingredients you can get your hands on, and that includes the oil!

Ingredients

(serves four people)
300g dried cannelloni beans, soaked 24 hrs in water with a clove of garlic;
1 clove of garlic; salt;
1 chilli pepper, roughly chopped;
125ml extra virgin olive oil;
15g dried oregano; 50g homemade croutons.

Preparation
Simmer beans gently for approximately two hours. Once beans are cooked, drain them then salt them. (Reserve cooking water.) In a pan, put the garlic, beans, chilli, oregano, a few cups of the bean water and cook for about 15 minutes. Season if necessary and mix in olive oil.

Serve soup in a bowl, and decorate with the croutons and a final drizzle of oil.

Oasis, Sapori Antichi
Via Provinciale 10
83050 Vallesaccarda (AV)
Telephone: +39 0827 97021
Website: http://www.oasis-saporiantichi.it

Agata Parisella

Agata e Romeo is one of Rome’s best known restaurants owned by chef Agata Parisella and her sommelier husband Romeo Carracio. She is a talented chef who was one of the first to demonstrate that Roman cuisine could be refined without sacrificing its flavoursome roots in mamma’s home cooking. Among the primi, the cannelloni filled with a white duck ragù are memorable, their thin home-made pasta gratinéed to a delectable crispness, while the terrine of coda di vaccinara in celeriac sauce is an affectionately ironic – and, more importantly, delicious – tribute to a legendary Roman dish.

Agata and Romeo’s daughter Mariantonietta is fast becoming one of Rome’s most original and exciting pastry chefs (don’t miss her triple-whammy choc-fest of semi-sweet chocolate cake with chocolate sorbet and chocolate semifreddo). The service is very professional, and the decor elegant but welcoming, with well-spaced tables.

Agata is from a restauranteur family who had a olive farm, the inspiration for her book ‘Olii e aceti d’Italia’ – Oils and Vinegars of Italy. She makes regular appearances on television as well as contributing to various newspapers.
She says her cooking is inspired by the products and flavours of Lazio, as well as her travels to Japan. Her signature dish is an up to date version of the Roman classic ‘bucatini all’amatriciana’.

This is an example of Agata’s recipes, taken from Roma-gourmet.
Ingredients for tomato mousse
300g fresh tomato sauce
1.5 dl of very fresh whipped cream
18g of gelatin sheets
3 o 4 drops of tabasco
1 teaspoon oregano leaves, chopped,
salt, pepper
decoration:
5 dried tomatoes; cherry tomatoes, Greek basil leaves

Directions for tomato mousse:
Soften the gelatine in water, wring it out and then dissolve it in 2 tablespoons of warm water. 
Blend the tomato sauce with the gelatine, season with tabasco, oregano, salt, pepper. Finally fold in the whipped cream.
Divide the mixture between little pyramidal moulds (no mention of how many) and put them in refrigerator to cool. 
In the meanwhile mince the dried tomatoes to use for the decoration. 


Dish presentation:
Put the pyramids of mousse on a serving dish, surround with the minced dried tomatoes. Put a cherry tomato on the top of each pyramid and decorate with a leaf of basil. Serve as appetizer.



Agata e Romeo
via Carlo Alberto 45
00185 Rome, Italy
Telephone: +39 06 4466115
Website: http://www.agataeromeo.it

Carla Aradelli

Well regarded but I can find very little information about Carla Aradelli and her restaurant Riva.
This is another husband and wife team: Carla’s husband Maurice is the sommelier. Carla’s cooking, based on the freshest locally sourced ingredients, is described as elegant and imaginative. Her menu features dishes such as stuffed courgette blossoms with mushrooms, ravioli stuffed with mixture of borlotti beans, onion and truffle, pheasant with hazlenuts.

Via Riva 16
29028 Ponte Dell’Olio
T: +39 () 0523 87 51 93
F: +39 () 0523 87 11 68
W: http://www.ristoranteriva.it
E: info@ristoranteriva.it

Iside Maria de Cesare (e Romano Gordini)

Iside Maria de Cesare e Romano Gordini are a husband and wife chef team who own the restaurant La Parolina.

Iside was born in Rome studied engineering for 2 years before changing careers. She gained work experience in the kitchens of Agata e Romeo, La Pergola (the Hilton hotel restaurant) and Frasca Castrocaro, where she met Romano, who had returned from a stint working for Gualtiero Marchesi in Erbusco, They decided to open La Parolina, deep in the Tuscan countryside, where on summer nights one can dine on the outside terrace. The restaurant has terrific views.

Their cooking is inspired by contemporary trends: sweet and savoury ice creams are a feature, popping up as an accompaniment to starters and main courses. Specialities include panzanella salad with chianina beef ice cream (I think – difficult to tell with the word order) and skewered pigeons with foie gras and thighs stuffed with morels.

La Parolina
via Giovanni Pascoli 3 I – 01020 Trevinano
Telehone: + 39 0763717130
E-mail: laparolina@libero.it
Website: http://www.laparolina.it

Rosanna Marziale

Rosanna’s point of reference and roots are in Caserta, where she was born, still lives and ‘always’ worked with her brothers in the family restaurant, Le Colonne, which was founded by her father Gary in the 1950s.

She has been a professional chef and sommelier since 1992. She has studied on various courses and with teachers such as Gianfranco Visscher and Martin Berasategui.

Rosanna likes to impress. Her dishes are original, with strong contrasts of colour and taste, experimenting with the shapes and textures of ingredients. She achieves this through research combined with technique, but she never loses sight of the region’s culinary traditions and products – particularly buffalo mozzarella. Because of her passion for mozzarella, she went into partnership with the restaurant chain “Fratelli La Bufala” for which she developed some recipes for the winter 2009 menu which were offered on all 91 locations of the restaurant chain worldwide.

Roberta has collaborated on a book – Sorrisi di Latte – which celebrates mozzarella. Aimed at children of all ages, the little book is charmingly illustrated and even has lyrics for kids to sing along to.

MUSSELS AND MILK OF THE BLACK MOZZARELLA
Ingredients for 1 person
80 g of fresh pasta ‘al nero di seppia’
100 g of mussels
100 g of mozzarella milk
2 g of the cuttlefish tint
10 g of shallot flavored oil
20 g of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preparation:
Cut the pasta into tagliatelle strips, clean the mussels and wash them well, put the shallot flavored oil into a pan and let the mussels open. Let them cool. In the meantime put mozzarella on a plate and let it melt in the microwave to get the milk. Filtrate milk with a fine strainer to get a pure liquid. Take the mussels out of the shells and keep the liquid which which resulted during cooking. Put now in a pan over a medium heat and add all the ingredients – mussels without shells, mozzarella milk, cuttlefish ink and the liquid from mussels. Heat it and whip all together. After everything is whipped let it flow twice through a strainer to get a homogenous sauce. Keep it warm in the pan where you intend to finish the pasta.

Cook tagliatelle in a big quantity of salted water for about 2 minutes (it depends on pasta), let them drain and put them in the pan with the sauce. Mix everything together and serve hot.

Ristorante Le Colonne
Viale G. Douhet, 7 Caserta (CE)
Tel. +39 0823 467494
Websites: http://www.lecolonnemarziale.it and http://www.rosannamarziale.it

Nadia Moscardi

Elodia Moscardi set up her restaurant in 1974. After the L’Aqulia earthquake 2 years ago the restaurant moved to a new location and is now an ultra modern and contemporary glass box with tables arranged around a fireplace. Elodia has semi retired and she says she likes being a grandmother, while her daughters Nadia and Vilma are a double act in the kitchen. Their brother, Antonello, meanwhile, is front of house.

Nadia is in her 30s. She says that being a female chef is demanding as one has to balance the demands of anti social hours in the kitchen and family life. And these days chefs also have to be entrepreneurs.

Their cooking is based on the products and traditions of Abruzzo, but Nadia and her sister like to use modern techniques and preparations where appropriate. Thus there are two tasting menus, the traditional one features dishes like maccheroni alla chitarra (a local pasta) with lamb ragu; the other is more modern with dishes like tiny ravioli stuffed with cardonelli mushrooms, or roast lamb with a saffron crust.

Nadia’s particular passion is patisserie and desserts, and she is always experimenting with new ideas like saffron cream.
Ristorante Elodia
Frazione Camarda
Via Valle Perchiana

67100 L’AQUILA

Telephone: +39 0862 606830 

Website: http://www.elodia.it

Antonella Ricci

Al Fornello da Ricci is a family run Michelin starred restaurant: Angelo and Dora Ricci work alongside their daughters Rossella (the sommelier) and Antonella (the chef) and Antonella’s Mauritian husband Vinod Sookar – who is the sous chef.

Their cooking makes great use of the fantastic quality local ingredients – vegetables are sourced from their garden – combining traditional and modern takes on Puglian recipes. The restaurant’s long tables, copper lamps, and beams, creates a farmhouse-style restaurant that belies the seemingly simple, but sophisticated cooking. Vegetables feature strongly: fried beetroot with puree of beet and timbale of carrot, zucchini, cheese and barley; or stuffed aubergine, croquette of potato and cheese, and deep fried zucchini blossom are two examples.

Al Fornello da Ricci
Contrada Monte Vicoli 71
72013 Ceglie Messapica, Brindisi, Puglia, Italy
Telephone: +39 0831 377104

no website

Maria Guerrini

Il Cacciatore, The Hunter’s restaurant, in Muccia a small town in the foothills of the Sibillini Mountains, has been run by the same family for 5 generations. Her husband, Luciano, used to be in charge of the grill, though he is now too ill to work. Her son comes back from Rome to help at the weekends.

Q: When did your interest in cooking start. Maria: Not until I was 20 years old. My parents owned a clothes shop and it was my husband’s family who had the restaurant.

Q: How did you learn to cook. Maria: Well to start with, my mother in law was very jealous of her kitchen and she was very reluctant to teach me, so I had to learn through observing her from a distance. Then people noticed I was a quick learner and so they began to teach me. I also read recipe books and asked people.

Q what inspires your cooking Maria: I love people’s appreciation! I like the praise, the compliments, the smiles on their faces. I have created my own recipes over the years. The inspiration comes from the ingredients. One of my most popular dishes is farro spaghetti with fresh tomatoes and aged pecorino cheese. My mushroom soup is only made with porcini and a really good meat stock. I like to mix things up a little: with beef tagliata (strips of grilled fillet steak), I’ll use strawberries and rocket as well, and dress it with a little crema di Balsamica.

Q How do you find being a woman chef in a traditionally male world? Maria: I don’t take any notice, I get on with the job. Male chefs are more respected, but I think women chefs are more considerate of their colleagues.

Q: How do you relax? Maria: I cook! We holiday at Porto San Giorgio on the coast with a friend and I cook fish by way of a change.
Albergo Ristorante Del Cacciatore
Via Spinabello 13
62034 Muccia (MC)
Tel. +39 0737/646121
http://www.delcacciatore.it

Elizabetta Martelli

The atmosphere of Dolce & Salato, Elizabeth Martelli’s restaurant is intimate and very comfortable with its walls decorated with paintings. On the hall table there’s a display of antique home made pasta presses. 
 
Elizabeth has been running the restaurant for 20 years. These days she is helped by her son Massimo, who is in charge of the cellar, with over 700 labels, and an enoteca close to the restaurant called “Benéssum” which organizes musical events, wine tastings, olive oil and cheese and wine courses, particularly those which involve dough and a rolling pin.

The menu of Dolce e Salato is mainly based on hand made pasta, all rolled using a rolling pin, not a machine. There are about forty different types, stuffed with herbs, vegetables, cheese and fruit. Of course the menu is not limited to this feast of pasta, but beautiful Elizabetta’s vitality and enthusiasm shines through them.

Q: How did you get interested in cooking? 
 
Elizabeth: Practically since I was born. My grandparents had a restaurant in Bologna and I was always busy in the kitchen. I was already rolling out pasta dough at the age of three. 
 



Q: What path did you follow, the classic hotel school? 
 Elizabeth:No, after high school I worked in an electronics company, then I opened a bookstore. But I followed my true vocations and in 1985 I found a restaurant in San Pietro in Casale called Ercolino, which I converted and reopened as Dolce & Salato. My training was in the kitchens of the Church Bells restaurant run by Nonna Ines; the artistic and creative Gianfranco Vissani helped me to be more professional. 


Q: From where do you get your creativity?
 
Elizabeth: From nature, everything is beautiful, alive, true and authentic, the pleasure of discovering new tastes, the curiosity and the daily challenge
Q: What do you want to convey with your dishes? 
 
Elizabeth: Myself. I think cooking as a form of communication is very important, hence the responsibility to convey serenity, pleasure and love. So I think that a chef must work at the stove when it is peaceful and she should work in optimal conditions to be able to transmit only positive energy with the dishes she prepares. 
 


Q: Do you find it difficult to get respect in a nearly all-male world? 
 
Elizabeth: I find that women everywhere find it harder than men to get out of mediocrity. We spend more energy and we must be very brave. True success for me, however, is all the people who consider my cooking to be fantastic.

Q: Do you have dreams? 
 
Elizabeth: I’ve always had a dream to be a farmer. The present one is able to transfer all the knowledge that I’ve gained over the years to people who love food. To this end my son Massimo and I started a school of food and wine, called “Benéssum” (I am also a sommelier, technical taster of olive oil, pasta and even naturopath teacher). The biggest dream is to bring the culture of Italian food outside Italy. Soon I will start pasta courses in Brussels at a famous cooking school there.

Elizabetta has co-authored a book on herbs, see:
http://www.minervaedizioni.com/SchedaProdotto.aspx?oid=e65f0cc8-040b-4eb9-9716-9bb480836581

Restaurant 
Dolce & Salato, 
 Piazza Luigi Calori, 16
40018 San Pietro in Casale Bologna,


Telephone: +39 051 818090

Website http://www.dolcesalato.org (doesn’t work though)

Aurora Mazzucchelli

Aurora Mazzucchelli has a sweet look, but it soon becomes clear she is a woman with very clear ideas.

Q – Tell me about your restaurant. 
Aurora – The restaurant is located on the outskirts of Bologna, in the hills of Sasso Marconi, the atmosphere is warm and elegant, the colours are warm and it gives an immediate sense of positive energy.

Q – What can customers expect from you? Aurora – for me, hospitality is important, so we offer a friendly and professional atmosphere in a comfortable and relaxing setting. Attention is paid to every detail, from the extensive cellar for wine lovers to the search for raw materials. We love working with artisanal producers who deserve to be better known. My goal is to convey simplicity and well balanced flavours which please those who try my dishes.

Q – What kind of cooking do you like to do? Aurora – I think my cooking is simple and balanced. I follow the seasons with its colours and scents and try to convey the love I feel for my work. My cooking aims to create exchange of energy between myself, my staff and our guests.

Q – Tell me about your career? 
Aurora – I am the daughter of restaurateurs, Dad is a chef and Mum is pastry chef (sfoglina). After school I worked in the family hotel restaurant and I have some work experience in other places. I have fond memories of Zur Rose in San Michele Appiano in Bolzano and the restaurant Arnolfo in Colle Val d’Elsa in Siena. As for pastry I have improved my technique with master pastry chef Gino Fabbri of La Caramella di Cadriano in the province of Bologna.

D – Do yo think it’s difficult being a woman in your environment? 
Aurora – I feel a bit of curiosity when it comes to my male colleagues, rather than than the customers; the guys after tasting my food were astonished to see a woman chef. We women chefs are far fewer in numbers than men chefs, but we are all very good and we win very important awards.

Q – What do you like cooking? 
Aurora – Everything I do not exclude anything, my work is “alive” and allows me to express my skills, my moods without conditions.

Q – Are there any male chefs you admire? 
Aurora – I appreciate and want to thank Gaetano Trovato, chef and owner of the restaurant Arnolfo, he’s an extraordinary person, like his cooking: elegant, understated and never dull. For his energy and how to interpret the kitchen as art, I think only Gualtiero Marchesi, a cultural heritage of Italian gastronomy. A young colleague that I particularly admire is Massimiliano Alajmo.

Ristorante Marconi
Sasso Marconi (BO)
Telephone: +39 051 846216
http://www.ristorantemarconi.it/