Curious, ironic, free. Davide Paolini is one of those protagonists who have been able to change the way food is told in Italy. Journalist, taste traveller and founder of Taste, he anticipated topics such as sustainability, biodiversity and raw material culture when they were not yet 'trendy' topics. With his Gastronaut - a name that began as a flash of intuition and then became his identity - has travelled Italy in search of authentic products, artisans and flavours, transforming each discovery into a story. Today he continues his exploration with the same curiosity as always, bringing attention to the trattorias and the truest places of our gastronomy, far from the spotlight but full of humanity and identity.
'Gastronaut': an identity that has accompanied you for decades. How did this name come about and what do you recognise yourself in today, compared to your beginnings?
'Gastronauta' was born almost by chance, as an intuition: a word that suddenly came into my mind and then became part of my identity. In the beginning, it represented a world in which people ate with their heads and not with their stomachs, and travelled around Italy in search of products to introduce to restaurateurs and consumers. Today that world has changed: products arrive on their own, food is everywhere - on TV, on social media - but often narrated without the professionalism of the past. In recent years I have tried to return to my identity, Davide Paolini. As a journalist I still recognise myself in the Gastronaut, but that poetic and curious dimension of discovery has partly been lost: today everything is more visible, but also less authentic.
Your work has always combined gastronomic culture, storytelling and travel. How much has food storytelling in Italy changed from when you started to today?
It has changed completely: once you really had to go out and about to discover, today food has become entertainment. There are fewer dishes 'to discover' and everyone is involved in food, even without expertise. It's another world, and in some ways less fascinating for me.
Between journalism, radio, publishing and consulting: what is the common thread that holds all your activities together?
The common thread is a passion for food, but above all for raw materials. That's where everything comes from. Communicating the value of the product and those who create it has become my way of telling the world of food: after all, I have always been a communicator, even when I worked in other sectors. For me, the raw material is more important than the cuisine. I love bakers, cheesemakers, millers, fishermen more than chefs. They are silent artisans, often invisible, but authentic protagonists of taste. Over the years I have learnt to recognise them: sometimes with a few 'duds' (laughs), but even from those mistakes you learn to distinguish mediocrity from excellence.
How do you communicate your gastronomic discoveries today?
Over the past few years, I have recounted much of my 'cibovagare' around the world in the book Confesso che ho mangiato. Five months ago a volume dedicated to the restaurants of Florence also came out and now I am working on a project to celebrate the most authentic trattorias, which are often lost and almost impossible to find. At the same time, I continue to write about products, which have always been my true passion. Having founded Taste in Florence - today the most important event dedicated to the real and genuine products of small producers - I spend much of my time looking for new realities to bring to the event. Taste has now become a point of reference in the world of food: we have reached about 800 producers and every year we receive many new ones who apply. I personally visit them to make sure they meet the spirit and quality that characterises the event. This year we welcomed over 10,000 buyers from all over the world: maintaining a very high level of quality is a responsibility, but also a great satisfaction.
One of your hallmarks is the promotion of producers and territorial cuisines. Is there an 'artisan of taste' you have discovered that you still carry in your heart?
Yes, the first that comes to mind is a butcher of the highest calibre, one I discovered and continue to love to this day. But there are many others that I carry in my heart: Gioacchino Palestro of the Corte dell'Oca, Gennaro Acqua of Pazza Cetara, Giovanni Giacobbe, butcher from Sassello, Dario Cecchini, the Forneria Lenti, Fausto Guadagni with his lardo di Colonnata. Each of them represents a part of Italy and a way of understanding the trade with dedication, identity and respect for the raw material. It always makes me happy to think of them, because they embody the most authentic spirit of my work: that of giving voice to those who, often far from the spotlight, guard the true soul of taste.
He was ahead of his time talking about sustainability and biodiversity long before they became 'mainstream'. What do you think of the current way of communicating 'ethical' food?
Today, words like 'sustainability' and 'biodiversity' have become fashionable, used as slogans because they catch the consumer's attention. It is a bit like what happened thirty years ago with barrique wines: a label that set trends rather than substance. The same applies to terms like 'fermentation', which have become a catchphrase. But we forget that fermentation has always existed: beer has always been fermented, and so have many traditional products. The concept, in itself, is serious and fundamental - the problem is when it is emptied of its meaning and used only as a marketing buzzword.
Is Italy still the country of regional cuisine? Or are we moving towards a more fluid and hybrid gastronomic identity?
Italy remains the country of a thousand territorial cuisines: you only have to travel a few kilometres to find different dishes - cappelletti, anolini, tortellini... This is our wealth. Today, however, it is difficult to speak of a 'pure' territorial cuisine, because many products are no longer found everywhere as they once were. I don't believe in a total return to 'zero kilometre': to make quality cuisine you have to accept a certain openness, integrate ingredients and techniques from other places, but keep the spirit of the territory intact.
What do you think is the role of food critics today in a world dominated by social media and 'bottom-up' reviews?
Gastronomic criticism today has lost some of its weight: social media have given everyone a voice, but not always with the necessary expertise. The way of telling about food has changed, but not the need for serious judgement, based on experience and knowledge. In a world dominated by 'bottom-up' reviews, the real value lies in credibility, in the ability to select, deepen and give context. And this, unfortunately, few do today.
If you could recommend a gastronomic trip to Italy 'off the beaten track', where would you take us and what would you have us taste?
Every day I discover a new trattoria: those places where the menu is simple, true, and you can still freely choose what to eat. That is where I would take people, away from fashions and obligatory tasting menus. I would like to help people rediscover authentic Italy, the Italy that lives in village trattorias, where taste comes from tradition and not from appearance.
How do you see the panorama of starred kitchens in Italy? Growing in quality or in free fall?
Those with great resources can do haute cuisine and keep the stars, but those who only aim for recognition, without a solid basis, risk going into crisis: the costs today are very high. Stars have become a fashion, but cuisine does not come from an award - it comes from the product and the hand of the chef. In Italy there are restaurants without stars that deserve much more than some starred ones.
What is Davide Paolini's schedule like today? I remember her on the Saturday programme on Radio 24. Why did you leave?
There was a disagreement with the radio management and I decided to stop. It was a programme to which I was very attached and which I still carry in my heart. Radio remains the medium I love most: it transmits reality, real voices, without filters. Television, on the other hand, has never appealed to me - too much spectacle, too much artifice.
What prompted you to create the Master in Food Culture at the Tessieri School in Ponsacco?
I had already devised a master's degree dedicated to catering management in Milan, but after Covid I felt the need to create something different: a course more focused on food culture, not just on its management. This is how the Master at the Tessieri School was born, initially in Ponsacco - a location, however, that is a bit difficult to reach, so much so that from this year it will move to Florence. It is not designed for recent graduates, but for professionals in the sector: an opportunity to learn more about products, hospitality and Italian gastronomic identity.
How many dreams do you still have in your drawer? What is the next one you will realise?
Today's dream is to continue to narrate and enhance authentic trattorias, those far from the limelight and fashions. I would like to give them back the dignity they deserve, because it is there - among the checked tablecloths, the scents of home and the truth of flavours - that the true soul of Italian cuisine lives.
English 
Italian