In Andreina's kitchen there is a fire that has been burning for over seventy years. It is not just an embers, but a living heritage, a language, a way of understanding gastronomy that is rooted in the family memory and resolutely projected into the future. Around that fire - primordial, essential, indomitable - has grown Errico Recanati, the chef who has turned the tradition of the Marche region into fertile ground for research, transforming simple ingredients into intense, contemporary experiences.
From the childhood spent at the side of his grandmother Andreina to the encounter with masters such as Pietro Leeman and Gianfranco Vissani, Errico's path is guided by two driving forces: love and curiosity. The result is a 'neo-rural cuisine' that does not deny its origins but listens to them, respects them and renews them, maintaining a constant dialogue with the land, the family and the guests. In this interview, he talks about his visceral relationship with the grill, the responsibility of the Michelin Star and the value, now more central than ever, of conviviality.
Your cuisine was born around fire and embers: can you tell us how this primordial element influences your gastronomic vision?
Everything passes through fire and its derivations, since I was a child I have lived around this element that you rightly defined as primordial. When I embarked on my path in the world of cooking and catering, it was natural to bind myself to fire because it was the thing I knew best, then curiosity, study, and learning the secrets of my masters enriched and perfected it.
How did your approach to professional cooking come about, starting from your family experience with your grandmother Andreina to training with great chefs?
Two elements underpin my commitment in every field, love and curiosity. They move me and guide me, with them I have managed to grasp the ancient essence of my grandmother's cooking and at the same time the lessons and secrets of two sacred monsters of cooking, so different from each other as Pietro Leeman and Gianfranco Vissani.
In your work you often talk about 'neo-rural cuisine'. How would you define this concept to those who are not familiar with it?
Neo-rural cooking is the evolution of a story, my story. It starts with my grandmother, with whom I used to make broth at Christmas, and passes through taking care of the raw material and listening to - not tasting - its qualities. The world and cooking evolve, but you must never lose the roots from which you come and which have made you who you are. For me, neo-rural cooking is this.
Marche tradition and innovation coexist in your dishes: what is the greatest challenge in respecting the territory without fossilising the past?
I have already said it on other occasions: I do not like photocopied dishes. In the kitchen, research is continuous, each ingredient is different and unique according to the season, the territory it comes from, the hands that have cultivated, bred and harvested it. The challenge in this case is not difficult, you just have to be guided by an almost visceral respect for the raw material, starting with the spices that I personally grow in my garden down to the last ingredient that I look for as close as possible. Innovation is almost automatic when you are able to listen to the earth and its fruits.
The Michelin Star has been with you for more than a decade. How has this recognition influenced your cooking and the way you approach each service?
The Michelin Star, but also the other awards that Andreina has collected over the years, are a responsibility and an incentive. Maintaining a constant level and meeting the expectations of customers who come to us, driven by the Michelin Star, does not let you sleep at night. The details are crucial, starting with how we equip the room, the mise en place and the way we welcome customers. I don't think my cooking is influenced by the Star, but certainly the desire to do better and better, once I got the award, consolidated the commitment and passion we put into our work.
Many of your dishes transform simple ingredients into complex experiences. How do you choose and work with raw materials? Can you tell us a recent example?
I choose raw materials through research and experimentation and try to make the most of their properties. For example, I think of the simplicity of an oyster that is opened and cooked under the ashes inside an oyster with its marrow. In this way we value the taste of the marrow, the water of the oyster and the oyster itself.
In many starred kitchens, technique often takes over from conviviality. How important is it for you to maintain a direct, human relationship with diners and service?
For me it is fundamental. It is no coincidence that the most important table in my restaurant is the one that overlooks the original 70-year-old grill. Without the constant and continuous relationship with my guests, who often become friends, there would be no point in doing what I do. I am a perfectionist and I always like to give the customer the best, but even a chat or a toast gives meaning to every day's work.
The grill and embers are ancient yet central tools in your cooking. Have you ever thought of exploring new technologies or combinations to further evolve this language?
I never stop, my curiosity is endless. For me, being in the kitchen is like being at the amusement park. In my kitchen, old tools and state-of-the-art equipment coexist. But in each of my dishes at least one ingredient is barbecued: under the ashes, on the coals, on the grills or hung over the embers, to explore new temperatures and new cooking methods.
What role does family play in your cooking today, and how do you relate to the legacy of your grandmother and your mother in Andreina's daily life?
Family is the backbone of Andreina, family lives inside Andreina. Not only with Nonna, whose every corner of the restaurant she talks about, or with Mamma Ave, who is still a pillar of the restaurant. My children run the restaurant, recently my sister also joined the team that takes care of the business. Andreina would not exist if it were not conceived and built on a family structure.
Looking to the future, what gastronomic dreams or projects do you have in mind for yourself and Restaurant Andreina in the coming years?
I am not used to looking too far ahead because I like to live intensely in the present. The world of catering is a complicated and tiring business. As I have already said, love and curiosity guide and inspire me. Of dreams I still have many, of projects perhaps a little less, but I would like conviviality, friendship and passion to continue to be at the heart of everything we do.
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