Born in Conegliano Veneto (TV) in 1968, Alessandro Breda attended the hotel management school in Falcade (BL) and after various experiences in starred restaurants, he joined the brigade of Gualtiero Marchesiwhere he stayed for over three years. He worked at the Tantris restaurant in Munich with chef Heinz Winter for three years, which was followed by a year at the Enoteca Pinchiorri. After a year at the Four Seasons in London, he decided to open a small restaurant in Corbanese di Tarzo, Il Capitello, which he ran for six years. Since 2000 he has managed the Gellius of Oderzowhich was awarded a Michelin star.
Alessandro Breda tells his story
- Interview by Francesca Orlando
"How wonderful this little room is!" I tell him when I enter.
"Charming, these were the prisons," he replies, "now the only prisoner is me! And he laughs, a quiet laugh that infuses me with serenity.
"But how, as a child you wanted to fly and then you ended up locked up in the dungeon?" I smile too, as we sit down at a table from which we will rise an hour later. He ready to start the lunch service on a warm spring Saturday, me with joy in my heart for having discovered a real man, a good person, but determined and with a great passion for his work.
Alessandro Breda is like that, mild as his laugh, reserved to most, but when he finds empathy he shows all of himself. A man who believes in what I call innate artwhich originates with each one of us. A man who believes that without sacrifice you get nowhere, and indeed it is precisely sacrifice and commitment, together with a passion for what you do, that lead to self-realisation. A man who gives his collaborators a great lesson in the kitchen: each of us has limits, but we must accept them, because we are born with a vocation and we must only listen to that vocation.
He listened to her: 'Yes, I wanted to be an aeroplane pilot as a child, but I also liked to cook. I chose to be a hotelier, and now here I am!".
"Why did you choose the Gellius?”
"I fell in love with the beauty of this place, but the decisive thing was getting to know its owner, who is a very good entrepreneur, but first and foremost a great person. I was impressed by his strength and determination, I like determined people. It was not easy to complete the restoration projectwhen the Roman remains were found, but he gave it his all. He believed in his dream and I decided to believe in it with him, so when he asked me to manage the Gellius I said yes. He is one of those people who can bring out the best in me'.
"You are telling me that it is the people who make the difference... In your life choices has this been decisive?
"Absolutely. I am an introverted person, I have a hard time opening up, but with some people I feel a feeling of intimacy and it is then that beautiful working relationships or friendships are born.
“Gualtiero Marchesi was one of those people?"
"He and the time spent in his kitchen were very important, yes. I was always very tenacious and I was so insistent in asking to be part of his brigade that in the end I think I not convinced him, but exhausted him! In those years there weren't as many excellent restaurants as there are today, the three great schools were Marchesi, San Domenico in Imola and Locanda Paracucchi. If you wanted to grow, to get something more out of yourself, that was where you had to go. Marchesi contributed a lot from an educational point of view; he made us young people understand that being a cook does not only mean being in the kitchen. He used to say that the cook is a ministerium: honesty, cleaning, respect for rules... taught us all this. You know, back then in Italy the cook was seen as a somewhat rough person, locked up in the kitchen, perhaps ignorant and single, and therefore willing to do a strenuous job that leaves little time for yourself. Today the figure of the cook has been ennobled and much is due to Gualtiero Marchesi'.
"Today, even the canons in the kitchen?”
'Very much so. Once upon a time, cooking was codifiedIf you decided to reinterpret certain recipes, you had to strictly follow certain rules. For example the fillet Rossini style had to be made with black truffle, foie gras and so on. Now everything is free interpretationalso the mise en place and theimpiattamentowhich once had strict dictates. Of course, restaurants of a certain level have strict rules, there are standards to be metbut now the chef is the authorHe cooks in a very personal way'.
"How do you recognising the chef's personality in a dish?”
"Good question! With three dishes in front of me, I would immediately recognise one of the great Italian chefs. Cracco has a strong signature, I have known him for many years and hold him in high esteem. I can identify almost all his dishes, even if they are new I recognise his idea, his approach. Marchesi obviously has 'signature dishes'. Other chefs who have travelled a certain path and have a character in the kitchen are Pablo Prior, Enrico Crippa, Davide Oldani…”
"Some of them were in the brigade at Marchesi's with you."
'Yes, when I arrived, as well as many foreigners, there was Andrea Berton, Carlo Cracco, Paola Budel and Enrico Crippa, who left soon after for the military. There was also Ernst Knam. All guys with a great hunger for knowledge; there were some more determined than others, but all with 'something to say'. It was a wonderful time!'.
"What does Alessandro Breda put of himself on the plates?"
"Oh, I so enjoy living, in all respects, and I really like things done well, reasoned. And good things! I try to focus a lot on the essence of taste, on the search for raw materials and on the seasonality of products. Seasonality is very important to me, I believe it is a heritage to be safeguarded, just like the typical recipes of a territory. To create dishes, I often let myself be carried away by the products of the season. For example, wild herbs: I look at them, touch them, taste them and then the idea is set in motion... I love balance and I always try to convey this in my dishes, thanks to the contrasts as a hint of acidity or bitterness. But balance is also given by the sensation in the bite, on the palate and theattention to cooking. I always try to insert the crunchy in my dishes, something fried or dried, or even raw: the important thing is that the bite has a crunch. The dish must give a feeling of pleasureand then it must attract and make people want to be tasted'.
"What is Chef Breda's dish that Alessandro likes best?"
"L'creamy eggwhich is the processing of egg white. The egg white, when it coagulates, takes on a compact consistency; I emulsify it a lot with the addition of broth and cream and so it becomes very creamy. In the mouth it gives that pleasant sensation that I always look for'.
"Being a chef is not just about cooking is it?"
"No. The customer does not sit at the table, he eats and leaves..."
“The customer seeks interaction, not mere consumption. Attention to the people sitting in the dining room is crucial: the chef and wait staff must be up to the task of understanding what degree of involvement the customer wants, and each customer, each table, is different. There are very complicated evenings in this sense: a group of festive friends, a couple in crisis, someone asking for special menus. Everyone has their own needs and expectations, and everyone must be respected. Maintaining an atmosphere of serenity is fundamental'.
"You have one very young staffboth in the kitchen and in the hall'.
"I really like young people, I think it is important to educate thempass the baton of gastronomic culture to them'.
"How do you choose them?"
"Beyond their track record I always make long talks. I like to understand their charactertheir education. I am not looking for phenomena, but if they happen, welcome! I am looking for polite, respectful, preferably educated people, I love to recognise the enthusiasm in their eyes. They must really love and want to do this job, because if you do not have the vocation and passion you get nowhere. I always ask what they want to be when they grow up, which is not as silly a question as some might think. Today many people believe that being a cook is easy, that it is a job for everyone. It is true, as with all things, everyone can learn, but without vocation you have a short life. The vocation is decisive for the result. And then you need spirit of sacrificea lot, both in the kitchen and in the dining room. Even to work in the dining room takes vocation and determination, even that is not a job that everyone knows and can do'.
"Determination is what enables us to realise our dreams and ourselves?"
"I think so. Each of us realises ourselves in life when we do what we have a vocation for, whatever our profession is, within the limits that each of us has, because we are not all born to do everything. I, for example, am not suited to do communication, to be in the spotlight, I feel uncomfortable. But fortunately there are people who know how to do it well. Let me tell you something. I met Carlo Cracco again, a few years after our time together at Marchesi, at the Pinchiorri wine shop, where we stayed for a year. Carlo has always had an edge, ever since he was a boy. I am a tennis player and I played pretty well at the time. At Pinchiorri we played an internal tournament and I found myself in the final with him. I was calm because I knew I was playing better than him... He beat me! He wore me down, he really did. He won! That gives you the idea of what I mean. Carlo was always determined, where he aimed he arrived. You have to have what it takes. Not all of us are made to reach certain levels, he has it and is an example of how determination and sacrifice are essential to realise one's dreams and follow one's vocation'.
"Alexander, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
"The airline pilot!"
If you found this interview interesting, also read our article on the Restaurant Gellius.
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