Sometimes it happens, to fall in love!
When what you fall in love with is creative madness, and the person who is making you fall in love with it is the genius of this madness, the sublimation is quickly said.
Do not think of the negative meaning of the term, of madness. Because madness, in its purest and truest sense, is 'simply' the abandonment of all criteria of judgement, that which allows you, courage in your heart, to follow your instinct and take a leap instead of a step.
Terry Giacomello was a child when he fell in love with cooking. The small family inn, in Montereale Valcellinasoon became a place for playing and teaching about life. It was here that he discovered that only mill-fresh ground maize can be transformed into a perfect polenta; that true pasta, that which tells the story of the tradition of a land and a people, and which nourishes in a healthy and unique way, is that made by hand, with love; that the treatment of game meat, from the maturing to the marinating, up to the different cooking methods of the various cuts, is a fundamental 'secret' for bringing quality, flavour and pleasantness to the table.
During and after his hotel studies, it was still here, in his native Friuli, that he learnt about wild herbs. And it is precisely they, the wild herbs, that are in some way responsible for the "mad leap", the one that made this chef the renowned and unique chef we all know, today the soul of the restaurant Inkiostro of Parma.
"I went to work in France - says Terry - from Marc Veyrat. He had a very pastoral and mineral cuisine; farm produce was enhanced by herbs and aromas from the undergrowth. Here I deepened and broadened my knowledge of roots and herbs. I began to develop a strong curiosity for the new, and soon the desire was born in me to seek out unknown products, which would allow me to go beyond traditional cuisine".
The many important collaborations that followed, in France, Spain, Brazil, Belgium and, not least, the experience of being part of the Ferran Adria, did the rest.
Sweat, effort, techniques, lots of study... and above all sacrifice.
"Creativity is also suffering - continued -. You have to search, think, build...".
But it is wonderful when, almost with naivety and total spontaneity of spirit, Terry Giacomello tells you that he is not capable of cooking other than that. Yes, because Terry is a humble man, with a simplicity that almost knocks you off your feet. Affable and caring, you immediately feel at home with him. Terry, how does a recipe come about?
He smiles, not even thinking about it for a second. "I think it is a way of life, to create dishes! You take inspiration from everything, sometimes even from the mistakes you've made with an ingredient. From travel, from everything you observe, from drawings, paintings, from a visit to a museum...".
A simple black ball that met her eye one day became a sphere of fermented black garlic, and the edible paper that a Japanese mother used to wrap a tablet before giving it to her child gave birth to Ink Inkiostro a "Cellophane"a very light transparent foil that holds a cube of Parmesan cheese, ginger and mint. Giving the impalpable consistency are the potato starch and tapioca from which the foil is made.
Here is curiosity, fundamental, which then triggers creativity, innate. But don't call him an artist.
"I am simply a cook trying to give people two hours of excitement. This is my mission, nothing more!".
Emotions of which surprise is a substantial element. At the table with Terry Giacomello the journey is unexpected in the unexpected. Why would you ever expect ice cream to taste like Big Babol? No! Yet its cuisine does not leave the memory, which is indispensable for the emotion to be complete and absolute, sublime, in fact. And there is more, even more. Because it is true, his dishes are called "Sprig", "Homage to Gravner" o "Homage to Mugaritz', which arrives to guests in the guise of a mouldy apple: five days of processing, a bath in water and quicklime, fermentation, the crust of noble mould contrasting the sweetness of the fruit, wrapped in hints of bergamot and cardamom.
But the perfection of technique (that perfectionism is part of Terry's character), the open-mindedness to the new and unknown do not forget respect for the raw material, on the contrary, they enhance it. Because after all Terry Giacomello remained the little boy who loves nature, and the teachings of mother Wanda, those instilled in the kitchen of the trattoria in Montereale, are still there.
"The raw material must be used with consideration - he says -. Don't waste, throw away. I use everything, everything edible, from potato peels to reindeer heart, from herbs and roots to chicken feet and rooster crest. Whether anchovy or caviar, all products have the same value. It is wrong to think that an expensive product is worth more; value is not the price!".
Terry will never contradict himself, because his is not ostentation, but simply a way of life. His is a need to seek, to create, to try, to think, to experiment.
The way of the heart!
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