Page 85 - Cuisine & Wine Asia 2020 - Mar/Apr 2020 Issue

GAMBERO ROSSO, THE RESTAURANT GO + JAPAN
GUIDEBOOK ESTABLISHED IN 1986,
HAS BEEN SELECTING BEST ITALIAN
RESTAURANTS IN THE WORLD, CURRENTLY
COVERING 35 COUNTRIES SINCE 2017.
THE SELECTION IS A STRINGENT ONE:
IT STARTS WITH 40 TASTERS WHO LIVE 1) Recently his restaurant “Il Ristorante Luca Fantin”
ABROAD PRESELECTING AND REVIEWING cerebrated 10th anniversary, and he served kinki with
RESTAURANTS, FOLLOWED UP BY TRAINED caviar. He wrapped kinki with dried lettuce to enhance
the umami. 2) Chef Luca Fantin
JOURNALISTS FROM GAMBERO ROSSO
TRAVELLING TO THE RESTAURANTS TO This year, Il Ristorante Luca Fantin also received
REVIEW THE RESTAURANTS IN THE THREE ‘Restaurant of The Year’. “Chef Fantin is a real
top player (in Italian cuisine), even if he were
CATEGORIES: FINE DINING ITALIAN, competing with other chefs in Italy. The sea urchin
TRADITIONAL TRATTORIA AND PIZZERIA. spaghetti and the white truffles and chestnut
risotto (he has a special eye for risotto) were more
hrough these stringent rules, an interesting than memorable,” Mr Ruggeri says, explaining the
phenomenon has been observed: through charm Il Ristorante Luca Fantin has on their diners.
Tthe research, reviews and experiences Chef Fantin’s philosophy is clear. “I don’t use any
of the testers, a new source of great Italian ingredients which don’t exist in Italy, but I use lots
food has arisen: the capital of Japan, Tokyo. of umami,” he comments. During one of his trips
to meet more than 200 producers in Japan, he
“The quality of Italian restaurants in Tokyo saw the people drying the kelp-famous sauce of
is the highest in the world, next to Paris and umami. Using ingredients which were available in
Copenhagen” Lorenzo Ruggeri, editor-in-chief of Italy, he dried many of them to find umami similar
Gambero Rosso explains. And amongst the finest to the ones in kelp, and finally found it in Romaine
Italian restaurants in Tokyo, two restaurants, Il lettuce. Chef Fantin has been using dehyrated
Ristorante Luca Fantin and Heinz Beck Tokyo have Romaine lettuce to use for stock bases, as well
been awarded ‘Three Forks’, symbolizing the top as to wrap fish similar to how Japanese chefs
Italian fine dining restaurant since the first year. wrap fish with kelp in a method called ‘kobujime’.
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