Michelle Archive

With many years of professional experience gained both in Italy and abroad, Felice Lo Basso is known as a passionate and innovative Italian chef. He studied cooking at Istituto Professionale Alberghiero Di Stato Perotti, and spent his first few seasons as a professional chef in Amalfi and Romagna. Here, he had a life-changing encounter with Vincenzo Cammerucci (then of the Lido di Cesenatico and now of Ca Savio in Ravenna). “He opened my heart to the kitchen and fuelled my passion for cooking,” says Felice.

He went on to have plenty more rewarding experiences in Romagna. He worked in the kitchen of the Ambasciatori Rimini and the Hotel Frand Riccione, then became head chef at Misano’s Byblos Disco Dinner Club and Palazzo Viviani Montegridolfo.

Felice’s cooking combines the down-to-earth vitality of his home, Puglia, with the passion and fire of Romagna, all mixed in with a classic Mediterranean love of seafood. After an internship at Robuchon at the Metropole Monte Carlo, his career took him far away from the sea, although in a location where fish and seafood are much beloved: Trentino-Alto Adige.

In 2003, Felice took over the kitchens at Alpen Royal Sport Hotel, a position he held the beginning of 2014, when the desire to grow led him to move on to Milan, home of the Expo, a six-month exhibition along the theme of sustainable food solutions. This is the perfect showcase for him to demonstrate his ability to successfully combine different elements: sea and mountain, meat and fish, vegetables and spices, vegetables and cheeses.

Felice is now happy to have taken over from Fabio Baldassare in the kitchen of Unico Milano, on the twentieth floor of the WJC Tower. This is a kitchen suspended between earth and sky, a stage in tune with his cooking, which is both linear and complex at the same time, combining both simplicity and depth of flavour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is his recipe for mackerel garnished with betroot,buffalo mozzarella and black rice chips…..a Star chef recipe .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SERVES 4

– Four 200g mackerel fillets

– 60g sugar

– 100ml orange juice

– 1 raw beetroot

– 3 green cardamom seeds

– 200g buffalo mozzarella

– 60g egg white

– 80g fresh cream

– 200g black rice

 

FOR BROTH:

– 1 celery stalk

– 1 carrot

– 1 onion

– 1 bay leaf

– 1 sprig of thyme

– Salt and pepper

 

– To create the black rice chips, cook the rice, blend together, then dry for eight hours in the oven at 52 degrees.

– Prepare the broth and use this to cook the mackerel fillets.

– Slice the beetroot and leave to marinate for at least three hours in the orange juice, salt, cardamom and sugar.

– Prepare the mousse by combining the mozzarella with the egg white and cream. Pour the mixture into a siphon and combine with the gas.

– At this point the final dish can be assembled. Arrange the cooked mackerel fillets on the plate, put on the slices of marinated beetroot, and add the mozzarella foam. Garnish with the black rice chips.

 

LET US TAKE YOU TO YOUR DESTINATION

Sharon Preston has just returned from a memorable trip to the beautiful island of Capri. We asked her for another must-visit location on this magical isle…

Aside from its breathtaking natural beauty, we found a lot to see on the Island of Capri. And yes, the Blue Grotto was definitely a highlight of our visit. But what came a close second was another treasure, the Villa San Michele, which was built at the beginning of the 20th Century on the ruins of the Roman Emperor Tiberius’ villa.

Villa San Michele was built by the Swedish doctor by the name of Axel Munthe and its gardens are quite spectacular, with breathtaking views of the town of Capri and its pretty marina as well as the beautiful Sorrentine Peninsula and, of course, famous Mount Vesuvius. The villa itself is perched on a ledge about 327 meters above the sea at the top of the Phoenician Steps, between Anacapri and Capri. The gardens are a treat in themselves, as there are a number of relics and artworks located there that date from ancient Egyptian, Roman and Etruscan times.

What a lot of people don’t know is that Dr Axel Munthe actually wrote a book about the villa called The Story of San Michele, which was published in 1929. The villa was his dream home, and of course, with such an idyllic setting, I’m not surprised. He first arrived in Capri in 1885 and built the villa here.

And when you see this magnificent villa, you will understand why he was so proud of it. It truly is quite magnificent – and the villa is also extraordinary. It’s built on various levels, with the study on the first floor, and a circular viewpoint that looks out over the spectacular Bay of Naples. When we went inside we discovered a number of ancient artifacts on display, objects that Dr Munthe discovered while living in Capri. They include sarcophagi, busts, Roman paving, columns and marble.

In the garden we also found the ruins of the original temple located on the site, including a Greek tomb and a stone Sphinx that gazes over the entire island from its stunning viewpoint. It’s interesting to remember that Dr Munthe lived on the island for over 56 years and the villa, which is located on the north-eastern side of Anacapri, was his home from 1896 to 1910. Amongst the treasures he collected that are now on display in the villa is a sculpture of Medusa’s head as well as pieces of a tavolo comatesco and a table. These magnificent items were all built by Roman artisans in the 12th and 13th Centuries.