“My menu of 20 euros? A provocation to try to reflect on our sector and return to diners and hospitality to the center of our work. The chef should not be a star, but the client.” Thus it was pronounced for the Paolo Donei, a star chef Michelín del Malga Panna in Moena, in the Italian region of Trentino, a family restaurant where, before him, his grandparents and parents were in the kitchen.
“They felt lucky when someone sat at their table; they struggled by all means to feel comfortable. It was the postwar period. Today, however, it often happens that the diners are forced to adapt to the needs of the chef. Perhaps our work is diverting: I, the chef, I am not who has to tell you what to eat, and this has always been the basis of my philosophy. You find anything you like in the letter, you can ask me for a carbonara.
Paolo Donei became 1993 the youngest Michelin star chef in history with only 19 years, a record that still remains until today, although he always wants to emphasize that “the true chefs with Michelin stars” are those that preceded him: “My mother and my grandmother.” They “were able to make a menu with very few humble ingredients and that managed to put so much love in those wonderful dishes.”
“Bread and heart”. This is the name of the six -plates menu that it offers monthly this summer to eat at 20 euros: the first was Thursday, July 24, and the following on August 28 and September 25. “It is my thanks to my parents for everything they did and taught me. It is the story of a restaurant that Gourmet was not born, as everyone believes now, but as an osteria that offers simplicity, love and resilience,” he said.
“This menu is also designed with inclusiveness in mind: in these times of economic uncertainty, where families fight with increasingly empty portfolios, I want to offer everyone the opportunity to enjoy a affordable lunch, telling the story of a life of sacrifice, not stars and champagne,” he added.
