4-hands dinner at the Ratanà by chef Cesare Battisti, who tomorrow will host Japanese colleague Takeshi Iwai, chef of Ada & Augusto.
What does a “city” and a “country” chef join? If the chefs in question are Cesare Battisti and Takeshi Iwai, the answer is very simple: the same sense of respect for local raw materials and the ability to exalt them by supporting seasonality in a perfect marriage between tradition and innovation. So, after opening a delicious culinary partnership last November, the Chef Patron of Milanese restaurant Ratanà and the Japanese colleague at Ada & Augusto will meet again tomorrow evening for an exclusive 4-hands dinner that aims to strengthen their collaboration. And if last November Battisti went to the countryside at the first Italian gourmet Italian farm restaurant at the Cascina Guzzafame in Gaggiano (Milan), tomorrow night Iwai will host Ratanà’s stoves to prove again, together with the chef resident, that Italy and Japan – but also cities and countryside – travel on the same track of taste. For this second dinner, Battisti and Iwai have developed an exclusive 7-course proposal in which, while keeping their feet
firm in Lombardy, they do not disdain any exceptions to creativity and cultural contamination. That is why chef Takeshi has chosen to insert here and there some Japanese derivative (from yuzu to shiso, passing through the umeboshi), as well as to recall in the preparation of the dishes some process (such as tempura) typical of his country of origin. “I’m happy to welcome Takeshi to Ratanà for this mid-summer dinner,” says Cesare Battisti. “The tasting menu we make will include the use of the vegetables we love a lot and will always be created in respect of seasonality and territory, including however elements coming from Takeshi’s cultural heritage in Japan. In this multicultural Milan, Ratanà’s mission is to convey the Lombard gastronomic tradition in a
modern way, with an eye to the techniques and ideas that come from far”. “Cesare is a chef I really appreciate – Takeshi Iwai replied – as I do, it has a particular sensitivity to raw materials, which are the central element of my dishes. First the ingredients come (all from the Cascina’s vegetable garden) and only after the idea for the recipe comes out. Being able to rely on a quality raw material keeps me from doing it with artificial culinary virtuosity. For this occasion, however, I decided to use some of the ingredients and techniques typical of my cultural tradition. Respect for memory is in fact another aspect on which Cesare and me are extremely in tune. ”
(Euro 50 per person excluding drinks – Euro 70 per person with wine combination. For info and reservations info@ratana.it).
(Dishes Ratanà photo credits Brambilla-Serrani)
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