Chef Maria Amalia Anedda: vision and creation (part III)

2017-01-11 Maria Amalia Anedda is a beautiful 26 year-old with a surprising smile and a friendly manner. But don’t be deceived: the young chef from Parma, who will soon be opening a restaurant near the city with her partner, chef Jacopo Bracchi, is determined and perseverant.
And she has come a long way in the restaurant industry – not without some difficulty. Working hard, and demonstrating her competence and creativity.
Where did you start out, Maria? With creation of one of your dishes?
“With a vision. And a vision can come to you anywhere: you see an ingredient, you recall something that triggers a memory of certain flavours, scents or textures. Every one of our senses has its own visions. The true difficulty lies in giving form to these visions. Sometimes a single trial is sufficient, and the dish is ready to be served and put on the menu, but sometimes it takes months. A dish is just right when it is as close as possible to the initial vision and conveys the message you wanted it to convey. Though a cook is never happy with his or her own work, just like a writer or a painter ….”
Are there any historic dishes by other chefs that you would really like to have created yourself?
“Gualtiero Marchesi’s “Gold and Saffron” risotto. A revolutionary risotto: Italian nouvelle cuisine, with all the study and innovation that goes into it, with the idea of transforming what was originally a poor dish with gold leaf. Or Marco Viganò’s cauliflower, horseradish and hibiscus risotto, because despite its simplicity as a white risotto served on a white plate, it surprises you in a taste explosion with every mouthful. Viganò is a creative chef who proposes avant-garde dishes. I learned a lot about flavours from him. I also like to study combinations, combining exotic notes with comfort food. And lastly, “Camouflage: a hare in the woods” by Massimo Bottura, civet sauce with hair blood and bones, foie gras, chocolate, coffee, herbs, roots, vegetables, spice and more, for the complex and fascinating history, with sweet and savoury notes, that it tells.”
Two of these three dishes are risottos.
“Risotto is a white page, and you can decorate it as you like; in Italy it is every chef’s signature dish, because it presents the right combination of ingredients and technique. It allows the chef to give full expression to his or her style of cooking.”
Which is the dish that best represents your way of cooking today?
“The dish I presented at the casting call for “Top Chef”, and at the “Gola Gola” Festival: cocoa ravioli, filled with foie gras and spinach, in a smoked duck breast broth. I combined artifice and French cult foods with Emilian techniques.”
What was it like to participate in “Top Chef”?
“It was a great experience, in human terms: there was a friendly atmosphere among the competitors, which made it hard to be competitive. Each of us managed to compare notes with our colleagues, and it was a healthy, collaborative competition among professionals.”
How does being a woman, and an attractive young one at that, affect the way people see you?
“It makes me lose credibility! I have to work twice as hard to prove that I am capable. The restaurant industry is primarily made up of men. Being a chef is one of the world’s greatest professions, but as a woman, you have to prove that you can do it, both psychologically and physically. At first people ask you if you “ feel up it”: do you feel up to deboning a lamb? Do you feel up to lifting 40 kilos of olive oil? Well, you’d better feel up to it!”

Mariagrazia Villa