Love is filmmaker Roberto Ronchi’ secret ingredient

2017-08-21 The great Elia Kazan believed that the camera was more of a microscope than a recorder. It penetrates people and their thoughts, goes deep into their nature and their secrets. Perhaps this is why Roberto Ronchi, a TV cameraman and documentary filmmaker, is an excellent cook. He is used to going deep into things and extracting a composition full of meaning and value. Roberto has worked with leading Italian and European news and entertainment TV channels. Over the years he has also worked on various cookery shows, like “Masterchef”, “Che diavolo di pasticceria” and “Il re del cioccolato” with Ernst Knam, and for the “Feed for Good” platform by Gualtiero Marchesi.
Together with Mara Corradi, a popular journalist on our Floornature.com architecture website, Ronchi has started a small production company,Immagica Film, to explore themes linked to architecture through video. At the moment they are filming “Non abbiamo sete di scenografie”, dedicated to the long story of the building of a church by Alvar Aalto in Riola (Bologna), financed via crowdfunding.
Roberto, what do you think when entering your kitchen?
«You don’t come into the kitchen: the kitchen is my whole house. I go into the kitchen when I come home. I don’t take my guests to the living room but straight to the kitchen.».
What dish best represents your life, and why?
«During an expedition to the Omo Valley in Ethiopia, we went days without food or water, in the middle of nowhere. A Surma village welcomed us and people cooked millet “polenta” with kudu stew.(kudu is an antelope that lives in the forests of Eastern and Southern Africa). It was truly unforgettable…».
What wine gets your heart beating?
«Tenores, a Cannonau that’s 100 per cent produced from centuries-old vines, with dedication and skill by the Dettori winery in Sennori, Sardinia».
What is the top in the kitchen, according to you?
«Where you can see everything, where everything is close to hand, like in the kitchens of important restaurants.».
Which is the ingredient you can't do without?
«Love. Love for those who are sitting around my table».
What is the funniest item in your kitchen?
«An Imperia pasta machine with a manual handle, a gift from an aunt from Parma».
Is there a dish you’d like to try making?
«All kinds of risotto with wholegrain rice. I’ve discovered it recently and I really like the taste. As you have to cook it for a long time, it revolutionises what you pair it with and the approach to a traditional Italian recipe.».
Which recipe do you do best?
«Monkfish baked in salt-crust with herbs».
What traits do you admire in a chef?
«I like a chef who can interpret the roots of a territory, producing new dishes, but with a knowledge of the world in which he works ».
What does food mean to you?
«Together with wine, it’s the best pretext I know for socialising».

Mariagrazia Villa