AUTHOR'S DINNER #06
23 April 2024

A homage to Sicilybetween contemporary pizza, haute cuisine, wine, music and words.

Chef:

Davide Cristaldi

(Restaurant De Gustibus Chieri, Michelin-starred)

Pizza chef

Davide Di Bilio

(Fuori Tempo in Chieri and Canale, 3 segments Gambero Rosso)

Wine tasting with:

Marilina Paternò

(Cantina Marilina, Val di Noto, Syracuse)

Live music:

Marcello Picchioni

(jazz pianist)

Master of ceremony:

Danilo Poggio

(food and wine journalist)

The menu

Guests of the evening

The producer

Marilina Paternò

Cantina Marilina, Noto, Syracuse

Marilina Paternò was born and grew up amidst vineyards, so her studies and experience were channelled into realising her dream: to have and follow a family winery. "Cantina Marilina is located in the Val di Notoone of the sunniest and windiest areas of the Siciliawith white limestone soils that allow for long ageing and give the wines longevity and elegance. Here we produce wines with a strong identity, which come out of the natural process of life cycles, without any forcing. From the very beginning, Cantina Marilina has focused its production on three indigenous grape varieties: Nero d'Avola, Moscato and Grecanico, following and indulging the natural phases of the vineyard. Cement tanks not only improve ripening, but also leave the product unaltered. www.cantinamarilina.com

The chef

Davide Cristaldi

De Gustibus Restaurant, Chieri

De Gustibus is a culinary reality born in Chieri from the union of the experiences of two friends who come together to offer new experiences and emotions. DAVIDE CRISTALDI - He was born in 1989 in Catania and graduated from the Hotelier Institute 'Dalla Chiesa' in Mineo. His professional experiences took him around the peninsula before landing in Chieri in 2015. Young but determined, Mediterranean DNA, Piedmontese professional growth, a mix that translates into a very personal proposal, never banal. The start of a career that from the very first steps denotes character, determination and a desire to break the mould, to amaze without ever provoking. GIULIA MANDARA - Born in 1996 in Chieri and graduated from the Hotelier Institute in Carignano. Experience in Italy and France, in the kitchen (pastry) and in the dining room. Despite his young age, he moves with ease in the dining room and in the cellar and - thanks to his professional background - knows his way around the kitchen. The alter ego that every chef would want at his side. www.degustibuschieri.it

The pizza chef

Davide Di Bilio

Fuori Tempo by Canale (Cn) and Chieri (To)

Pizza chef and certified bakery chef, Davide has always attached great importance to his education. He attended theUniversity of Pizzawhere he had the privilege of having as teachers Simone Padoan and Renato Bosco, two great masters of contemporary world pizza. In 2023 he was awarded the 'Tre Spicchi' in the Gambero Rosso Guide to Italian Pizzerias.

The Petra Evolutiva® Project

All the leavened products served during the dinner are prepared with Petra Evolutiva flour, a project of Molino Quaglia.

Petra® evolutionary wheat, organically cultivated in Sicily, comes from a population formed in Syria by mixing the products of some 2000 crosses between wheat varieties from all over the world, and thus encompasses an extraordinary diversity. These variants of the same species of wheat are sown in the same soil for years, and each year nature selects the most resistant varieties; thus the wheat field adapts to climatic variations and also resists pests and diseases.

The musician

Marcello Picchioni

Jazz pianist

Marcello Picchioni, Genoese, born in 1979, is a classically trained musician, but with a strong interest in jazz. In 2007 he joined the "Claudio Capurro's 'Big Borgo Bandplaying in major Italian jazz clubs and festivals. In 2008 he graduated in Psychological Sciences and Techniques with a thesis on the psychology of music. In 2012 he moved to Turin and obtained a diploma in Piano and Jazz Composition at the Conservatorio 'G. Verdi'. He continued his concert career with his "Marcello Picchioni Trio and in 2020 releases the album 'Later' with DDE Records. In 2019 he opens an music production studiocollaborating with Italian pop artists, including rapper Willie Peyote. He has participated in masterclasses and master classes with internationally renowned musicians and played with numerous artists, including Phil Woods, Rosario Giuliani, Scott Hamilton and many others.

The journalist

Danilo Poggio

Food & Wine Lover

Danilo Poggio is not only a professional journalistbut also a oeno-enthusiastby descent, by vocation and by choice. Certified wine tasterHe serves on juries for wine and gastronomic competitions and writes in the oldest and most prestigious national wine and food magazine. For over 15 years he has been talking about food and wine on radio and TV and at many live events around Italy.