This year, the only new first Michelin star granted to a woman was awarded to… a couple: Alessandra Del Favero and Oliver Piras. A couple in the city and in the kitchen, endearing, affable, of those whom one would like to meet at the bend of a small road in the Italian Alps to share a (good) limoncello.
For the time being, it is at the Royal Monceau, one of the palaces near the Champs-Elysées, that we must go for a transalpine trip with the thirty-year-old duo. But, at home, the arrogance that prevails in luxury hotels is quickly fading. Before even entering the dining room of their restaurant, Il CarpaccioAlessandra warmly launches “Buona will be!” » behind the counter in the open kitchen, immediately followed in echo by his companion.
“It is extremely important that my clients feel at home here, as a family,” says Alessandra Del Favero
“I grew up in the mountain hotel run by my parents in San Vito di Cadore, in the Dolomites, tells the chef in French. I was constantly in the kitchen with my father… One of my first memories is of helping him, when I was 6, to clean the potatoes. He defended traditional dishes from Veneto, such as casunziei, ravioli filled with beetroot and smoked ricotta. For me, it is extremely important that my clients feel at home here, as a family. »
Admittedly, the deliciously baroque room of Il Carpaccio, decorated by Philippe Starck and the artist Thomas Boog, is quite far from a family inn, with its doors and its central chandelier studded with mother-of-pearl, corals and other periwinkles. But the intimate setting (40 covers, dim lighting), the reasonable prices for a starred meal (main course from 30 euros) make you forget that you are in a palace. Especially when the tongue-in-cheek server dares a few jokes or holds out a kind of giant bib to avoid accidents when a plate of pasta arrives.
Love at first sight in Milan
If the Italian transplant works, it’s also because Alessandra and Oliver work here with longtime employees and friends, casually alternating between the language of Massimo Bottura and that of Paul Bocuse. Some of them were already fighting at Agatheir first restaurant, created in 2014 in the Dolomites. “We met Oliver while working at Da Vittorio, which is one of the great institutions of Italian cuisine, near Milan… It was love at first sight: after three days, we got together, Alessandra smiled. When I went back to help my parents at the hotel, he dropped everything to join me. »
Aga is therefore born there, in the family nest. And the lovebirds are bubbling with inventiveness, swapping tomatoes and lemon for local ingredients: mushrooms, berries. They improvise dashi (Japanese broth) with mountain herbs, rabbit kidneys punctuated with currants and geranium…
But the relaxation of the young chefs hides a tenacious perfectionism. Aga has also won a star in less than a year. Just like Il Carpaccio. The instruction, in the Parisian address, is to discover Italian products and cuisine, under the leadership of Da Vittorio, partner of the hotel. On the tablecloth, homemade foccacia and olive oil replace the traditional bread and butter of gourmet restaurants. The scallops, ultra-melting, are found in a ragout of mussels with puttanesca (sauce made from tomatoes, garlic, capers and anchovies). The paccheri (large tube-shaped pasta) are served with a simple tomato and parmesan sauce… But what a sauce! As for the tiramisu enhanced with fleur de sel (an idea from pastry chef Quentin Lechat), it was brought up to the tables. Everything contributes to sublimating the marvels of Italian gastronomy.
The jovial couple hid a tandem of competitors. In the end, we are not surprised when Alessandra reveals her past as a regional ski champion, and that she slides in complete relaxation: “In Paris, we want to become ambassadors of Italian cuisine. »