There are more popular chefs, certainly. There are TV chefs, chefs of the moment, avant-garde chefs, chefs who make numbers, those you call for an interview. And then there are the chefs who simply make you feel good. One of these – I discovered him recently – is Giancarlo Morelli: a generous, grateful, passionate chef, to whom life has given a lot but has also taken away a lot. A few years ago an accident on the ski slopes threatened to leave him in a wheelchair and instead he is still here, smiling even more because of the lessons given to him by fate.
Morelli, with his iconic glasses with one square and one round lens, has an interesting story, which he told me during a dinner at his Friends’ Table, the table located in the kitchen of his Milanese restaurant and where he we like to receive friends and special guests, as well as of course customers who want to try a unique experience. Born in the province of Bergamo to a family of farmers, he approached cooking out of pure passion, then he went – as happened to many top chefs – on cruise ships, learning teamwork, timing and precision, but the turning point in His career began when, thanks to his passion for golf, he found himself managing the kitchens of the Monticello club. Then the decision to open his own restaurant and the almost accidental choice to focus on Seregno, a town in Brianza far from any gourmet suggestions. At least until then. Because since then, a good thirty years, Morelli has changed the gastronomic destiny of this location. And a bit of the Lombardy province too.
Pomiroeu, as the place in Seregno is called due to the fact that apples were harvested in that area, is a luxury tavern. Because Morelli’s cuisine is technical but simple at the same time, it tells stories and men. Despite having boasted one star for about ten years before Morelli’s injury, the restaurant offers cuisine with popular features even if the dishes respect the codes of haute cuisine. Between the dishes Creamed cod, white polenta, mushrooms, garusoli, sweetbread, parsley, dried tomato, mixed pasta, cauliflower, aniseed snail ragout, Carnaroli selection rice with smoked buffalo ricotta with red prawn tartare and black truffle, anchovy sauce ( a Morelli classic), venison wellington, fermented red fruits, Romanesco broccoli, crusco pepper, lemon savory.
Then there is Morelli’s Milanese restaurant which is located in Chinatown, at number 4 via Aristotile Fioravanti, in an elegant and contemporary space in the space where there was once a social centre. A double venue: because there is the Morelli Restaurant and the Bulk. The first is a place that offers cuisine with traces of classicism in an environment that is not necessarily formal but certainly sophisticated: the menu offers, among other things, char tartare, smoked shallots, milk and lemon, devilled duck breast with burnt rocket and raspberries, Spaghetto with pepper water, Salina caper and crusco pepper, Rossini of celeriac, salted citron, black brioche bread and Filet with green pepper with porcini mushrooms and potatoes. Desserts include Cremosos with cassis, savory sorbet, red turnip chips, milk foam, fermented blueberries, fir oil and parsnip and the chef’s Triamisu.
The Bulk, on the other hand, offers a more relaxed atmosphere with a more versatile proposal, and the restaurant has a more streamlined menu, but still Morelli-style: and therefore a series of cold and hot dishes to open, including Cantabrian Anchovies, mini Tartare of beef, the Bulk veal with tuna sauce, the famous classic chips or with truffle and parmesan and then solid dishes such as the Casoncelli alla Bergamo which honors the origins of the chef, the Spaghetto with 5 tomatoes, Bulk Milanese and a spectacular cheese trolley, which alone is worth the visit. Then a cream ice cream among the best in Milan, creamed at the table, and the fun flambé Crèpe Suzette for those nostalgic for the Eighties. There is also a Saturday Brunch with pancakes, salads, sandwiches, eggs and everything you need.
And a space dedicated to mixology with the ironic “signatures” Giantonic and Bulk Mule and all the classics performed magnificently. Of course there is a good wine list and the service is truly welcoming. Long live Giancarlo Morelli.