Italian Chef Enrico Crippa and his three Michelin starred restaurant Piazza Duomo in Alba won The Best Contemporary Restaurant in Piedmont at The Love Italian Life 2018 Awards Ceremony in Dublin last year.
Piazza Duomo has been on the San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants list since 2013.
Enrico Crippa was born in Carate Brianza in 1971 and was famously an apprentice in the historic Milanese restaurant of Gualtiero Marchesi. He then went on to work with some of the leading chefs in Europe including Antoine Westermann at Buerehiesel in Strasbourg, Michel Bras in Laguiole and Ferran Adria at El Bulli in Roses.
In 1996 he began in restaurant Kobe of Gualtiero Marchesi and remained in Japan at the Rhiga Royal Hotel in Osaka until 1999. Through this experience he developed a profound appreciation for the simplicity and elegance of Japanese cuisine. He returned to Italy in 2003 who with the Ceretto family they launched Ristorante Piazza Duomo in Alba, Piedmont.
The Piedmont region is regarded by many as one of the true gastronomic wonders of Italy. The Alba province is known famously for being home to some of the most sought after white truffles in the world which nicely compliment local pasta specialities including ‘tagliatelli’ and ‘agnolotti’. Other unique dishes include ‘bagna caoda’, the popular meat dish ‘brasato al barolo’ and ‘piedmonte risotti’ made with local cheeses, freshwater fish and mushrooms. Exceptional wines in the region include Nebbiolo, Barolo, Barbera and Barbaresco which pair nicely with local cheeses such as like Taleggio, Bettelmatt, Castelmagno and Robiola di Roccaverano.
The signature dish of Enrico is a salad named ’21, 31, 41′ which is the number of edible flowers that are available in the dish (the numbers increase over the year when there are more flowers to add to the dish). The flowers originate from a private garden owned by the Ceretto family where Enrico famously heads each morning to handpick the various flowers as well as fresh vegetables for his other dishes at the restaurant.
Here is the exclusive interview between Enrico and The Love Italian Life Awards: