TRAVEL
ANDREA APREA
Michelin Milan cont...
INTENSITY OF FLAVOUR, SIMPLICITY OF VISION
WHAT MAKES A RESTAURANT WORTHY OF NOT ONE, BUT TWO MICHELIN STARS? IN ANDREA APREA’ S CASE ONE COULD ARGUE THAT IT IS AN UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO QUALITY INGREDIENTS AND INTENSITY OF FLAVOUR OVER CONVOLUTED TECHNIQUE. THE RESULT IS A TASTING MENU EXPERIENCE THAT BECOMES AN INSTANT STANDOUT FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS.
Arrival at Aprea’ s eponymous restaurant is both discreet and enticing. Guests entering a lobby area are met with a pop-up stand and transported to a hidden lift that gently whisks diners who have secured one of the handful of tables available skywards to a dining room that is set around a glassfronted pass where Aprea’ s team work with absolute synchronised precision.
Born in Naples, Andrea Aprea has spent 20 years perfecting his philosophy: great ingredients, treated with respect, coaxed into revealing flavours of such intensity they are almost impossible to explain. As he persuasively explained post meal:“ 20 years ago everything was new, now everyone knows the same techniques, has had the same development … my focus is always on the flavour. Starting with great ingredients and concentrating on the intensity of the flavour.”- Which is an ethos that I can attest permeates his entire menu.
“ Sometimes you go out to eat, it looks amazing on the plate, but because of all the complicated techniques, the food loses its flavour, it becomes just‘ OK’, and that is not OK; that is not what we want”. His food is anything but just OK … seemingly effortlessly, he pushes boundaries of complexity while refusing to let technique overwhelm flavour- yet excellent technique and beautiful plating is also evident across his tasting menu, too.
Take the‘ Caprese’, think traditional Caprese salad and then forget everything your mind would take you to. This was instead a handblown sugar dome, encapsulating a light-as-air whipped buffalo mozzarella foam, all sat atop the most intense flavour of Italian sun-ripened tomatoes I’ ve ever encountered. Drizzled with just the faintest drops of sublime olive oil and a fresh basil leaf, each spoonful was summer in Campania concentrated into liquid form. In an ever-changing menu that responds to the best seasonal produce, this dish has become a rare mainstay.
Ever keeping diners guessing, some flavours here are instantly intense, others more subtly clever. Take the cuttlefish diavola-style, a mollusca that seems to be appearing everywhere this season. The cuttlefish is charred over open fire to add layers of smokiness to its meaty texture, then full chilli heat builds gradually in the mouth without overwhelming the palate. The Selva egg was also a triumph. Served in a custom-made egg dome reminiscent of an ostrich egg, the heavy lid was removed to reveal confit egg yolk sat atop steamed onions, Purgatorio sauce and bread foam dressed with fresh basil. The most delicate bread lattice was positioned on top with the instructions from our server Eduardo to simply smash through and mix everything together to fully enjoy the flavours.
Later came the showstopping tortello pasta with beef Genovese, which was simply incredible. The pasta itself was egg-rich, silken and precise, filled with beef that had been braised with onions until it surrendered completely, providing depth and sweetness. The pasta was dressed with anchovies and jus, and served with Provolone cheese foam with black olive crumble with the recommendation to eat the pasta with the foam. It tasted of Naples, of homemade love, of its ingredients, but also showcased just how complex the dishes here are.
It should have come as no surprise that my parting encounter with Aprea was him materialising from a hidden door beyond the pass with a lemon the size of my head. Sourced from a tiny island off the coast of Naples( naturally) it’ s grown almost entirely for its pith, with very little flesh inside.“ I use the white( pith) and make it into a lemon butter, which is the base of my lemon risotto- no animal fats, just the incredible produce that the local land has gifted us and using those flavours properly.”
A final example of his genuine respect for Italian produce and tradition while refusing to be constrained by it. The whole experience, expertly steered by Eduardo at the table and Aprea’ s team at the pass, was one of discovery, excitement and, of course, proper flavour. It was precisely what two Michelin stars should taste like.
andreaaprea. com / en andreaaprea _ official
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