It is poor species that end up on Alalunga’s plates, where two young fishermen have tried their luck in the catering industry. From boat to land, their dream in the making.
The story
In a time where the mantra seems to be zero waste and the rediscovery of "ancestral" ingredients, Davide Busca and Mauro Mantero can be seen as the forerunners of this philosophy in the seafood world. In May 2022, these two friends opened Alalunga restaurant in Savona- as true heralds of "pescaturismo" (fishing tourism) in Italy. Alalunga, a poor fish related to tuna, is the name of their boat, the boat from where everything started.
"I was studying civil engineering; my partner and friend was employed in his family construction company. We used to go fishing for fun, we turned it into a business. We started from zero, without any money, just with our ideas that we proposed to the banks. After much rejection, Coldiretti believed in our project and acted as our guarantor," says Davide, who is also Coldiretti's regional youth delegate. A few years ago, in fact, on top of being "simply" fishermen, the two friends started selling fried fish and sandwiches from their fishing boat.
The beginning was not easy. In just a few weeks they had about sixty complaints from nearby residents and restaurant owners, about the fumes and the allegedly unfair competition. Davide and Mauro, however, working with tenacity and passion, were able to meet with health authorities, Maritime Health, the regional government, and the Port Authority. Together they managed to fill the regulatory gap by setting the rules for selling fried food and fresh catch sandwiches, directly from their boat. Now as then, when Alalunga was “only” the name of their fishing boat, the two young entrepreneurs’ motto stays the same “the sea decides the menu.”
At their restaurant on Savona's dock, taken over after Covid, Busca and Mantero offer everything from squid to monkfish, from anchovies to skipjack and from spanish mackerel to bullet tuna. Davide explains, "their names might not have much appeal, but they are good fish, with all the organoleptic characters of the more famous ones. We like to give value to them, and help people discover those fish which are usually considered ‘poor.’ We offer the catch in a more elaborate form while keeping its simplicity and authenticity intact.” And as mentioned above, the menu is decided by the sea, you can sometimes find a sign in front of Alalunga saying "The sea hasn’t yielded enough catch for today's service, so we are forced to remain closed."
Alalunga’s simple but deliberate cuisine is guided by chef Agostino Russo, along with a brigade of six young cooks under their 30s. Despite their success, Davide and Mauro's dreams are far from over, and the next challenge is already on the table: getting the PGI for anchovy salting. "You always have to think big."
Source: repubblica.it
Find the article here
Photo: @Alalunga
