Agostino Iacobucci's prominent characteristic is never lingering on his successes but always running towards new goals. Thus, the garden project continues briskly: the menu features multiple vegetable creations and a clear register that expresses the perfect harmony of elegance and delight.
The restaurant
It may seem like we're starting at the end, talking about Chef Agostino Iacobucci's babà, but our encounter begins right there, just past the threshold of Villa Zarri in Castel Maggiore. He invites us to join him in the kitchen, and we immerse ourselves in the enchanting universe of his babà, where a sweet that has undoubtedly entered myth is brought to life. We witness the final phase of the dough, where butter is slowly incorporated before being transferred into molds, following a manual process executed with such grace, finesse, and delicacy that it's hard to believe it came from this powerful young man.
A grace that has always pervaded the essence of this forty-three-year-old chef from Castellammare di Stabia, and over the last four years, since he opened the restaurant bearing his name in this charming sixteenth-century villa, he has constantly sought improvement, keeping pace with an ever-evolving culinary journey. Because Iacobucci's most outstanding characteristic, having earned his first MICHELIN star in 2010 at La Cantinella in Naples, and later reaffirm it at I Portici in Bologna, and then confirmed it at Villa Zarri just a few months after its opening, is never resting on his laurels but always springs towards new goals.
One of these goals is now the Plastic Free Certification: "We have started the transition," says the chef, "with the ultimate goal of completely eliminating single-use plastic, following the standards and operational procedures of Plastic Free Certification Benefit Corporation, the only one in Europe, which has certified other esteemed colleagues."
The garden project is progressing smoothly, occupying a portion of the three hectares of parkland surrounding the villa. Chef Iacobucci always happily accompanies guests who wish to see where a significant percentage of what they just tasted at the table grows. "Even though I don't have the time to personally take care of it," Agostino explains, "I love being in the garden, walking among the tomato vines, witnessing the growth of peppers, eggplants, and harvesting the aromatic herbs. That's how I deepen my knowledge of the raw ingredients, which then leads me to ideas and inspiration for creating the dishes."
Indeed, many culinary creations revolve around vegetables. One of the tasting menus is entirely vegetarian, continuously and unfailingly displaying the unmistakable finesse that marks the chef's work– a mastery of taste that is clean and pure, expressed at the exact intersection of elegance and delight, without ever being swallowed by mannerism. With an aesthetic approach displayed with natural ease, it is a continuation of the charm of the place that hosts it – a former stately home with fascinating historical appeal.
Adorned with priceless frescoes in the hall date back to the 1700s when the villa, built two centuries earlier, underwent a complete renovation. Today, it houses nine tables that form the restaurant's dining area, managed by Ambrogio Luiselli, leading a service that moves effortlessly and, most importantly, wisely avoids the rigidity that is often characteristic of historical places and stunning settings like this. The cellar boasts about seven hundred labels, including around sixty from natural, organic, and biodynamic wines. While in what was once the villa's stable, the property, the Fini Zarri family, has opened a distillery that has been producing several tens of thousands of bottles of spirits since the 1990s, including a brandy that still ranks among the world's finest cognacs.
The dishes
Chef Iacobucci's welcome gesture is entirely playful, to be eaten with hands – a black sphere that acts as a treasure chest for an eggplant parmigiana, eaten in one bite. A croquette covered in crispy panko breadcrumbs, encasing a slow-cooked lamb, its sweetness contrasting with a creamy bitter herb sauce.
The cannolo is filled with buffalo cream and adorned on the outside with tomatoes and basil, evoking the chef's Neapolitan origins. A corn taco filled with creamy avocado, red tuna tartare, and yuzu, followed by fermented radish in rice vinegar and raspberry, served with oyster mayonnaise. The meal concludes with a pistachio macaron filled with a mortadella foam, taking us back to Emilia.
As a flagbearer of his devoted work on vegetables, here's a glimpse from the vegetarian menu – a gelato made from pea extract, including the pod, completely zero-waste, garnished with sprouts and flowers. Fresh shelled peas cover the buffalo ricotta tartlet, complemented by a spoonful of Asetra caviar for a sweet-savory interplay. To finish, an elixir of fennel, green apple, cucumber, and ginger, offering a sip of refreshing light pungency.
A vegetable carpaccio, the one made with celeriac, first cooked in a salt crust to intensify its flavor, then thinly sliced but with a firm texture, accompanied by a creamy almond sauce, smoked salmon trout eggs for a hint of iodine, and rosemary oil for a balsamic touch.
The bread selection includes, in addition to the semi-whole grain loaf with ancient grains and sourdough, hand-pulled olive oil grissini, poppy seeds crackers and black and white sesame, the legendary Neapolitan tarallo with chopped almonds, lard, and pepper. To be garnished with demi-sel Normandy butter.
The asparagus takes the spotlight as another vegetable star on the plate, presented in its natural state, both as whole spears and thinly sliced lengthwise, its astringency and sulfurous notes balanced by the roundness of a pecorino foam and heightened by the citrusy acidity of oranges, lemons, and yuzu presented in gel and small spheres.
The shrimp, draped in thin and crispy daikon slices, is infused with hibiscus, contributing a delightful tanginess to its natural sweetness, complemented by a savory bitter herbs sauce and caviar, creating a delightful interplay of flavors. The shrimp mayonnaise blends the flavors into a delightful embrace.
A delightful combination of crab, mussels, and sea urchins fills the squid, delivering a symphony of flavors, further intensified by the bisque vivified by the pungency of curry and the freshness of a citrusy gel.
Iacobucci's finesse lies in handling the Comacchio's eel, expertly managing its fatty component with the infusion of soy and citrus. Starting with a light smokiness, the dish is enriched with almond and pine nut cream, yuzu gel, ponzu sauce, and tosazu. A mist of greens infused with gin brings out the vegetable's freshness, complemented by a tableside drizzle of vinaigrette infused with different soy vinegars.
Presented like a chessboard of green, yellow, and red pepper sauces, with their kaleidoscopic range of herbaceous and sweet flavors, lies a slice of monkfish, elevated by the addition of sea urchin mayonnaise, intensifying its marine flavors and making its delicate taste even more enticing.
The cuttlefish, one of the dishes that best represents the chef's aesthetic flair, is equally elegant in taste. Covered with garlic foam, streaked with its own black sauce, a black garlic powder, lime zest, and rosemary oil. The marine essence is elevated with great finesse by hints of acidity and gentle spiciness.
Even the veal sweetbread achieves a state of absolute grace harmoniously paired with the tosazu gel, with its slightly acidic umami and the aromatic spectrum of annurca apple, here in a creamy versions; with tarragon bursting in with its slightly bitter notes of anise and licorice.
Originally a comfort dish, reimagined in fine dining, the ravioli stuffed with Genovese rabbit is glazed with three types of onions, complemented by the smoky note of smoked provola to balance the sweetness and add roundness. The truffle contributes with its unique aroma, defining the dish.
"Naples meets Emilia" is the geographical migration of the chef encapsulated in a thin layer of pasta. These tortelli have quickly become his signature dish, representing one of the most successful fusions of regional Italian recipes. The classic Neapolitan ragù becomes the filling for the tortelli, served with a 36-month-aged Parmesan foam and basil gelatine.
The lamb sirloin is cooked in hay, adorned with three sauces – pistachio, Castelmagno cheese, and raspberry – adding various aromas and different flavor notes, from bold savoriness to vegetal tanginess. The lamb belly is served separately, with a slightly glazed skin, accompanied by pistachio and raspberry sauce.
The pre-dessert is a buffalo milk gelato served on a chocolate crumble, resting on a refined emulsion of raspberry and bell pepper, topped with a sprinkle of caper powder. The pairing with the Irpinian Cerri Merry by Cavalier Pepe, an Aglianico that macerates with cherries and sour cherries, following an ancient family recipe, is exceptionally well-matched.
The Agostiniano Babà, renowned for its triple leavening process, has reached a point where further elaboration becomes unnecessary. It is expertly moistened with a citrus-infused bagna and infused with a myriad of captivating essences, creating an ethereal, almost otherworldly experience that seems to dissolve upon contact with the palate, leaving diners in awe of its sublime craftsmanship. Arguably, the only definition left to provide is that it exists in its own ontological dimension, like an archetype. This archetype, however, finds its foundation in a double milk foam and a red fruit sauce, creating a culinary experience that transcends the ordinary and enters the realm of the extraordinary. Refinement and indulgence are also present in the small petits fours, featuring canelés bordelais with apricot, raspberry marshmallows, hazelnut-flavored fake peanuts, and sfogliatella.
Address
Agostino Iacobucci Restaurant
Via Ronco, 1, 40013 Castel Maggiore BO
Tel: 051 459 9887
