Starting from Sardinia, cooking around the world, and becoming the head chef of a restaurant on the Lombardy-Switzerland border: today, Michele Pili elevates local products with international techniques while keeping his roots alive. Let's get to know him better!
The restaurant
Nestled in the mountains by Lake Lugano, but in the Como province - in Cima di Porlezza - Aria Retreat & SPA is the new Mecca of hedonism between Lombardy and Switzerland. Through innovative integrated architecture and the concept of luxury hotelier, ARIA represents and translates the complete 360° well-being philosophy into reality.
The pioneering design by the renowned Milanese studio R4M Engineering has made it possible to create 2,000 square meters of residential space on three perfectly integrated terraced floors with nature. In addition to the wellness center with indoor and outdoor pools, there are 15 suites with extremely innovative designs. The entire resort is the result of a tailor-made project, where spaces and furnishings are meticulously crafted in every detail.
The Emotional Experience at the heart of the project couldn't disregard the culinary aspect; an experience, after all, is only complete when it engages all the senses. The internal and external guests of ARIA can delight their palates with the all-day proposal of Dolcevita Lounge & Terrace, but above all with the fine dining experience of La Musa, a restaurant with a breathtaking view, where Michele Pili expresses himself through "concrete, essential, simple, and engaging" cuisine.
Pili's "inspiring muse" is his land, Sardinia, which merges in his dishes with the numerous experiences abroad across Europe and Russia, along with local products. "My culinary philosophy is simple, just as my idea of gastronomy is simple. In each dish, I bring together Sardinia, my land of origin, with the raw materials of the Lepontine Alps and the experience from my travels. Few ingredients, essential yet bold, like my land made of granite," he explains.
Pili's sensory journey guides diners through a sequence of creations faithful to the seasons and the raw materials used, resulting in a true harmony of flavors and textures. The continuous search for new ingredients and experimentation with the most suitable techniques to treat them means that the cuisine of the chef from Serrenti is in constant evolution. Perhaps, owing to his belonging to a family dedicated to gastronomy, Pili places tradition at the center of everything, but a tradition that must be innovated to be perpetuated.
The land of origin, the Tyrrhenian Sea, and the commitment to product quality transform Pili's cuisine into a diverse and multi-layered culinary fusion, both ingredients and their preparation. Excellences from all over the Peninsula find a place in Michele's dishes, where he expresses their most genuine essence with technique and creativity.
The dishes
At the entrance, the sophisticated notes of a grand carillon, a sought-after antique piece, welcome gourmet guests. Large windows, fine fabrics, and artworks create an elegant atmosphere, with minimal style allowing for colors, lights, and design pieces. The terrace overlooking the lake and immersed in the park, where the intensity of green and blue captures the gaze, becomes an extension of the restaurant during the warmer months. Black marble tables with white veins and golden edges set the perfect stage to begin the journey through the flavors and creations of Chef de La Musa. Every detail reveals and anticipates the traits of Michele's cuisine: indeed, every detail unveils and foreshadows the characteristics of Michele's cuisine. With five tasting menus, the offerings are extensive, and despite the uniqueness of each course, the philosophy remains unchanged: dishes that appear simple but reveal an undeniable depth of thought through their flavors.
Delightful aperitif "snacks" accompanied by a sparkle welcome guests and lead them to choose one of the menus. The Fake tomato filled with marinated salmon tartare with soy and honey, served with black olive crumble, is an explosion of pure palate pleasure and entertainment, as well as an excellent prelude to the arrival of the trout marinated with salt, sugar, and smoked vinegar. The dish appears essential and elegant to the eye; the accompanying sauces offer splendid chromatic harmony. The cylindrical cut of the "meat" adds even more succulence to an excellent raw material, where hibiscus sauces and the citronette of pompia, a typical Sardinian citrus fruit, ensure each bite takes on a different character. The minimal appearance conceals intense flavors alternating between umami, acidity, and smokiness.
With the Vicciola’s tartare, a typical Piedmontese meat where the veal is exclusively fed hazelnuts, the journey transitions from fish to meat. This intentionally slightly fatty meat expresses its maximum essence in both flavor and texture. The intensely pink, yet delicate tartare is served au naturel, then accompanied by a zincarlin foam, a local cheese that adds further richness, well balanced by the acidic and vegetal note of rhubarb. The dish is completed with hazelnuts that add rhythm and vivacity to the touch, while the sprouts contribute to the visual impact as well as the added vegetal touch.
Returning to water, an essential element that unites Sardinia, the chef's place of origin, and his new home by Lake Lugano, comes eel cooked using the Japanese technique. Saba, widely used in Sardinian recipes, replaces Teriyaki sauce for glazing the fish. The result is a touch of umami meeting the richness of a quenelle of Bufala campana stracciatella and a pan-glazed peach. The dish notably highlights the masterful fish cooking, but most importantly, the chef's willingness to transcend territorial boundaries and play with the most diverse raw materials.
The journey through Italian flavors, products, and traditions continues with the next course, where Michele's Sardinia meets the Emilia-Romagna of sommelier Matteo Zecchini. The fresh pasta ravioli representing Emilia is filled with potatoes and artichokes and seasoned with a flavorful lamb ragù, typical Sardinian ingredients. The quail egg yolk that completes the dish underscores the protein. The dish immediately reveals itself as bold, rich, and indulgent. The flavors, though intense, manage to find the perfect blend of tastes and textures.
Equally distinctive is the following course: veal belly. The less tough meat, due to 40 days of aging and low-temperature cooking, is enriched with a Catalan sauce, a clear tribute to the land of Pili. The sauce adds freshness and dynamism to the dish. The factors are reversed for the last savory course. While the veal is served with a fish sauce, the crustacean is accompanied by a meat sauce because, despite millennia-old carnivorous tradition, Sardinia remains an island after all. Thus, sweet and meaty battered shrimp with Cannonau reduction and pear are presented.
The same approach is taken for the white chocolate namelaka, raspberries, blueberries, and bitter cocoa crumble. The visual impact is clear: it immediately brings to mind junipers bent by the wind of an island strong and fragile at the same time, just like Sardinia.
Address
Aria Retreat & Spa- La Musa
Via del Ciclamino, 5, 22018 Cima CO
