Over 70 trips to Japan and tens of thousands of kilometers across Italian roads. The result? Moi: prato's omakase where Francesco Preite amazes 10 guests each night with premium ingredients served in traditional Japanese style.
The story
No one would pay much attention to meals served on endless flights. They'd consume them without caring about what's in front of them, just eager to satisfy hunger and pass the hours. But a verb conjugated in the conditional tense always leaves the door open for the exception that proves the rule. An exception ignited by the aroma of a vegetable and spice soup served during the Abu Dhabi - Milan flight, which rushes home to Prato. Without even greeting his wife and children, he attempts to replicate the scents and flavors and then serve them to the customers of his restaurant as part of an astonishing nearly 20-courses tasting menu.
I know who could be this exception ; it's called Francesco Preite, a Tuscan born in Mugello to Calabrian and Campanian parents. Since ten years, he has been the owner and chef of one of Prato's most sought-after restaurants: Moi Omakase. Omakase, you heard it right, a Japanese term that literally means "I trust you," referring to a dining concept and way of eating typical of the Land of the Rising Sun. Customers choose to entrust themselves to the chef and embark on a blind tasting journey right at the counter.
Japanese creations in Prato? Moreover, prepared by a Tuscan? The answer is yes. At Moi Omakase, it's a cuisine built on trust, featuring ingredients discovered from who knows where and how around the world, prepared skillfully and knowledgeably by Francesco, an Italian who trained in Japan.
Francesco has made 72 trips between Tokyo and its surroundings, with the latest, a ten-day journey, scheduled for next September. These trips are a blend of study, training, fun, and curiosity. The first flight dates back to 1998, not initially for culinary purposes, but due to Preite's initial passion for edged weapons. However, his focus swiftly shifted to the culinary realm.
In 2009, full of knowledge, he opened the first Moi near the Metastasio Theater – a beloved sushi bar that served as his launching pad. It was eventually closed with the intention of opening a venue that fully reflected his love for Japanese culture, a place where he too could have fun without feeling the weight of work. This led to the opening of Moi Omakase in 2018 on Viale Piave, just a few meters from the Emperor's Castle. The restaurant features a spacious and quiet setting with a large central counter, a transparent divider between Francesco and 10 curious guests.
Couples, groups of friends, solitary enthusiasts cross the restaurant's threshold just minutes before 9:00 PM. They wait fidgeting on comfortable sofas overlooking the Castle, eagerly gathering around the counter where Francesco is already engrossed in preparing the fish, precisely at 9:00 PM. Remember, at 9:00 PM. Don't be late: there's a chance Francesco won't allow your entry. And what's the most beautiful aspect of dining at Moi? It's the lack of formality, the natural establishment of cross-cutting conversations, an opportunity to explore a distant culture and nearby raw ingredients. Friendships and connections are formed with fellow diners. The experience goes beyond the restaurant dinner. The tasting menu, comprising almost twenty small bites, is unique and subject to daily changes based on ingredient availability.
These ingredients, explained and prepared by Preite through each course, come from all corners of the world and justify the tens of thousands of kilometers traveled to seek them out. From Viareggio octopus to Brittany oysters, from Conero sea bass to Lerici red bream, the journey extends to include Alaskan red salmon and Japanese wasabi. Not to mention the extraordinary Hokkaido scallops, utterly tender, melting at the first contact with the palate. Each bite, to be taken as soon as it's served by Francesco across the beautiful counter, embodies authentic Japanese cuisine, adapted to Italian ingredients, and more.
Clear, direct tastings, instinctive in nature, attentive to the product, sensitive to its transformations. Each element brought to the palate should be explored with hands, in careful and deliberate bites. All of this, thanks to Francesco, a volcano of techniques, knowledge, and interconnected cultures, creating a unique and personal microcosm. The wine list is equally complex and comprehensive, focused on well-crafted natural wines from Italy, France, and beyond. Sake is also on offer.
Known as an ambassador of Japanese cuisine in Italy, Francesco earned this title after Tokyo's top television broadcaster aired a prime-time segment about him and his Moi. Countless autographs welcome him every time he sets foot in Japan, Preite, a personality who may seem rough and harsh at first, but who melts at the table, sharing amusing stories and offering valuable advice on culinary discoveries around the world.
The dishes
Let's start the evening with a traditional touch, enveloped by the warmth of miso soup. There's the liquid part of the broth, but also the heartier aspect made from double-fermented beans – one extended and aggressive fermentation transforming the legume into paste, the other shorter and delicate, preserving the bean's integrity and adding depth to the taste. The mix is enriched by the marine green note of dehydrated and crispy wakame seaweed.
Using chopsticks, the taste of Viareggio octopus reveals itself. It's cooked in a solution of seawater and soy sauce, softening its texture without losing too much of its firmness. Persistence and resilience define the key aspects of this dish, enhanced by a condiment composed of Evo oil from Impruneta and shiso purple powder, slightly bitter, along with Japanese ume plum/apricot. Next, the Brittany oyster takes center stage, prepared with two cooking methods. The first exploits the water within the shell, followed by steaming with sake. It's complemented by a red Tropea onion marmalade, adding a sweetness that harmonizes with the seafood's flavors.
A journey to this restaurant is worth the ticket price for the next tasting alone – the Hokkaido scallop, from Japan's coldest prefecture. The mollusk is served as sashimi, raw, and can be seasoned according to your preference with soy sauce. The first bite is revealing: the flesh melts in your mouth, releasing a delightful truffle aroma.
Now, it's time for the nigiri. They arrive successively, featuring various fish and shellfish left at room temperature and delicately placed on warm rice. In one bite, you'll experience the Conero sea bass, followed by the Lerici red bream, and then the Tyrrhenian langoustine. The cut of each fish is unique; for the red bream, it's slightly thicker to enhance the chewing sensation. Salmon roe, first washed in soy sauce and then sake, becomes the star of a one-of-a-kind Gunkan roll, where the crisp nori seaweed serves as a wrapper for flavors never experienced before.
Here comes the renowned broth based on kombu seaweed and vegetables seared in sesame oil. It's a dense sip that almost tastes like chicken. Softened by the sweeter notes of leek and the meatier qualities of cod, gently cooked by the warmth of the broth itself. I later discovered that no additional salt is added during preparation. The culinary journey ends with more nigiri. From wild Alaskan red salmon to Massa Carrara sea bass, smoked for just 25 seconds with young cherry wood and enriched with the pungent note of wasabi. Then comes the sea bream nigiri, a surface-feeding fish that solely consumes algae. It's seasoned with smoked salt and lightly torched to lend a rough texture to the palate. We elevate the experience with two parts of tuna – first the akami, the back of the Bluefin Tuna from the Island of Elba, offering a pleasant iron-rich, blood-like sensation, followed by the Otoro, the most prized part of the fish, garnished with green shiso.
The Adriatic amberjack is enhanced with spices in a bresaola style, such as salt, pepper, thyme, and juniper. Lastly, the perfectly cooked eel, sweet and sufficiently fatty, is hidden within a fragrant nori seaweed wrap.
And dessert? An unbiased homage to Prato and its most celebrated sweet – the Prato Peach. Francesco purchases it from the city's finest pastry shop, Pasticceria Nuovo Mondo by Paolo Sacchetti, a master of AMPI. Remember, divide the two halves and savor them individually, otherwise, misfortune awaits just around the corner.
Address
Moi Omakase
Viale Piave, 10-12-14, 59100 Prato PO
Tel: (+39) 0574 065595
E-mail: info@moiprato.it
Hours: Aperto dal lunedì al sabato dalle ore 21.00 - 23.00 -Turno unico
