A skillfully managed, enjoyable cuisine where high technique serves deliciousness: with these premises, Riccardo Canella is shaping the future of Oro, within the prestigious Belmond Cipriani.
The Hotel
The island of Giudecca is unmistakably Venice but secluded, sly, and silent. Just five minutes by motorboat from Piazza San Marco, you find yourself in another world, gazing at that infinitely beautiful city, oppressed by hordes of tourists during the day, unable to give it the respect an elderly, fascinating lady deserves. It's like the charm of a wealthy gentleman who, past sixty, retains an unrivaled savoir-faire, and for whom time is a negligible variable.
It's not a place for newly rich, the Belmond Cipriani, a world you fall in love with, acquired by the company that is now part of LVMH, a luxury conglomerate led by Bernard Arnault, twenty years after, in 1956, Giuseppe Cipriani decided to create a hotel for the jet set. The Cipriani captivates you immediately, from the moment the staff helps you off the boat, the way everyone smiles (not because they have to), to the enormous pool whose size is the result of a conversion error between feet and meters.
And then there are the magnificent Casanova gardens, worth a relaxing stroll; and the rooms, ninety-four in total, sumptuous, elegant, and equipped with those details that make Belmond a paradigmatic stop to understand luxury in its happiest sense. Lastly, of course, there is the dining: Il Porticciolo for poolside lunch, the legendary Chip's Club, and finally, Oro.
The chef and the restaurant
The executive chef is Riccardo Canella, Paduan with a solid resume working with great masters, from Gualtiero Marchesi to Massimiliano Alajmo, and the years spent alongside René Redzepi. "I am one of two twins born seven months premature, and one of us spent time in an incubator with an IV. From then on, nourishment became a focal point for me. At six years old, I would get up in the morning to prepare breakfast for the whole family. In short, this was already ingrained in me."
So Riccardo enrolled in culinary school, and at sixteen, he realized his calling was to be a chef. He started with seasonal cooking, including the first Michelin-starred restaurant in Siena and then an internship with Biasetto, a renowned pastry chef from Padua, during high school. "I experienced a world I loved so much, even though my school was in Abano and those hotels where they opened many frozen food packages didn't stimulate me much. So, seeing that kind of hospitality, I always chose different paths. Here is different, I didn't come because it's a hotel, but because it's the Cipriani. Otherwise, I would never have done it.
Having lived the experience of Noma, which is one of the most important brands in the world in terms of gastronomy, it was obvious that a team needed to be built, and in some ways, I could have taken a step back, but only to take ten steps forward in a few years. Plus, I didn't have the tools that this company in Copenhagen is giving me. It's a good challenge, but I'm sure we're succeeding by combining my experiences with the opportunity Belmond has given me. Bernard Arnault himself says that luxury is creativity, and if he says something like that, why not combine the two? I remember when I arrived here, many people said, 'Canella, what are you doing, leaving Noma for Venice?' It was a very bold gamble, both on Belmond's part and mine, but I believe it was also a very forward-thinking choice because either we both completely lost our minds, or it's really the right thing to do."
And it seems it was the right choice, especially after experiencing a high degree of gastronomic pleasure at Oro. Beyond the beauty of the place, the unique way the dining room immerses you in the Lagoon, and the high professionalism of the young waitstaff, the cuisine here stands out for its complexity masterfully managed, entertaining, entirely original, where high technique serves deliciousness.
Canella explains: "We don't want to create an exercise in style for its own sake, but rather a right level of gustatory impact and layering of flavors and aromas. This is to achieve a language that is complex yet immediate and instinctive. It's the message that a craftsman or an artist must convey. If you can do something this way, I think it's a success." And he adds: "I'm trying to follow myself, not the critics. Because the main goal is to make the guests happy, and the cuisine we prepare is genuine: we cook what we are, without pandering to anyone or anything. Certainly, in the dishes, you can see all my past experiences, but we are creating our identity, that of the whole team. And this is fundamental."
Riccardo is quite self-aware when discussing his approach to this new venture: "I still have much to learn because being a good chef has nothing to do with managing something like this. This place is a prima donna that must be loved to the core, and if you can't understand that, you can be the best in the world at everything, but you won't make it."
The dishes
So, how does one dine at Oro with Riccardo Canella at the helm? As mentioned earlier, it's a wonderful experience, and the dishes change rapidly because the absolute freshness of the ingredients dictates the menu, along with the chef's unstoppable creativity, as seen in a dish like "Smascherato," which at the start of the meal invites you to savor: a cracker with miso polenta, flowers, and vegetable fudge that showcases real expertise. The cuisine here is by no means compromising, quite the opposite. Of course, as the chef says, "You can't do avant-garde alone; I am also very attached to tradition, which is a heritage that must be preserved." He quotes a famous Gustav Mahler phrase: "We are not here to venerate the ashes but to keep the flame alive."
The butter served here is not your usual kind that, as good as it may be, resembles all the others. Canella has created a spreadable substance that you wouldn't want to do without, using grilled yeast and tomato powder to make it captivating with an irresistible combination. "This hotel is magical, and even though I didn't know it well before my arrival, I have been a fan of what the Cipriani family has done for gastronomy. And for obvious reasons, this heritage is carried forward here, even with Chip's. And that all of this happened in Venice is not a coincidence to me because it is surrounded by the world, and there are still many things to express and rediscover: so much of history is forgotten, but many cultures have passed through here. Spices, cookbooks, Middle Eastern and Arab influences, each has left its mark: it is seen a lot in music, art, architecture, and also in gastronomy. What we are trying to do is dig deep to bring these things to the surface."
There is also a great wine cellar at Oro, with eight hundred labels. In this regard, it must be said that the wine pairing journey is one of the few that, ironically, at this level of dining, is neither glamorous nor predictable, with an excellent selection of wines that go beyond the ordinary. They can accompany dishes that may not be easy to pair, like "Veniceviche," which clearly plays on the South American recipe in a Venetian version with a touch of Venetian infusions represented by fermented strawberry water, smoked tomato, its leaves, ginger, and Select syrup. The texture of the confit crustacean scampi, with the acidic touch of corniola and caviar, is also sublime. The finger salad with seasonal herbs, an exquisite variation of smoked beetroot and mushroom caramel, is meant to be eaten with your hands.
Nothing is left to chance in terms of mise en place, as the ceramics are produced by Valentina, a young Venetian artist, the chargers are made from "bricole," those poles used to mark waterways, and other furnishings come from Surj, another artisan. "We are trying to take care of the community around us; for me, this is also sustainability, like the menu produced by a small printing shop. Venice is incredible because it is made up of craftsmen and artists, people who make a difference." Similarly, for Canella, it is essential that the staff works peacefully: "People are no longer willing to work eighteen hours a day with the chef yelling at them. Here, the staff gets paid overtime and two days off to relax. This is more important than writing in the menu that I use certain ingredients and the right suppliers because it's now taken for granted, and Belmond has had a clear green focus for a long time."
Here is Risotto with bay leaf, saffron, and pollen, an incredibly refined play on ingredients that recall the chef's experiences and lead to a burst of flavor. And the aroma of succulent turbot meat cooked on the bone over an open flame, called bronsa cuerta, a Venetian expression that is equivalent to the better-known "acqua cheta" (quiet water). Everything here is particularly original, and the desserts (calling them sweet might be misleading because they are never too sweet) are no exception, like woodruff with oyster sorbet, gorgonzola-infused cream, and tarragon oil.
The tasting menus cost either 250 or 220 euros, with an additional 170 euros for those who want to add a series of carefully selected wines, making it an experience worth every penny. Because Canella is a character worth getting to know, including his final thought that we've captured: "For me, the future of gastronomy and beyond is a return to a humanistic culture: we live in a society of instant gratification, very evanescent, superficial, where they tell you that you always have to be the best, an escalation of who is the most beautiful, rich, and well-dressed. Instead, we should be able to choose to be ourselves, and this is crucial. And that's what we're doing here: I am happy and go to sleep peacefully because I know we've given our best, aware of everything that needs improvement and constant evolution. That's why I think we're on the right path because we don't pretend to be what we're not."
Address
Oro del Belmond Cipriani
Belmond Hotel, Cipriani Giudecca, 10, 30133 Venezia VE
Tel: +39 041 240801
