With over ninety percent self-production of what's served at the table, young chef Enrico Bellino focuses on the vegetable element, transforming the delicacies of a biodynamic agriturismo into rich and complex dishes.
The estate
The uniqueness of this place lies in its distinctiveness, especially if we dare to use a term often misused without true understanding, authentic. Immersed in a green that seems boundless, Podere La Cerreta, owned by the Mazzanti family, in the forest park of Poggio Neri in Tuscany, among the hills of Val di Cornia, is part of a microcosm that includes the Terme di Sassetta, a thermal spring with water flowing at a temperature of 51°C (123 F), providing therapeutic effects for the respiratory system, skin, and musculoskeletal system.
It's definitely worth taking the time to explore the beauty of Alta Maremma, walking through the territory of the farm where the principles of biodynamics are followed, getting lost in woods, pastures, and vineyards (excellent wines are also produced here), olive groves, and closed-cycle breeding.
Brown Maremman cows, poultry, pigs, horses, and bees have all the space they need to live happily. Surrounded by a unique atmosphere, the value of time becomes evident when immersed in an environment vastly different from the hurried and frantic pace most of us are accustomed to in our daily lives. Even better, then, is to stop and sleep in one of the comfortable rooms, seventeen in total, each different from the other and dedicated to a theme, spread across the property that includes five farmhouses. A place like this couldn't help but have a gastronomic story to tell, especially with over ninety percent self-production of what is served at the table.
Osteria- La Cerreta
In addition to the restaurant, larger and mainly dedicated to Tuscan tradition, there is the Osteria, a small and delightful rustic space with a large central fireplace, wide windows, and a thatched ceiling. With seating for twenty, the relatively recent arrival of the highly promising Enrico Bellino, born in 1996, has already brought a well-deserved green star, a sign that Michelin sometimes reacts very promptly to serious innovations.
The story Enrico told us is amusing because, during the award ceremony, he wasn't present: "I always believed in the green star and set it as a goal for this first year, even though we've only been open for a short time. After receiving the Bib Gourmand email, however, I ruled it out, thinking that it precluded it. Apparently, that wasn't the case, but I was sure I wouldn't get it because they sent emails for the invitation, and I didn't receive one. So, I watched the live stream with my girlfriend, they called the green stars, and when they mentioned Osteria Cerreta and my name, screams of joy erupted. In reality," he confesses with amusement, "they had sent me the email, but it had ended up in the spam folder, and the reception, which checks the mail, didn't see it."
And he continues: "It was beautiful because I believe a lot in what we are doing and in the osteria project, a self-sufficient place where everything I cook is produced on the farm: trying to convey this to the customer is crucial, and we realize that people appreciate and understand how important it is. Moreover, such recognition gives you a boost and makes you realize you are on the right path: I noticed that the job has changed a lot. Before, people came for the thermal baths and discovered us on that occasion; now, there are a lot of people who come for the food, and it makes me very happy."
Enrico Bellino is not only a chef but also a musician. His story as a young cooking talent, after some experience in his beloved Tuscany, took a turn when he went to Ireland with his guitar and band, intending to play: "I had always worked as a cook, a profession I had never seen as I did there." There in Galway with JP McMahon at Aniar, Enrico explains: "I found a kitchen different from what I had seen before. Great dedication, so I became passionate: we went foraging, and there was a great atmosphere. That place is like a little Noma." Bellino stayed in Galway for a year before spending another period in Ireland at Lady Helen at Mount Juliet Hotel.
"There, the cuisine was more 'French.' Then I returned to Italy with the idea of going to the mountains, and Heinrich Schneider hired me at Terra di Sarentino; an equally important experience, from a human standpoint too." After South Tyrol, the pandemic arrived, and after the forgettable period, during which he was supposed to work with Marc Veyrat, he went to Noma: "I found myself almost in a sort of factory; there you are almost a worker, but it was amazing, and I saw a lot of things." After the time in Denmark, Bellino felt the desire to open something of his own in nature, had a setback, spent another season in Ireland at Aimsir until, while waiting to embark on a new adventure with an investor, he came across Podere La Cerreta: "During this time, I ended up in this room, with logs taken from the woods. I found it ready as it was, then there were the animals and the vegetable garden. In February 2023, we started."
Love at first sight, then, or perhaps another stroke of lightning. The same thing that happened to us when we encountered the cuisine of this young, smiling individual, full of enthusiasm and a very precise gastronomic idea: "I travel a lot, and often I can't identify what I have on the plate, too many overlaps. Tired of this, from this summer I decided to propose almost only one element per dish; with vegetables, I want to give them meaning, highlight their essence."
We work with fermentations, extracts, raw and cooked, with the grill giving many nuances and memories. And on this theme, I will continue to push, focusing more and more on the element, adding as little as possible. Now we are also bringing to the table the pure ingredient that will be declined in the dish because I am interested that it is remembered and that people understand the complexity that can be achieved even without using ingredients like foie gras and caviar, which I do not love at all."
The dishes
Enrico Bellino offers dishes of essential goodness. Excluding salt, sugar, and flour – for dinner, as lunch accommodates up to seventy people – everything served comes from the farm.
Our splendid sequence begins with the result of his afternoon stroll in the garden: marinated baby spinach in fig oil, an extract of the same vegetable, ash-cooked potato with helichrysum cheese, and nasturtium flower filled with wild apples and broom gel; also, a salad of about twenty wild herbs, salt, vinegar, and broom kombucha; finally, the farinello, a wild spinach, "fried a bit pickled and a bit blanched," three preparations based on tahini sauce, and a Maremmana tartare.
Here are the brown breads with chestnut flour, hydrated with buttermilk and served with a wonderful whipped butter. Remarkable variations on cabbage: grilled and previously baked in a wood-fired oven, black cabbage extract, marinated curly cabbage, lacto-fermented purple cabbage, and brown cabbage stock.
Fennel is also presented in various ways: raw, extracted, its brown base, and lacto-fermented. Barley, cooked like a risotto and blended with self-produced cheese and maritime pine oil, is of great goodness. The pumpkin, served with hazelnut butter, lacto-fermented and fried, pickled, and with its juice, is another small masterpiece of taste.
The cardoon, covered with a crust of its brown base and served with cardoon puree and pickled cardoon, is delicious. The pre dessert, made with summer-pickled and preserved fruits (strawberries, mulberries) with elderflower kombucha and citron oil, is very refined.
It ends with an elegant non-sweet dessert: fresh cheeses at the base, an unforgettable milk ice cream, reduced milk foam, and burnt cream crisps. Worth the visit.
Contacts
Osteria- La Cerreta
Via Della Cerreta 7 • 57020 Sassetta (Livorno)
Phone. + 39 0565 794352 - +39 338 1851877 only via WhatsApp
Email: info@lacerreta.it
