Contemporary Sicily is the table of a global South, where atmospheres immediately become substance. Brazilian Mauricio Zillo feels at home at Gagini in Palermo: "For the first time in 18 years of my career, I only use local products. And all cooking is done à la minute." His is a new tropical Sicily, made of exotic fruits and fire.
The restaurant
Under the golden sun of this early spring, Palermo buzzes like a crucible of the global South. In front of the sea, a mixed marriage is celebrated, among Moorish architectures that testify to an endless melting pot, from the Palatine Chapel to the monumental palm trees in the patrician courtyards. These are the atmospheres that have drawn in Mauricio Zillo, a chef born in Brazil to Italian immigrants, who passed through many docks before stopping at the gates of Vucciria. It's hard to imagine him more at home than here, where the atmospheres already seem like raw material.
However, cooking hasn't always been a part of his life. With a degree in business management, he worked in banking, but didn't feel happy. Hence the decision to enroll in Le Cordon Bleu in Paris to quickly gain experience in the field. His father's illness brings him back home, but after a year, when his father is now healed, he becomes a line cook at Dom. And it's Alex Atala who sends him to Arzak and Santamaria, where he cooks in Dubai until a fatal illness strikes.
"So I thought, having an Italian passport, that I would like to work for Massimo Bottura and I asked a friend to put us in touch. It would have happened if I hadn't meanwhile met Pont de Ferr, where there were already two South Americans. I liked it a lot and I stayed for 4 years, 2 of which were at Rebelot, the informal branch, for the first time as a chef. At this point, I felt ready for something of my own, in 2015 I opened a restaurant in Paris that lasted three years, then I sold it because I experienced burnout. I had no more time to cook: it was all management, administration, shopping, personnel. I took a sabbatical year in Barcelona, was offered to teach Italian cuisine in Shanghai and was about to leave when the pandemic broke out. Then the owner of Gagini called me, whom I knew through Nino Barraco, in 2020 I took over the restaurant and a year later, the star arrived."
The experiences are quite remarkable, yet the atmosphere is deliberately relaxed. "I wouldn't speak of bistronomy because my dishes are complex, despite being contemporary and contrasting. It was Paul Bocuse who taught me the basics of sauces, stocks, and cooking, without the use of probes or vacuum sealing. I learned to touch the ingredients, a traditional cuisine that I've refined. I also owe a lot to Matias Perdomo, who taught me how to manage people because I lacked the human aspect. I consider him a genius who never stops asking questions."
"I had visited Sicily for leisure and work, but I had always wanted to live in Naples. I thought that here, with such a strong tradition, my cuisine wouldn't work, but the reception has been excellent. For a chef, there's no better place thanks to the unique raw material in terms of quality and biodiversity: it's the first time in 18 years of my profession that I've managed to use only local products, which I buy directly from artisans. I know them all. Together we've built a story made of people; some call it heroic catering. While in Milan, you pick up the phone and have everything, here you have to train collaborators and the team, make Sicilians understand how beautiful their island is."
The kitchen
The concept is clear: "Cooking Sicily." Zillo does this by strictly adhering to the season and performing à la minute cooking ("including grilling, which is risky"). It's a cuisine with classic foundations, but updated and Mediterranean, served in an informal setting. "Because going to a restaurant has almost become burdensome. People want to have fun and are tired of overexposure." The wine list itself is largely Sicilian, with many natural wines. Diners can choose from a menu of 6 or 8 courses, which can become 8 or 10 respectively, at most within an hour and a half.
It's difficult to pinpoint the moment of a kitchen that is constantly evolving. We found avocado produced in Sicily and ripened on the tree, which ironically Zillo had never worked with before. It's served naturally with black chickpea panelle for crunchiness on the fat, sorrel for acidity, mandarin for citrus, and iodized sea urchins, in a contrast ring of separate flavors. Alternatively, there's the Terrasini Prawn served with green papaya from Palermo, Mexican chili, and lime. "Because we can't close our eyes to changes. Here, papaya doesn't ripen well, but when it's green, it has a texture that can carry the lime juice. Then there's the sweetness of the shellfish, which would be good on its own already, it shouldn't be ruined. A simple dish, made from products of this new tropical Sicily."
"The anelletti originate from a wordplay with 'agnelletti' (little lambs). Usually, it's a pasta format baked in the oven, always overcooked, which I don't like. Why not serve it in broth? We get these Nebrodi mountain goats from Agostino, with which we prepare bone broth mixed with grilled artichoke broth from Menfi, very sweet, and kebab-like meatballs, grilled. Plus, the baked ricotta from Messina and the artichoke stuffed with offal pâté, like quarume."
The amberjack is another ring of contrasts, simple yet striking: there's grilled fish (another connection between Palermo and Latin America) and the sauce of sour and sweet red orange, almost like a barbecue, which with the reduction of fennel caramel recreates the famous salad.
The desserts are the work of Vincenzo Genuardi, who graduated from the Pergola school, also in charge of bread. For example, there's toasted green hazelnut spaghetti with barrel-aged whiskey, served with classic black truffle Bavarian cream and its "stracciatella" of diced mushrooms, aromatic mandarin juice cream and candied peels, Vecchio Samperi gelato.
"A dessert that will only be seen here because our mantra is dedication to local and seasonal produce, even in unique productions. A dessert can last a week or two months, according to the biological clock. In any case, what surrounds us inspires us, synonymous with authenticity. Plus, a lot of technique in its simplicity, without too much technology, to preserve the naturalness of the ingredients," explains the pastry chef.
Contacts
Gagini Restaurant
Via Cassari, 35- 90133 Palermo (PA)
