An ambitious and comprehensive project from every angle, focusing on cutting down waste and emissions, as well as the well-being of employees who will enjoy more rest thanks to a flexible service. Don Alfonso announces the grand reopening. But what's cooking?
Photos by @phstudiouno
The reopening of Don Alfonso
Don Alfonso 1890, a symbol of Italian gastronomic heritage and a reference point in the catering and hospitality field, reopens its doors to guests and friends on March 28th, 2024, after a year of significant renovation work on the restaurant and company as a whole, with a view to a more comprehensive and consolidated environmental, human, and social sustainability. A vision firmly embedded in the concept of "CARE" that becomes an even more distinctive hallmark of the Iaccarino’s family, with a strong responsibility towards the planet and the people who inhabit it on a broad scale. An attitude that shapes the commitment and dedication invested in this courageous journey, in absolute continuity with timeless values and aimed at achieving challenging objectives in line with the needs of a context attentive to the evolution of current scenarios.
Iaccarino’s Universe, between roots and future
The boutique hotel and restaurant welcome back customers in an atmosphere of hospitality linked to a new concept of "luxury," expressed in real sustainability and articulated on multiple levels, within an administration aimed to a modern concept of hospitality. The vision is tireless towards the future, so that ethics and excellence can be a virtuous driving force. The Iaccarino family's contribution to the planet is a great gift, made to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Don Alfonso 1890. The renovation is radical, with a focus on integral ecology, towards a management that concerns every aspect of the company, in terms of waste production, water and energy consumption, and air quality.
"Zero emissions," "Zero waste," and "Water management" are three main objectives of the project. A careful and complex study to build the next 50 years with a positive impact on the environment, honoring a family history that has always been based on untouchable values. The transition to the sons, Mario and Ernesto, has marked an evolution consistent with the moral heritage of Livia and Alfonso, defining a new generation that deeply cares about the health of the territory and its people. A belief that translates into the desire to create a unique company, not only from an environmental perspective but also by rethinking human sustainability in a structured way, an asset to be safeguarded that requires a new sensitivity, in relation to the present time.
The Care, the leitmotif of the new project
A word that embodies the traits of the Iaccarino family and tells of the profound and tireless dedication that resonates in a reality spanning half a century, with a bright future yet to be written. It's a cross-cutting concept that touches every aspect of their world. Cuisine, hospitality, culture. The commitment to environmental and human protection, with the aim of doing good to the planet in order to live better as its inhabitants. It is precisely from here the choice to pause, to listen to a world that is loudly expressing its discomfort and to implement a revolution that can give life to a virtuous circle in the community. The interventions have covered broad areas. Insulation of environments, expansion of the PV park, replacement of the boiler with a heat pump for recovery, energy efficiency, and use of renewable sources. Water tanks to facilitate rainwater collection. Structural operations for waste management. Reduction of environmental impact and CO2 emissions through targeted actions, design of a "dry garden" populated by plants that require very little water. All aimed at building a true integral ecology.
And green restyling also at Punta Campanella, with the aim of making the agricultural company completely sustainable, in continuity and expansion from what the estate has achieved so far, the focal point of a natural, organic, low-impact agriculture and short, traceable, and certified supply chain. A wonderful corner of the world, with that breathtaking view of Capri, where the renovation of an 18th-century farmhouse is underway, with the dream of establishing a cooking school there. The intention is to activate a restaurant that represents a lever to positively impact the behaviors and environmental awareness of producers, suppliers, customers, and, more generally, of the social community.
Ernesto Iaccarino and the rejuvenated spirit of the culinary offering
The chef of Don Alfonso 1890 appears in great shape, full of new energy and creativity, after the year of closure that allowed him to have valuable "time" to dedicate to the elaboration of the reopening menus. Travelling between the family's foreign businesses, particularly Toronto and China, he has established a constant dialogue with different cuisines and mixed brigades, absorbing ideas and energy. The dishes now arriving in Sant’Agata sui due Golfi are the result of team work with all the chefs orbiting the Don Alfonso universe worldwide. A laboratory of ideas, cosmopolitan, a virtuous cultural exchange that breaks down boundaries and fosters the flow of contamination. At the core remains the inspiration for Mediterranean cuisine, with a constant quest for an essential yet nuanced taste that expresses the territory through the exploration of new arrangements, without forgetting its origins.
The excellence and ethics of the raw materials marks the honesty of a thought based on the balance between Campania's gastronomic tradition and a spirit of innovation. In this new phase, Ernesto Iaccarino aims to guide his guests through delectable, rounded dishes influenced by the world, which serve as inspiration especially for the preparation and interpretation of vegetables. From March 28, 2024, three menus will be offered: Vegetable, Tradition, and Tasting, in addition to the à la carte menu. The idea of introducing a vegetarian menu arises from the radical renewal that has affected the company, with the aim of creatively emphasizing the vegetables and products of the agricultural company and the territory. Take, for example, the Zucchini Tartlet, served cold, with zucchini cream, smoked scamorza sauce, and lemon gel. Under a very light veil of chili and myrtle-infused honey, for an extraordinary sweet and sour note, and scapece’s zucchini with their acidity. A tempting and captivating bite. Or the Pepper Pastry, without flour, obtained only from blended pepper juice and a pinch of cumin, baked and cooked at 180°C.
Inside, the products company garden, leek, onion, and to finish, a roasted pepper broth. Recipes elaborated with a focus on healthy food, using beneficial ingredients for health, also opening up to new ingredients (such as Kuzu, used as a natural additive). Some great classics remain, including the Reinterpretation of the fried egg and the vegetable garden, which brings Punta Campanella's vegetables to the plate accompanied by horseradish ice cream and sweet and sour turmeric sauce. In respect of a history that becomes an icon. Identity-driven haute cuisine yet globally receptive, in a constant state of evolution. It's a personal touch that defines Chef Iaccarino's dishes, his ability to break patterns and navigate the free sea of contaminations, always in search of new taste lines. But it's also a cuisine that puts the human being at the center, in a concept of extended sustainability that concerns the people who work there, the customers, and everything that revolves around food.
Each dish carries a clear idea, based on the healthiness of the Mediterranean diet with a view beyond borders, through the use of ingredients filtered by this idea. The tables are halved in this reopening, to pursue ever greater quality and "care" for the guest and to reduce working hours and days, enhancing human capital, meeting the needs of staff, and giving meaning to the private and social life of employees. A significant stage in this year of renewal.
It shows the virtuous intertwining of the lives of Alfonso, Livia, Mario, and Ernesto with the territory where they were born, of which they have become attentive custodians and passionate interpreters, until identifying themselves with the land itself, feeling its needs, the demand for respect and protection which have become the founding values of each of their paths, avant-garde and visionary. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. With a sincere authenticity that is breathed in every corner of this land, perhaps complex, but incapable of lying.
Contacts
Don Alfonso 1890
Corso Sant'Agata, 11/13 80061 Sant'Agata Sui Due Golfi, Napoli (IT)
phone: +39 081 878 00 26 - +39 081 878 05 61 fax: +39 081 533 02 26
e-mail: info@donalfonso.com - donalfonso@relaischateaux.com
