"Riflessioni" is the new tasting menu at Contraste in Milan, which goes on a whole new stage after closing for two months for a total renovation. The focus is on secondary ingredients and new awareness, for a consistent cuisine that continues to enchant.
The turning point of Contraste
It's been eight years since it opened at No. 2 Via Meda, and during the first few months of this year Contraste, the historic restaurant headed by Matias Perdomo and his longtime team, has given itself a makeover, and done so with pomp and circumstance. The Instagram profile has been completely resetted and with it also the structure of what used to be one of the most amazing starred restaurants in the Milanese area, and beyond.
The renovation, as Perdomo says, was done from the inside out. What does that mean? That it was not only an architectural renewal of undoubted importance, but also an emotional transformation that gave birth to the new tasting menu Riflessioni. Therefore, the time has come for Contraste to move even closer to the meaning of its name and to begin a second youth made up of a desire and willingness to start again while maintaining solidity, fierceness and pride in what it has been in the past.
From the ethereal whites that emphasized the contrasts of a Milanese bourgeois villa with contemporary design elements signed by Alessandro Ciffo (such as the historic silicon chandelier inspired by the works of Murano), the new Contraste bursts with color, revealing its soul undressed by the typical irreverent teenage shyness. Contraste has always had a great personality, this also thanks to Perdomo's cuisine, but now it highlights it with an awareness and renewed elegance and charm.
Contraste is a company that counts more than 30 employees who, as Perdomo tells me, pushed for this internal and external restructuring, a sign that the team is strong, cohesive and relies on a leader who is elected and not imposed, a substantial detail that makes the difference between a team that creates freely and a simple group of people working together. Being closed for three months is a real challenge, especially if the scenario is that of a Milan that runs very fast without waiting for anyone.
But after sitting amongst the thoughtfully designed and ad hoc created wallpapers, precious fabrics, refined materials, colors and trying the Riflessioni tasting menu, I can confidently say that Milan has not only been waiting for Contraste, but has been longing and dreaming for it to break free into a new deep, mature, fun and glorious true love: that of second youth.
"We live by emotions, a constant contrast of risk and responsibility. The whole team has shown that they feel the same way, and that has been the biggest push toward this challenge," these are the words of Chef Perdomo, who continues, "The desire of the team to give us this new visual and gustatory look has been a great stimulus. The change that can be seen at Contraste today is the one we experience within ourselves. Everything has become new. Even the Riflesso menu, which has always represented our signatures, today is no longer taken for granted because it has a different sibling to confront service after service, and so it takes on a new value and pushes itself ever so slightly higher."
Riflessioni, how Contraste's new tasting menu came to be
It's no secret, Perdomo had gotten us used to playing games. Everything was the opposite of everything, what was seen on the plate and therefore expected on the palate, often did not match. Perdomo, ever since the days of the historic Al Pont de Ferr and then with the "old" Contraste, has entertained our palates and amused himself along with us with illusions and reveries that certainly did not lack taste, let it be clear.
Today Contraste and Perdomo make a new reflection dictated by a different cuisine, by new stimuli that do not disown the past at all, but that want to stick in the head for a prolonged time, that persuade thought, whether positive or negative. The meaning of the Riflessioni (reflections) menu is found in its very name; it provokes emotions and leads the diner to reason, question and construct his or her own opinion that is anything but obvious.
"We started by adding some courses to the Riflesso menu based on these new understandings, but then we realized that we were destroying our own identity. So it was not about adding, but about bringing a new concept to life," the chef explains to me.
Contraste's new cuisine is indeed creative, avant-garde and tasty, but it is first and foremost consistent. It is consistent with those who make it, those who serve it, the place that offers it and those who taste it. Consistency is the key to this new proposal, which Perdomo says is not for everyone. The new Contraste moves with perfect rhythm in a dance whose music engages from the moment you sit down to the moment you leave and perhaps beyond. One is never just a spectator, but an active part of an exhilarating performance that has, as its soundtrack, a new melody made by mixing yes the usual seven notes, but the result of which offers an unprecedented and hypnotic sound.
What is to eat in the tasting menu Riflessioni
Let's cut to the chase, although the lengthy foreword was necessary and is proportional to the excitement one feels after getting to the bottom of Riflessioni. The number of dishes featured in the tasting is not revealed, they are not anticipated with a menu, and although it may initially make your nose twitch a bit, you will soon realize that you are part of a surprising spectacle that is worth letting go of and, indeed, being surprised by.
Therefore, I will not reveal the surprise, should you decide to have your own personal experience, I will only tell about some of the dishes and not necessarily the ones I liked the most as is often done (emotions have a wide range, they have many nuances and are not only positive, I have always been very afraid of emotional color-blind people), but the ones that most brought me to reflect, which is then the point of the new Contraste.
The real novelty of this tasting lies in the hints and secondary ingredients; they make all the difference. For years we have seen the main ingredient at the center of the dish and around it a series of shaded elements that served to enhance it. Today, at Contraste, it works just the opposite and, I will be redundant, it works. It is a menu that wants to talk about the secondary elements that elevate the whole and not a single protagonist. This is very well understood by "Peas, tomato, apricot, borage and oyster", where the latter, which has always been an obvious star, becomes an element like the others, valuable certainly but not more so than fresh peas, tomato water, borage flowers.
An also thought-provoking dish is the "Fusillone, hops, pink grapefruit, basil and Parmigiano". You expect the freshness of basil, but you won't find it in the dish. The dominant hint is bitterness, also given by the basil seeds, which once hydrated act a bit like chia seeds. Excellent "Almond, avocado, lard and Brussels sprouts", a flavor-packed dish that comes at just the right time in the offering, that is, when you begin to pick up the pace and realize that what you are having is an experience that will stay alive for quite some time.
Another unexpectedly enjoyable dish is "Chestnuts, prosciutto, and tuna roe". What roe curls do to chestnut pulp is exactly what spring does to cherry trees, but this, before Riflessioni, I could not have imagined. Mention must also be made of "Partridge, Artichoke and Shellfish", one of those dishes you would never stop eating because of the perfect textures and balance on the palate.
There is no shortage of offal, game and sheep, which have always been divisive yet are treated by Contraste impeccably with unusual aromas and amazing combinations. Extremely interesting is "Goat, Coconut, Apple and Mustard". The goat and coconut base gives this meat a new identity, gritty but without that usual intrusiveness not always appreciated by all.
There is wide use of perfumed waters that become the new stocks and sauces to complement dishes, which are delicate yet essential. Their scent enhances the fragrance of the dish and appears at the end of the tasting with the intention of prolonging the sensations of the dish. You will not be served bread as an accompaniment, an unusual choice, at times revolutionary and perhaps necessary, in order not to conform to that exhausting sourdough drive that has probably gotten a bit out of hand in contemporary dining.
To fully enjoy the experience, I recommend choosing Immersione, the beverage pairing of the Riflessioni menu. It is reductive to call it wine pairing because you will be served, in addition to wines selected with the highest expertise by and from the sommelier in the room, beers, broths and more. I will close by saying that it is not easy to describe the new Contraste experience in words, you have to try it. Added to the cuisine and gustatory pleasure is the excitement of the service, elegant, fun and sensitive; the touch that is engaged by the textures of tablecloth, glasses and plates. And yes, the notorious rose cake, one of Contraste's icons, you can have it with both tastings-I thought it would be nice to give you a spoiler if you've made it this far.
Contacts and info
Contraste
Via Giuseppe Meda 2 - 20136 Milano
Monday to Friday 7:30 p.m.-00 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday 12:30-3 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.-00 a.m.
Reservations: +39 02 49536597
Sito web: https://contrastemilano.it/
