The Cremonini Family pays homage to their beloved homeland by opening a restaurant that exudes warmth, quality, and tradition: "Il Castello" in Castelvetro offers home recipes, homemade cured meats, and an excellent selection of meat cuts, the result of two generations of experience in the field.
THE RESTAURANT
"It could only be Castelvetro," is how Augusto Cremonini, president and CEO of IF&B and companies part of the Cremonini Group, begins to tell what represents a tribute to the town that the Cremonini Family has always lived and loved.
Right there, in fact, in August 2023 a restaurant project took shape that combines two souls: one entrepreneurial and of passion for gastronomic excellence, the other of the heart, tradition and hospitality. This project is a restaurant, "Il Castello," which overlooks the charming and collected checkerboard square of the small historic village.
"The idea of opening a restaurant stems from the desire to give something back to a land that has taught us so much and that, even today, never ceases to surprise us," Cremonini explains, " my whole family and the company have gravitated here forever. Even the choice of the location was not accidental, we had been thinking about it for some time and waiting for the right moment. Before there was another restaurant, then the space was closed for a long time, so we wanted to give it new life."
But there is also an additional reason, more related to the desire to create a space that can become a kind of extension of the family home, a home to host friends, clients, colleagues and spend lunch and dinner times together. Overseeing the kitchen has always been Augusto's mother, Mrs. Tina, capable of creating delicacies that have become true traditions. "Secret" recipes that for the Cremonini meant goodness and hospitality.
"We wanted to replace the home kitchen with one open to the public ," Augusto Cremonini stresses, "a restaurant, of course, but also a business card for customers, where they can taste typical local dishes and some of the dishes made with my mom's recipes. Because those could not be missed."
Thus, less than a year later, "Il Castello" has given a new look to the town, bringing a gastronomic offer of great quality, with a touch of refinement and that genuine soul given by tradition. A place that wants to be a meeting point from morning until evening, with proposals that start from breakfast, continues at lunch, aperitif - an example is the glimpse of the wall where liquors of all kinds parade, with very particular selections - to dinner and after dinner.
A place for everyone, definitely young, starting with the team where the average age is around 25 and the chef is only 22 but already knows his business.
THE CUISINE
Everything starts from the kitchen of Mrs. Tina, from her recipes that bring back memories, sharing at the table and a lot of taste. Unforgettable dishes carved in the memory of the many friends who passed through the Cremonini house. Then evolution led to the introduction of other proposals to complete them, along with the unfailing selection of meat cuts, a true feather in the cap by virtue of the great research and production of the Cremonini Group itself.
In the dishes there is all the simple directness of tradition, those of village trattorias, revisited with great refinement. There is an added touch, an elegance in the service and presentation of the dishes, which embellishes the experience.
"In order to be able to learn my mother's recipes, to learn its secrets, the chef was at her 'class' for a good three months. So here he slowly became familiar with her tortellini, classic tortelloni, ragù and the now famous tagliolini ai due prosciutti. These are really permanent fixtures on the menu. Then, in rotation, we also include tagliatelle with asparagus sauce and lasagna made with green pasta sheets”.
And these are dishes that are sincere in their fullness of flavor, full-bodied dishes. To this day, Mrs. Tina still visits the restaurant several times a month to check that everything is "like at home." But before choosing from any of these specialties, one cannot avoid tasting the cold cuts, "the highest selection, such as Prosciutto di Parma, which is in addition to those of our own production, such as Culatta di cantina, seasoned like Culatello with the typical hints of 'good' molds; Coppa di Parma, Salame di Felino, Bresaola, Mortadella and Culatello precisely. Only PDO and PGI, Italian raw material, processed in the plants we have in the areas of origin."
The slicing takes place directly in the dining room, a distinctive peculiarity that stimulates even more salivation and makes one anticipate the tasting. Needless to say, to accompany it, they range from hot tigelle, fried gnocco and house giardiniera.
Then there is the meat, the product that most encapsulates the history of the Cremonini family. Grilled, succulent. On the menu, the selection is wide, very wide. A true paradise for carnivores with excellences and sometimes unique selections, which depending on the season you may be lucky enough to find: American, Australian, South American and Japanese wagyu breeds. But also two goodies. "Two lines of our own selection: the Val Padana CARIMA chain and the selection of Polish Scottona MAZURA, a true excellence."
Finally, the desserts, a variety of choices where a house ingredient could not be missing. In fact, the advice is to choose homemade ice cream "seasoned with the territory's most prized nectar, namely Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena from the Antica Acetaia Luigi Cremonini.”
ADDRESS
Ristorante Il Castello
Piazza Roma, 7, 41014 -Castelvetro di Modena MO
Phone. 059 708058
