A degree as a trumpeter, then a turn as a self-taught chef and a present at the helm of CAA, ultra-technological gourmet in Lucerne. In Switzerland, the format between taste, innovation and hospitality by Pietro Catalano.
Photos by Lorenzo Noccioli
The restaurant
Perhaps not everyone knows that...Lucerne holds the record for the birth of luxury hotelierie, thanks to the mythological César Ritz, who is usually remembered for his work in Paris. But in the late 19th century, before arriving in the Ville Lumière, the absolute pioneer of high-end hospitality was the director of Lucerne's Grand Hôtel National and transformed it into the most luxurious hotel in Europe. In the wake of that record, today, opposite the National, precisely at 19 Haldenstrasse, Pietro Catalano's CAAA, one of the most eclectic restaurants in all of Switzerland, has opened, with a name that shines with uniqueness, in an evocation of the idea of "home" with the three A's that refer to the family surname.
A project that connects direct flavors, sophisticated aesthetics and technology to compose a proposal that could be defined with a lexical invention eatainment. In which the act of eating is merged with the concept of immersive entertainment. Retrieved from a portion of the space that houses the Impulse Gallery art gallery, with which there is an active collaboration for catering in special events, the restaurant was designed by Barcelona-based studio External Reference, which integrated the definitions of naturalness and innovation with the help of Artificial Intelligence, creating a truly unique environment.
Curated by Palermitan designer Carmelo Zappulla, founder of the aforementioned studio, which has won several awards for its avant-garde approach, the project stands out for its unusual use of digital and physical media. "The idea was to disseminate images that tell the story of nature", explains chef and patron Catalano, "through a new register, the technological one, which at a superficial glance may seem antithetical to the theme of naturalness, but it is not. So we chose videos of mountain landscapes, of trees from which leaves slowly fall, vineyards to adorn the walls."
Among the materials used were pine wood, for the futuristically designed tables and chairs, biodegradable plastic, which mixed with wood yielded the material from which the ceiling is made , completely 3D printed, probably the only one in the world, in a shape that reproduces the surface of a mountain range . Complementing the ambience is atmospheric background music, specially composed by Domenico, brother of Pietro, principal trombone of the renowned Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.
The chef and the concept
The chef also has a background as a musician, a degree in trumpet from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences ennobled his passion for music, which over time has been overtaken, if only slightly, by his passion for cooking. That has always been in the family's DNA; Pietro's parents have been running restaurants for as long as they can remember, and his children practically grew up in the dining and cooking spaces.
Certainly this mixture of vocations, between gastronomy and music, has been congenial to the development of creativity in the work of the chef, who with CAAA has created a true culinary amusement destination.
In the lounge, his sister Stefania welcomes guests with elegant ease and accompanies them to the cocktail bar, where during the short wait for drinks, one can have fun with paint and molds to decorate the menu cover, to keep later as a souvenir. The cocktail list is devised by Moscow-based Andrey Bolshakov, already featured in The World's 50 Best Bars, and curated in execution by the very young resident bartender Rafael Alarjo. Among the most popular are Waterfall with notes of citrus, mint and hints of wet stones from the sake, evoking the freshness of mountain waterfalls. Or Fireplace, an old fashion sandalwood and ilang-ilang.
The Dishes
Appetizers take a trip down the Catalano brothers' childhood memories with their Calabrian grandmother's rice " braciole," meatballs that combine Parmigiano and basil with the cereal. The mortadella sandwich they used to take to the sea for snacking, here becomes a phyllo dough cannoli, filled with mortadella mousse, bergamot essence and pistachio. While trips to the Alba truffle fair materialize in a pâte à choux with truffle cream.
The brigade is made up of very young people, including Elena, Pietro's wife, who has already shared significant experience with him in running a prestigious mountain hut in the mountains of the Canton of Valais, where the chef has received flattering praise from the public and excellent recognition from critics for his transalpine haute cuisine. That, in part, is also found at CAAA, especially in the choice of products, from artisans, farmers and breeders who come to the Lucerne market from the Alps. After the aperitif, one wanders into the dining room, overlooking the totally open kitchen, and from that proscenium come the dishes, also brought by the chefs, often completed at the table, almost a dance that winds between the fires, the pass and the mise en place.
Outfitted with fine china, custom-made by local artisans, and the always persuasive pure linen embroidered napkins. The ricotta offered in the amuse bouche is homemade and is part of a composition that alternates sweetness and spiciness, between sweet potato cream, port gel, jasmine gel, buckwheat tartlet, crispy quinoa; chickpea sablé, 'nduja cream and pollen.
Very thin loin of Piedmontese breed from the farmstead Frisch vo de Tanne, 30 minutes from Lucerne, marinated in salt sugar and coffee, with a gel of fermented yellow plum and lemon to lightly acidify it. More memories of Piedmont in the agnolotti del plin stuffed with shiitake mushrooms and porcini, presented in the napkin, as tradition commands. Drizzle with a forest broth, made by cooking mushrooms and pine essence.
Particular attention is paid to the flours of the homemade bread from an ancient mill, which is more than 100 years old and can be taken away if not consumed all during dinner. You can choose to pair it with oil from the family's Calabrian olive grove or a chef-made butter with one part cream and one part beurre noisette. In a small bowl, fermented blueberries in appearance and flavor are reminiscent of black olives and ironically presented as "alpine olives."
Dipped in a dill sauce, the baked potato is drained and the pulp goes into a souffle with eggs, butter and white chocolate. Pushing in flavor are caviar, mustard and mustard flower.
The bouillabaisse, which generally involves several fish, here is of char only and serves as a dressing for a filet of the same fish, to which are added strips of pickled celeriac and saffron from a tiny local crop.
Lucerne's culinary history has elected as the city's signature dish the Chügelipastete or Fritschi, a savory meat-filled pie, homemade of course. Pietro wanted to reissue it by giving it a haute cuisine connotation, refined and extremely convincing. In this case, it is a veal filet that welcomes the minced meat filling, only to be topped with champignons, savoy cabbage, truffles, and a raisin gel.
Flanked by a ring of puff pastry to evoke pie dough, more mountain reminiscences with fondue, religieuse they call it in the Valais, hiding a tart blueberry base and the ever-present Périgord truffle. A buckwheat and bran cookie, buckwheat cream, pear ice cream and wafer, balsamic vinegar sphere paves the way for desserts, for which a very pleasant kefir with raspberries and hibiscus is provided as a matching drink.
The beet in various representations is the star of the dessert. Rehydrated in its juice, with hazelnuts, a hazelnut sablé, smoked yogurt mousse, yogurt ice cream and red turnip chips. Paired with a hazelnut cupcake, filled with hazelnut and beet cream.
Among the final small friandises, carrot cake, finger lime and ginger gel; vanilla praline; lady's kiss with fresh cocoa pulp juice; krapfen filled with white chocolate and caviar; chocolate kisses, hazelnut and orange mousse, covered with bitter chocolate.
Contacts
CAAA by Pietro Catalano
Haldenstrasse, 19- 6006 Luzern, Svizzera
Phone +41 76 767 99 83
