Lovrinovich for a day: that's the time when the apotropaic jumble of wishes, averts and predictions is unleashed. Who will gain one, two or three Michelin stars next November 5 in Modena? Our names and those of Italy's most eminent experts.
On the cover Luigi Cremona, among the interviewees- FoodExp
STARS-POOLS 2025: out with the names. Predictions for the new awards.
The Nov. 5 showdown is just a short time away, and as always the gossip about the Guide's submerged and saved runs rampant. Confidentiality from those directly involved remains airtight, a testament to the authority enjoyed by the oldest of guides, capable of sewing mouths shut even as emotions erupt. And if chefs skirmish, fearful of displeasing the supreme judge, many critics shy away from what appears to be yet another advertisement for competition. Quotations remain low for now-historic “vulnus,” healing which would amount to an admission of guilt (needless to name names). But the line for double and triple distinction remains packed. There will probably be a few excellent victims as well, since no one is looked down upon here. It's hard not to get a star for Giacomo Sacchetto's Iris, a beautiful Veronese home of a chef who has been a sidekick to Perbellini and Niederkofler, “guilty” of having opened only last November.
But the South Tyrolean chef also slipped his paw in at his pupil Michele Talarico's Livigno-based Tea del Kosmo (which we just told you about here). And the pink quotas say Klugmann, who deserves it regardless (here's the new menu).
Gennaro Esposito
“I can't say who deserves an extra star, because I haven't visited all the restaurants that are candidates for the recognition. So I would base it more on reputation and history than anything else. I refrain for the sake of fairness and ethics, in order not to make a judgment call. However, I have had wonderful experiences. Inspectors and time make the guide, the reliability of a place with respect to its history, its contribution of values to Italian cuisine, and above all how many customers it has entertained. Personally I feel good about my conscience, we have put a lot of effort into trying to innovate and do quality, but let's stay in our place and accept the judgment we deserve. My feeling is that we are doing a great job, but we know it is never enough and we never stop asking ourselves how to improve."
Alessandro Pipero
“Michelin is like Belen, everyone wants her, but she chooses.”
Luigi Cremona
“Everyone thinks about who will get the star, or the possible new three stars. I, on the other hand, always think about the two stars, the ones that give structure and body to the size and level of catering in a nation. Here, in Italy there are very few compared to the number of starred restaurants. That said, I hope that the three stars will come once in a while to reward the careers of two chefs like Trovato and Perbellini. Two stars to those who have deserved them for a long time like Baronetto, Gilmozzi, etc., or to those who are living a great moment like Roy Caceres. New starlets? It's a jackpot. I'm thinking of the Nolinski in Venice, the 1897 in Quellenhof, the Ineo in Rome, the Lamm in Castelrotto, and the Uma boys."
Antonella De Santis
“Every year the toto-Michelin finds me a bit unprepared: all the thoughts made in the previous months seem to vanish as if by magic in the days immediately preceding the presentation ceremony, perhaps because they are diluted in the overlap between the reasons for our guide (at Gambero Rosso we have several, and Ristoranti d'Italia is presented a couple of weeks before Michelin) and those of the Rossa. They are similar products but follow different dynamics, and I realize that I tend to extend the criteria of one over the other. I would like, for example, for Michelin to account for the renewal that runs through our restaurant industry in a not-so-subterranean way, with the emergence of restaurants that dispense with certain aesthetic codes and rituals typical of more classic fine dining to focus on something else, with a more contemporary spirit. I am thinking of places like Podere Belvedere or Retrobottega, Da Lucio or Al Gatto Verde (on which, however, I am ready to bet the first star).
I don't know if the time is ripe for Michelin to open up to pizzerias as well, as many have hoped, but perhaps it's time to look at something other than classic amuse bouche, snow-white tablecloths and petit fours. I imagine, however, that Michelin-which has always been careful to follow its champions closely-will not miss the appointment with Alain Ducasse in Naples (where Marco Ambrosino's Sustanza and Giuseppe Iannotti's 177 Toledo would also be). Then let's not forget Luca Abbruzzino in Lamezia Terme with the new Oltre, Agostino Iacobucci's Ancòra in Cesenatico, Paulo Airaudo's Luca's in Florence and Luigi Tramontano's O me O il Mare; Luca Natalini with his Autem* in Milan and Don Alfonso 1890 could land in the Olympus of stars. I don't see any new three-stars-other than perhaps Antonio Guida's Seta at the Mandarin Oriental Milano-but I think it's time to award Lido 84, L'Argine a Vencò and Pascucci al Porticciolo with the second. Maybe out of superstition we should not say that?"
Nicolò Scaglione, consultant and gastronome
"Between the serious and the humorous, on Michelin I never hit one. The third star in my opinion could get Perbellini, not Mammoliti. Too many problems in the dining room. The first won't get Gipponi, maybe Ticchi and Marotta. For the second, my hopes are still the same: Cracco, Baronetto, Gorini. But it will go to nobodies. The Signum in Salina, the rumors say, and someone in Calabria. Perhaps the Imago in Rome and the usual big hotels. Kitchens of character, few. Klugmann has changed structure, let's see."
Valerio Visintin
“A couple of years ago I wrote a book in which I highlighted the conflicts of interest, the inconsistencies, the methodical lack of transparency of the Michelin guide. A text that was ignored, with unusual compactness, by industry colleagues. Who prefer to feed legends, ignoring reality, for personal interests of various mercantile nature. You will understand, then, if I find myself struggling to make predictions about the upcoming proclamations of the rubber guide. I imagine the sobs of the awardees, the withering smile of Marco Do (Michelin communications director, for those who don't know), the deadly boredom of a show without a show, the next-day controversy over stars given and not given. It is an old play that goes on every year. You believe it if you want to. I have other things to do."
