The initiative is not an end in itself, but an invitation to reflect on the issue of prices: “My $20 menu? It's a provocation to try to make our sector think and bring guests and hospitality back to the center of our work.”
The news
Some news stories seem designed to make us question reality: a lunch at a Michelin-starred restaurant, six signature dishes and a bill that barely costs the price of a pizza and a beer. But it really does happen, not in a daydream but in the mountains of Trentino, where chef Paolo Donei, spiritual and gastronomic guide of the Malga Panna restaurant in Moena (here is our review), has decided to launch a small but significant revolution in the world of haute cuisine. His six-course menu, designed for summer 2025, costs just €20. This gesture is much more than a promotional offer: it is a manifesto.
At an altitude of 1,400 meters, among the green pastures and crisp air of the Val di Fassa, Malga Panna does not just serve food: it tells stories. Each course is a window onto a tradition that knows how to reinvent itself, onto a family that has cultivated the culture of hospitality as an art form for generations. The mountain hut that now boasts a Michelin star was founded in the early 20th century by great-grandfather Lattanzio, a shepherd and mountain man who built a wooden hut where he produced cream so good that it became legendary. Then came the war, reconstruction, his parents' trattoria, and finally Paolo: a precocious chef who earned the prestigious award at the age of just nineteen, without ever losing touch with his roots.
With these words, Paolo Donei sums up the heart of his initiative. No spotlight on his skill, no haute cuisine tricks: just a return to the simplicity of authentic hospitality. The initiative is not an end in itself, but an invitation to reflect on the issue of prices: “My $20 menu? It's a provocation to try to make our sector think and bring the guest and hospitality back to the center of our work,” he explained in an interview with Francesca Negri in Corriere della Sera. And then, as if to shift the focus even more to those sitting at the table rather than those behind the stove: “The chef should not be a star, the customer is the star.” Words that resonate strongly at a time when gourmet cuisine risks losing touch with reality, trapped between television formats and dishes that seem more designed for Instagram than for the palate. Paolo, on the other hand, turns the tables with the calm and humility of someone who learned to cook by watching his mother and grandmother's hands move among a few ingredients, transforming them into masterpieces of taste “with lots of love.” “Bread and heart.” Donei's gastronomic journey for this initiative, which will take place on three summer dates: July 24 (already passed), August 28, and September 25, could not have been called anything else. Six courses, like six deep beats of a family history that continues to pulse with every bite. The menu is not just an exercise in culinary style, but a concrete message: haute cuisine can—and must—remain accessible, without losing any of its quality or emotion.
Those who sit at these tables, immersed in the silence of the mountains, will not only enjoy dishes designed and created with ingredients of the highest quality, but will also enjoy a rare experience, almost subversive in today's world: feeling important, pampered, and welcome, without having to prove anything. There is no dress code, no selection at the entrance, just an invitation to share the deepest meaning of hospitality. At a time when gastronomic experiences seem increasingly reserved for a select clientele willing to spend astronomical sums, Malga Panna proves that you can be Michelin-starred without being elitist. That true luxury is feeling welcome. That a dish can tell a story more powerful than a thousand words, as long as it is cooked with care, respect, and—above all—generosity. Paolo Donei's gesture has already caused quite a stir in the Italian restaurant world. Many have called it a “gentle provocation,” a small shock that could inspire other chefs to question some of the logic behind fine dining. But even if this were not the case, even if it remained an isolated gesture, its importance would remain the same: because it reminded everyone that excellence is not necessarily synonymous with exclusivity, and that the true nobility of cooking lies in serving, not in impressing.
Malga Panna has never lost touch with its roots. From that first wooden hut built in the pastures by a shepherd to the elegant dining room that now welcomes guests from all over Europe, every step has maintained a sense of continuity. Steaming polenta, mushrooms picked in the nearby woods, local cheeses: nothing is forgotten, only reinterpreted. And in this balance between past and future, simplicity and technique, lies the secret of Paolo Donei. A chef who does not want to be the protagonist but a witness. Who considers the customer a guest of honor, not a spectator to be amazed. Who chooses to use a star not to shine alone, but to illuminate the path towards a more human approach to dining.
