A skilled gourmet duo and a cuisine that changes every day, yet remains true to itself. All for just 18 covers!
Contemporary gastronomy increasingly promotes the value of immediacy, a concept that resonates with Eastern philosophy, where the “here and now” becomes a space of meaning and taste. A cuisine that moves away from frantic planning and preparations that take days and days, and instead moves within the confines of the present: ingredients of the day, express preparations, dishes that are studied, yes, but which remain open to the changes required by changes in raw materials and customer preferences, because the menu of the past, rich, monolithic, and standardized, no longer exists.
Partly by choice, to give more space to creativity, spontaneity, and listening to the two great interlocutors of a chef, namely nature and customers, and partly out of necessity, because many restaurateurs, during the hard times of COVID, had to learn flexibility, resilience, and the ability to cope with the unexpected and the extreme. For many, this has been an incentive to develop new approaches to cooking. Customer traffic is no longer constant or predictable; there are days when the restaurant is full, others when business is slow and the rules seem inscrutable, a bit like those of social media algorithms. So you have to find a way to go with the flow, to flow like water that adapts to descents, plains, and rocks. It is a complex balancing act, but once you find it within yourself and translate it consistently into the restaurant's offering, it can lead to great results.
The restaurant
Opening a restaurant in March 2020, right in the heart of the pandemic, seemed like an impossible gamble, yet De Gustibus was born in this way, in the uncertainty of an epoch-making moment, from the meeting between Davide Cristaldi, a chef born in 1989 from Catania, and Giulia Mandara, a maître d' and sommelier from Turin, whose ambition and tenacity have led the project over the years to achieve excellent results, such as inclusion in the Michelin Guide. The restaurant's philosophy is sustainable, authentic, and thoughtful cuisine. “The simplest and most natural thing is to offer and work with fresh ingredients,” explains the chef. The dishes are created by managing supplies on a daily basis, based on what the market has to offer, without preserving or freezing the ingredients. "When I hear people talking about sustainability, which is the order of the day these days, it makes me smile. I see colleagues with vegetable gardens and solar panels, who then fail to manage their stocks and food costs and throw away a lot of food."
The future seems to be a return to what was done in the past: the menu of the day, the availability and freshness of ingredients, and a short supply chain. Davide pragmatically explains that “true” sustainability must first and foremost be economic, which is also why his is a “one-man show,” managing the kitchen alone, with only Giulia's support in the dining room. The restaurant's offering has been structured precisely on the basis of these parameters: a maximum of 18 covers and a constantly changing menu, which is also tailored to guests' intolerances, allergies, and dislikes. After all, “De Gustibus non disputandum est” (there's no accounting for taste), and the owners' only desire is to create a welcoming, comfortable environment, even in terms of taste, while aiming to involve customers in their personal world of flavors. There is also a menu (which also changes daily) so as not to restrict the tasting experience, but if guests trust the chef, they leave it up to him. “When they give me carte blanche, I am the happiest man in the world and it motivates me to do better and better, because I want people to leave happy,” says Davide, his eyes shining with enthusiasm.
Each dish is a mosaic of different traditions and reflects the chef's work experience in Sicily, Piedmont, and Romagna, where seasonal ingredients are brought to life through techniques such as fermentation and marinating, which enhance the raw ingredients and reduce waste. Vegetables feature heavily, cooked quickly or at low temperatures to preserve their organoleptic properties. Meat comes from suppliers in the Piedmont region, while fish is always purchased fresh and prepared in-house. The chef has an intuitive approach to cooking, “I don't try some things, I don't taste them, but I know they work,” he says. His combinations are not predictable, but always reassuring, because the constant search for amazement does not always lead to good results. “The risk is to dare badly. I don't stray far from my memories, I look for accessible flavor similarities that everyone can understand.”
The cuisine
The restaurant is a hidden gem in the province of Turin, in the charming town of Chieri, with a modern and refined atmosphere. The welcome is intimate and attentive, starting with an aperitif, a preview of Davide Cristaldi's cuisine in finger food format, accompanied by a glass of wine. A real treat, which reveals how important attention to guests is here. Not working with large numbers, people must be enticed to return, and customer loyalty must be built with the care that offers everyone a tailor-made experience. The initial tastings fully convey Davide and Giulia's project, with the intelligent choice of favoring vegan ingredients, which also solve lactose intolerance, and gluten-free recipes to optimize the line, without ever sacrificing taste. The vegan ricotta, made with almonds, is a delight, as is the panna cotta with bagna cauda, or the crispy sage with white chocolate and caper powder. The leavened products, bread, and focaccia are homemade, as are the desserts and fresh pasta. It seems impossible that just two people (Giulia, in addition to the dining room, also dedicates herself to desserts and some preparations) can manage all this work with such results, yet the chef says that with good organization and streamlining of the menu, it is possible to prepare all the dishes and provide service with eight hours of work per day, a sustainable pace that avoids burnout and therefore makes them even more efficient.
When you are alone, you have no excuses, no one else to blame, “you roll up your sleeves and try to do your best”. And we find this determined and responsible attitude in the freehand approach. We taste a flavorful cubed red tuna marinated in soy sauce, breaded with tomato and aromatic herbs, with salmoriglio mayonnaise and fermented broccoli: fermentation and marinating are traditional preservation methods that concentrate flavors and extend the shelf life of ingredients, complementing the extensive use of express processing. Also excellent is the slow-cooked pork filet with buttered baby spinach and red vermouth reduction: just a few ingredients that limit the possibility of confusion and errors and unleash creativity, just as Davide likes it.
But while the appetizers and main courses are certainly interesting, Chef Cristaldi really shifts into high gear with the first courses. The linguine with brown vegetable sauce, made with vegetable scraps, red wine, and sage powder, is intense and delicious, and the citrus butter risotto with smoked sea bass carpaccio, lapsang souchong tea, chlorophyll, and parsley is technically perfect, as well as interesting in flavor, pushing the boundaries of acidity, softened by the creaminess of the butter. The desserts are also clean, elegant, and do not weigh down the finish, such as the white chocolate namelaka with Greek yogurt, salted amaretto, and citrus zest. All this is supported and accompanied by a pairing of wines that is never excessive, always spot on.
Davide and Giulia chose this path, this identity, in keeping with their lives, a philosophy that reflects who they are as people, born out of adversity. "When we removed the menu, understood as a fixed offering, guests began to get to know us. At first, we presented ourselves to guests with nothing, with an oral description of the dishes (today, however, the menu is printed, despite the daily changes). They all trusted us immediately, and we realized that we had to continue like this." This genuine adherence to their values shines through in both the flavors and the service. The two young people are happy with the direction they have taken, but they are not satisfied. “Inthe future, we see ourselves elsewhere, more satisfied with the area, perhaps in a big city. We see De Gustibus in a location more suited to the growth we hope for. We would like to add to the service and cuisine in terms of new ideas, techniques, and staff.” De Gustibus is the story of two young people who have transformed the fragility of the present into creative strength, proof that even in the most uncertain times, it is possible to put down deep roots. And if the future is still to be written, we can only wish them continued success, preserving the authenticity with which they have structured this first part of their restaurant project.
De Gustibus
Address: Via Martiri della Libertà 9 - Chieri (TO) - Italy
Phone +39 3881554618
Website: https://www.degustibuschieri.it/
