From the Catania countryside to Sapio's success: Alessandro Ingiulla brings Etna, Sicily, and the strength of his roots to the table, creating vibrant and sustainable cuisine.
Until 2018, Catania had never attracted Michelin's attention. Then Alessandro Ingiulla, a young chef from the Catania countryside, succeeded in winning the macaron with Sapio, the culinary project he had launched just two years earlier with his partner Roberta Cozzetto (who works in the dining room). The first Michelin star in the city's gastronomic history was achieved thanks to the determination of Ingiulla, then 25, who, after a long period in France and Austria, returned to his homeland, driven by the desire to put his experience into practice in his own restaurant. This was not a project for its own sake, but one aimed at expressing the Sicilian soul and the Etna region through vibrant, technical, and proudly Sicilian cuisine.
Sapio's new direction and Alessandro Ingiulla's philosophy
2023 marks the beginning of a new chapter in Sapio's history. The owner moves the restaurant to the artisan district, renovating an old abandoned chair factory and the surrounding square. His brother, Daniele Ingiulla, is in charge of the renovation work, transforming an ancient ruin into a place of exquisite hospitality, with multiple souls within. In addition to the main dining room, a corridor leads to an outdoor garden with a few tables—designed for aperitifs and after-dinner drinks—the wine cellar, where guests can also dine in privacy, and finally the guest quarters with three rooms that allow guests to experience the restaurant in its entirety. Lava stone is the predominant material used in each of these rooms, while both the corridor and the dining room are enriched with contemporary art installations by local artists.
The chef's philosophy is clear: the Etna area is the beating heart of Sapio, as is sustainability, a word often used indiscriminately but which for Alessandro Ingiulla is a fundamental value of his gastronomic credo. From kitchen preparations to reducing plastic, from producing hot water for the rooms using solar panels to a supply chain of local producers, these are just some of the examples that testify to the chef's foresight in this regard.
The cuisine and dishes
At his Michelin-starred restaurant, the chef can count on produce from his family's farm, located in Santa Maria di Licodia, a small country town outside Catania. Olive groves, orchards, and a vegetable garden allow Ingiulla to be self-sufficient and thus give his dishes that extra something that tells the story of Etna and Catania in a comprehensive way. A story filtered through French techniques and an international perspective, that of someone who has lived abroad and knows how to create their own stage. Three tasting menus, Sapere Sapore, Sciaredda, and a surprise menu (€130, €160, and €180 respectively) in which land and sea are co-protagonists, dialogue, and reveal themselves in new guises, with Sicily as the narrator. Maître d'Andrea Massimino, also a young man from Catania, manages the dining room with ease, curating a wine list in line with Sapio's philosophy. Etna wines are divided according to their appellation and make up a large part of the cellar, alongside other regional labels and fine Champagne, Chablis, Austrian, and German wines.
The amuse-bouches immediately reveal the restaurant's identity, with miniature versions of Sarda a beccafico (a traditional Sardinian dish), pork chips stuffed with Nebrodi black pudding, and a delightful breaded arancino with squid ink, tuna ragù, and buffalo mozzarella. The bread basket features a slightly salty brioche and Siccagno tomato sauce, a sauce that replaces—without regret—the butter that usually accompanies leavened products. The oil served is produced by the chef, a cultivar of Nocellara Etnea, aromatic and intense.
The tasting begins with fish, featuring thin slices of scorpion fish hidden beneath a bed of green beans marinated in prickly pear vinegar and honey. A fresh, well-executed dish that stands out for the acidic note of Carricante, which enhances the reduced broth of the catch.
Next, the Gambero affogato plays on the deliciousness of the crustacean wrapped and hidden by a leaf of black broccoli from Etna and the chlorophyll of the leaves. An interesting duo.
It's time for grilled food with oysters cooked in their shells and served with black lentils from Leonforte (a Slow Food presidium), oyster mayonnaise, almond air, and dried lentils. An unusual version of the king of shellfish, although here it is the use of legumes for crunchiness and typicality that catches the attention.
The only first course of the evening is cold spaghetti with tomato water and white shrimp tartare. The five types of tomatoes balance acidity and sweetness, releasing an intense aroma, with the shrimp adding texture and flavor.
Triglia allo scoglio is the most complex dish of the evening in terms of technique and interpretation of ingredients. The fish is wrapped in sea lettuce, scented with fennel seeds and lemon, and served with a mix of raw and cooked seafood, clam air, and seafood sauce. The sea evoked at its finest.
There is also time and space to taste a choral dish: quail breast in puff pastry with mushrooms, apricots, and truffles. A delicious and important course in terms of taste, which you wish would never end.
The dessert is a caramelized peach with fine Marsala wine, honey cream, saffron, and almonds. A harmonious dessert combining the sweetness of honey and the aroma of saffron. And then Marsala, an icon of authentic Sicily, is Alessandro Ingiulla's final culinary message: at Sapio, you can discover and savor a region that still has so much to say. And to give.
Contacts
Sapio
Piazza Gandolfo Antonino 11, Catania
Phone: 350 194 7542
