Bernardo is a small place, with four tables and a private room that can accommodate up to eight people. However, seating is limited to 12 in total. The cuisine? A sequence of delicacies, inspired by Polesine and the chef's Molise origins, which Laura accompanies with a clever selection of wines, cocktails, and non-alcoholic beverages.
It is worth starting from where we are: Polesine, in the province of Rovigo, is the geologically youngest territory in Italy, whose formation dates back only between 2,000 and 3,000 years ago. Those who were born here, such as Laura Braggion, describe it as follows: "This is a strip of land between the Adige and Po rivers, of rivers and fog, of people who are reserved but extremely friendly once they get to know you. We are a people of farmers accustomed to working and emigrating; my grandparents and many others left after the flood of 1951, but then they came back. The same thing happened to me, much later: those born in Polesine hate it and leave; when they return, they continue to hate it (laughs, ed.), but they retain a strong bond. I love the fog. I look outside and see the park with the falling leaves and the pheasants running around: this is my romantic world."
The story
Laura Braggion and Danilo D'Alete are a couple both professionally and romantically: they fell in love with a charming early 17th-century villa in the countryside along the Canal Bianco, an artificial canal built in the 16th century that belonged to the Bernardo Counts of Venice. They first turned it into the headquarters of Goostoso, their business producing demi-glace and stocks for high-end restaurants, then realized that it would make sense to go further. Danilo explains: "The current restaurant room was basically the showroom, where customers came, tasted the products, and contracts were signed. We thought we could do much, much more: it was a natural progression, almost automatic.“ Laura continues: ”Bernardo started out as a temporary dining table, then it became the expression of our philosophy, a place where cuisine and hospitality are the priority. A bit like welcoming guests into our home. So we decided to represent what hospitality means to me in the dining room and how Danilo expresses his cuisine."
Laura and Danilo are two interesting characters who are assisted only by Roberta Padoan, a promising young singer who helps her in the dining room. Laura graduated from Ca' Foscari University with a degree in history and a thesis on English hydraulic engineering, comparing the tourism potential of the waterways in Veneto with that of the English canals: “The theme of the river has always been with me, which is why I love to look out in the morning and see the river with all its wonderful wildlife: you wake up in the morning with the egrets and ducks passing by, it's beautiful.” However, Laura is also a highly experienced restaurant manager and has not missed a beat.
First, she went into cooking, attending the Institut Paul Bocuse in Lyon, then working as a private chef on luxury boats; an internship with Perbellini at the time of Isola Rizza, where she met Paola Secchi: “I always admired her greatly, both when she arrived at the pass and when she spoke to customers.” From there, she went to the Regio Patio of the Hotel Regina Adelaide, where she met Danilo in 2015 at Fish and Chef. With a good grounding in cooking, she moved on to what is now her kingdom: we then see her as a commis de salle at the Palagio of the Four Seasons in Florence with Vito Mollica and then as assistant restaurant manager at Pagliaccio in Rome, called by Matteo Zappile. Before arriving here in Pincara, she had time to become a maître d', again in Garda, and spend some time in Milan. Danilo also has a rather rich and varied resume.
Molisano's culinary experiences range from Café Les Pailottes in Pescara, where he worked as a consultant for Heinz Beck, where “they taught me the basic rules: how to put on your uniform, how to stay focused, how to use a cutting board, how to organize a refrigerator.” He still works with the Iaccarinos of Don Alfonso as a consultant at Aldrovandi in Rome: “There, they taught me how to select the best ingredients on the market without spoiling them: a fundamental rule.” Then came his third experience, which “changed the way I think about a dish, a product, all the things that really lie behind an ingredient: it was with Andrea Accordi, my mentor, someone who could use ten thousand ingredients and you could recognize them all perfectly.” We also see Danilo at Piccolo Lago in Mergozzo, at Sine in Milan, and with Vito Mollica and Leandro Luppi at Vecchia Malcesine: "All the experiences I sought out were purposeful. You can have millions of ideas, but then you have to put them into practice and make them work, so you have to think about the context you're in, the potential you have in the kitchen, and the economic side, eliminating any possible waste."
The restaurant
Bernardo is a small place, with four tables and a private room that can accommodate up to eight people. However, the total number of seats is limited to 12. The restaurant is located inside the villa's barchessa: elegant and cozy, with a large fireplace, the atmosphere creates an intimate setting that invites you to relax and unwind. Behind it is a large park where a vegetable garden will be created in the spring. Here, Danilo collects wild hops, mulberries, dandelions, and vine leaves, all of which are used in the menu. He tells us, “When I think of a menu, first of all I think about what I would like to eat, then I ask myself the classic questions: would I eat the same things again, would I come back?”
We would definitely return. The menu during this period is ‘Il cortile di Bernardo’ (Bernardo's courtyard): offered at 110 euros (there is also ‘Essenza’, the same but shorter, at 75 euros). A sequence of delicacies, inspired by the chef's Polesine and Molise origins, which Laura accompanies with a cleverly differentiated pairing of wines, cocktails, and non-alcoholic beverages. The name itself tells us that the dishes are dedicated to farmyard animals.
The dishes
We start with some delicious snacks, beginning with cresta di gallo soffiata (puffed rooster comb) accompanied by a foie gras cream, softened by the addition of brewer's yeast, which reduces its fattiness. This is followed by pork tripe chips with sardine cream in saor. In ‘vines, pork and apple’, the vine leaves are picked before ripening, blanched and then dried. The pork belly is oven-baked. A chutney of organic apples enriched with spices adds sweetness and spice. The bread is also very good, reminiscent of homemade bread from southern bakeries, with a fragrant, crispy crust, made from Mulino Padano flour.
The first amuse bouche is ‘poultry, eggs, hops’: a hearty broth made from farmyard animals including guinea fowl, turkey, chicken, and pork. For Danilo, the aroma of the broth brings back childhood memories, when crêpes made with eggs and flour were added to the broth and cut into strips to give substance to the festive lunch. The sweetness of the dish combines perfectly with the slightly bitter note of the hops, harvested in early September and dried for a few days. ‘Goose, chestnuts and truffles’ is the first appetizer: the goose neck is presented as carpaccio, on a bed of chestnut cream with hints of anise. Stuffed with the meat of the same animal and enriched with giblets, it is cooked at a low temperature and then browned in a pan. A red turnip sauce with a slightly sour note and a goose jus, Marsala and truffle complete this great dish.
‘Gallina, midollo, aglio nero’ (chicken, marrow, black garlic) is an excellent tribute to the traditional Paduan risotto. Based on a chicken ragù, Mandello rice from the Melotti rice mill is cooked with chicken broth, creamed with butter, sour butter, and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. The dish is finished with chicken jus and a powder made from crispy chicken skin and fried sage. ‘Animelle, sedano, patate’ (Sweetbreads, celery, potatoes) is the second first course, another small masterpiece of flavor, with ravioli del plin made with eggs and potatoes. Stuffed with sweetbreads with a hint of orange, they are sautéed with brown butter enriched with drops of anchovy sauce, laid on the plate with a brunoise of celery and grated seasoned sweetbreads, whose consistency is somewhere between katsuobushi and bottarga. The dish is finished in the dining room with the addition of green celery broth. In ‘Duck, carrots, oranges’: the breast of the bird is seared and served with a quenelle of carrot cream, a cube of duck leg terrine wrapped in black cabbage powder and sautéed black cabbage seasoned with a soy dressing; a jus of the bird with livers and orange completes the dish. Alongside, the exquisite fried duck wing pulp, with milk cream, BBQ sauce, and parsley oil.
The pre-dessert was a delight: almond milk blancmange with homemade mulberry jam, black cardamom powder, almond wafer, and flakes of spiced cow's milk cheese. The dessert was truly remarkable: a base of wheat germ crumble, white chocolate namelaka, and ricotta, which was also found under the wheat germ wafer; another pumpkin wafer and, to top it off, a dandelion and pollen parfait with a hint of licorice. To finish, two ‘potiches’: a French meringue filled with persimmon jam and peanut butter and a cocoa craquelin cream puff filled with Alchermes pastry cream. A restaurant worth discovering.
Contacts
Bernardo Tavola Contemporanea
Via Luigi Antonio Ghirardini, 3552, 45020 Fratta Polesine RO
Phone: +39 3476753021
E-mail: prenotazioni@bernardotavolatemporanea.it
