AIDA Cucina Contemporanea was born from a passion cultivated since childhood. It was created by Jennifer Pennacchioni and Federico Osti, aged 28 and 29, two young chefs united by a true vocation and a journey that took them far away and then brought them back “home.” For them, this is not just an important professional achievement but the realization of a dream that, since childhood, has fueled a genuine enthusiasm for cooking.
RETURNING TO OUR ROOTS AND DARING WITH TASTE
We are in Bondeno, in the upper Ferrara area, one of the regions most closely linked to tradition and history. Here, Jennifer and Federico have chosen to bring their idea of cuisine, aware of the dialogue—sometimes daring—that this would establish with the surrounding context: it is no coincidence that their motto is “Dare with taste.”
After gaining valuable experience in France and Spain, working in Michelin-starred kitchens, the two chefs decided to return to their roots, bringing with them the rigor, technique, and contemporary approach they had learned abroad, reinterpreting them through the products and identity of the region where they grew up. "For us, tradition has never been a simple concept. We deeply respect it because we recognize its value and central role in cuisine, but we are convinced that tradition, before becoming such, was innovation, experimentation, and continuous attempts.
Our project stems from this vision: to bring home what we have learned abroad and show that, alongside tradition, there is room for new ideas, new techniques, and new languages," says Federico Osti. The goal was to bring the experience of Michelin-starred cuisine closer to the dining table because, beyond techniques, they believe that a chef must always remember that what they are offering is, first and foremost, food. Something simple and authentic.
FROM EUROPEAN STARRED CUISINE TO THE PROVINCIAL COUNTRYSIDE
After a three-month Erasmus exchange in Bordeaux and over two years of experience working alongside Nicolas Magie, Jennifer Pennacchioni moved to Paris, where she trained for five and a half years at the Four Seasons: “a tough but essential school: it allowed me to grow and train in a solid and correct way,” explains Jennifer. After several experiences in his homeland, Federico flew to Spain, driven by an incredible curiosity for molecular cuisine and the thinking of the Adrià brothers. He worked with Dani García and Santi Taura, before moving to Paris, where he joined the kitchens of Alain Ducasse, Le Meurice, and Le Dalí, where he learned rigor, respect for raw ingredients, and the art of developing flavor in every dish.
A NAME WITH A HISTORY
Before becoming what it is today, AIDA was Federico's great-grandfather's business: a small shop selling fruit and vegetables. Over the years, it changed use and purpose, until Jennifer and Federico decided to transform it into their restaurant, personally undertaking a renovation that lasted months.
Today, AIDA welcomes guests with refined simplicity and discreet elegance, enveloped in delicate shades of pastel green and with great attention to detail, such as the tablecloth embroidered with the name of the restaurant. A traditional name that is intended to be an oxymoron but at the same time represents a reference to Italy, as it is also the title of a song by Rino Gaetano. Not only that: it comes from Arab culture and tells the story of an Egyptian woman who returns to her homeland. It couldn't be more appropriate. The service is attentive, entrusted to Nicholas Salmi and Alessia Caravaggi, who take care of diners with professionalism and kindness.
“DARE WITH TASTE”: THE FINE DINING PROPOSAL BY JENNIFER PENNACCHIONI AND FEDERICO OSTI
“Daring with Taste” is the concept behind the menu offered by AIDA Cucina Contemporanea: “We are young and aware that we still have a lot to learn. The menu is constantly evolving, we have changed it many times, and it has not been easy to get customers used to this dynamism. We pay close attention to seasonality and carry out tests, always thinking about the final taste. When we apply our ideas to the dish, we often achieve exactly what we had imagined, but it's not easy: it's a constant process of experimentation," say Jennifer and Federico, who are joined in the kitchen by Christian Bonora, a young chef who trained professionally under Paolo Teverini and Moreno Cedroni.
Let's dive into AIDA's gastronomic offerings. To start with, the welcome entrées: Polenta bites, pumpkin and chestnut cream, and smoked mozzarella spheres with dried tomato powder, a start that stimulates great curiosity. This is followed by sea bream tataki, fennel, and green apple: sea bream tataki served with green apple cream and fennel in fish stock, two green apple ravioli stuffed with seasoned fennel brunoise, fresh fennel copeaux, and finished with a mixture of mustard and marigold sprouts. Here, you can already sense the French influence, but it is with AIDA's signature dish that the French language of the menu really begins to emerge: Prawns in brick pastry, basil, and kimchi sauce.
The prawn is wrapped in a brick pastry shell, a basil leaf, and kimchi sauce, and topped with a mixture of sprouts, red shiso, and basil sprouts, finished with a sprinkling of fresh lime zest. “Fermentation is my great passion,” explains Federico, "and when we discovered brick pastry, which originated in France, we wanted to make the most of its crunchiness and contrast with the basil. We then played with the intensity of the Korean kimchi sauce, which is very savory, balancing it with a mayonnaise that adds lightness and complexity. Finally, by gratinating the sauce and pairing it with sprouts for freshness and lime zest, we finished the dish in a balanced way." This is followed by the first courses: Tortello with creamed cod, pil pil fumetto and herring roe, and Tonnarelli, cacio e pepe mousse with pink pepper and lime shrimp.
Egg in a multigrain bread crust with button mushrooms and creamy new potatoes with thyme is an intermezzo that recreates the eggshell with a five-grain breadcrumb coating and double cooking. It is accompanied by button mushrooms, a mix of red shiso, parsley, and Taggiasca olives, on a purée of potatoes flavored with fresh thyme. Another signature dish on their menu is the result of a combination of foreign experiences and Italian cuisine: Toasted brioche, pulled pork cheeks, smoked sauce, crispy onions and jus, a brioche served with pulled pork cheek, crispy caramelized onion, smoked sauce on the side and finished with the jus from the cheek itself.
A memory of Dani García's La brioche de rabo de toro: “It's one of the dishes that particularly impressed me when I was working with him; at first, I didn't even know what it was. Then I discovered that there is a very similar concept in Italian cuisine: coda alla vaccinara. From there, I thought: look at the distance and look at the similarity,” says Federico Osti. This is followed by boneless Angus ribeye accompanied by a piece of the ribeye's own fat, seared and oven-baked, Robuchon purée, and pepper sauce.
We have almost reached the end, with the pre-dessert Olive oil tartlet with cheesecake cream and tonka bean, wafer covered in Dulcey chocolate, and cocoa butter and white chocolate shell filled with green apple, preceding the Non la torta della nonna (Not Grandma's Cake). A reminder of the traditional Nonna's cake but with a subtle twist. We find a shortcrust pastry wafer resting on two creams: a vanilla-flavored custard and a dulce namelaka, a cream made with white chocolate and salted caramel. The whole thing is topped off with toasted pine nuts and pine nut praline.
"All our dishes are based on memories: for us, cooking is about memories. This dessert is based on a historic dish, for which no complete specifications had ever been drawn up. We started with our grandmother's cake and studied its concepts: what really brings back that taste, what sensations it evokes. It's a dish we tried and retried many times. French pastry-making, with its approach to praline, gave us a helping hand: with pine nut praline, we finally defined the dish, completing it and making it unique," explain the two chefs.
AIDA'S STRENGTHS: SENSITIVITY, RIGOR, AND DEEP RESPECT
It is clear that this menu reflects an important foreign influence that is evident not only in the preparations and techniques but also in a rigorous ethic: that of taking the utmost care of the customer and always serving a perfect dish, no matter what. Jennifer Pennacchioni and Federico Osti have not only created a high-profile restaurant project: they have enriched it with their personal sensitivity as chefs, representing its true strength. They have taken the cuisine and, alongside their memories, added what they are today: two professionals for whom respect, time, and constant dedication are essential values.
Contact
Aida Cucina Contemporanea
Via Virgiliana, 71, 44012 Bondeno FE
Phone: 333 268 4829
