ME: Filippo Venturi’s concept, where the finest local ingredients from the valley and culinary expertise come together to redefine the world of pizza.
“Homo faber fortunae suae”. The story of Filippo Venturi begins and unfolds around a clear and powerful principle: “Man is the architect of his own fortune”.Born in 1992, after completing his classical studies and earning a law degree, Chef Venturi left the linear and reassuring path of the legal profession to pursue what made him feel alive: cooking. A decision that went against the grain, representing not just a change of profession but a true statement of intent.
FROM LAW TO THE KITCHEN: FILIPPO VENTURI’S JOURNEY
ME is founded on this principle: believing in your own choices, embracing the risk of change, and turning passion into a concrete path. Because success isn’t a matter of chance, but the result of commitment, sacrifice, and planning. «I didn’t become a lawyer by design. The market was saturated, and the idea of stubbornly pursuing a profession just because I’d studied it in college felt archaic to me. College isn’t meant to pigeonhole us into a profession, but to train our minds and expand our reasoning abilities. There were already enough lawyers. The world didn’t need another one, and I risked becoming just one more. This realization led me to ask myself a more honest question: what am I truly passionate about? Cooking, ingredients, food. I decided to see if I could be useful there. And I chose that path, even with everyone against me,” says Filippo Venturi.
After facing several rejections—paradoxically, precisely because of his degree—he finally found someone willing to believe in his passion. He thus began gaining experience in the region’s leading kitchens, which bore witness to his determination: La Chiocciola and then Il Trigabolo. It is his “mentors,” as he likes to call them, who impart to him the techniques of the trade, rigor, and discipline—everything he still lacked professionally. For Filippo Venturi, however, attention to ingredients is the result of an upbringing that began in childhood, teaching him the value of the product, seasonality, and quality. “My roots lie in a world of land and water,” he says, “I was fortunate to meet people who completely inspired me with their vision, transforming what was for me a simple passion into something deeper and more conscious. My father, though not a chef, is a great cook. A true connoisseur of ingredients, almost obsessive in his pursuit of quality. From him I learned the value of the product and the importance of working by subtraction: to respect and enhance what is before you.”
LAND AND WATER: WHEN THE FLAVORS OF THE VALLEY MEET PIZZA
Fond of dishes that evoke fog, dampness, and cold, Filippo Venturi loves the flavors of the valley and its marshy landscapes. For him, everything that recalls marshes, rivers, and the nearby local sea—from eel to game, from snails to products that grow on the continuous border between land and water—represents the ultimate. It is these flavors, rooted in the land, that guide his cooking and define his idea of authenticity. And this brings us to the heart of the ME project: bringing cuisine together with the world of pizza, without compromise—except for one inevitable one: respecting the seasonality of the ingredients. “The idea of combining cuisine and pizza came about at a specific moment in my career. After learning the techniques necessary to truly understand the restaurant business in the kitchen, I found myself faced with an opportunity that seemed tailor-made: no one else was doing it, so together with Enrico Colombani, the owner, we decided to give it a try,” explains Venturi.
Pizza thus serves as the foundation, but the approach remains that of a true kitchen: there’s no sign saying “pizzeria” anywhere, and every dish is prepared with the same meticulous care as in a restaurant, from start to finish. ME was born this way, from a series of serendipitous coincidences and the ability to recognize the right opportunity along the way. Pizza becomes a natural extension of his cuisine, born in a family setting: “My passion for leavened dough began at home: in college, between study breaks, I looked for ways to bring the best Sunday pizza home. After countless trials and attempts, I created my own ‘book of mistakes,’ a journey made up of experiments, observations, and constant corrections,” Venturi continues.
MENU AND MIXOLOGY: THE OFFERING FROM FILIPPO VENTURI AND HIS TEAM
The menu is divided into two sections: on one side, “Verace Contemporanea,” and on the other, “Nuvola”—two distinct doughs that share the same goal: to pair high-quality ingredients, carefully selected and precisely curated to create perfectly harmonious combinations. Filippo Venturi works with select flours, and the doughs undergo a mixed fermentation process—combining biga and sourdough starter—calibrated according to the flour, protein content, hydration, and amount of yeast, dispelling the myth of “long rising times”: “Quality and digestibility do not depend on the hours of rising, but on the ingredients chosen: what we add matters more than anything else,” explains the chef. Verace Contemporanea is a high-hydration dough, baked at about 390°C for a good couple of minutes to eliminate excess moisture; Nuvola, on the other hand, involves double baking: first steamed, then blast-chilled and regenerated with the oven door open, so it’s crispy on the outside and soft on the inside: “It’s a balancing act that requires cutting-edge equipment and a highly skilled staff,” he concludes.
Each item on the menu is paired with a specific drink, designed to bring out the best flavors of each dough and ingredient. It’s not about wine or beer, but mixology—a creative and dynamic approach that enhances every pairing with specially crafted cocktails and alcoholic beverages. “For us, mixology and pairing become a true playground for experimentation and collaboration: they’re like ‘jabs’ we throw at each other, challenging one another to find new pairings. This is where ingredients we’ve never used before come into play, and this is the best part of our work,” explains Luca Ghetti, bartender and maître d’. The welcome appetizer isa trio of breads: a high-hydration bread served with Gentile di Larino olive oil, Baguette de Campagne with Mangalica lard, and rye bread accompanied by Ardennes butter and chervil. Paired with Rosso di Sera: a non-alcoholic herbal bitter and pink grapefruit soda.
Next up is Goro’s Blue Crab, one of the most iconic pizzas on the menu, featuring a quenelle of blue crab and cardoncello mushrooms, finished with Senise crusco pepper powder, which enhances the green notes. To finish, fried sea lettuce and, alongside it, a crab reduction to harmonize the whole dish. Rum Veritas blended with Rum Agricolo, lime juice, chamomile cordial, and yellow Chartreuse is the recommended mix: the ME Daiquiri. Earth and Water: Mallard Meets Eel, on a Verace Contemporanea base, is a dish where tomato is combined with valley eel stock, valley mallard, brown stock, blanched fresh spinach, and mace. Pair it with the Chinotto del ME, a low-alcohol drink that evokes earthy notes, made with artichoke bitters, lime juice, Angostura, rhubarb and cinchona soda, and a hint of green mandarin.
Eel and Savoy Cabbage, Nuvola base, reconnects with pizza through the burrata, where the ingredients reflect the local terroir: Savoy cabbage and eel, whose skin, cooked at 67°C, becomes crisp and light, almost like a chip, glazed with a Fortana wine reduction and finished with Pirano salt and Provençal chervil. It is served with Me-zcal Negroni: mezcal, rhubarb bitters, Campari bitters, and agave-flavored vermouth. It is clear, then, how central the raw ingredients and every single component are to this culinary journey, and it is evident how Filippo Venturi’s approach to pizza reflects a meticulous attention to detail, ingredients, and technique. Every choice, from the handling of ingredients to the subtle balance of flavors, demonstrates his culinary training and deep connection to his culinary roots.
Cardi e Ricordi, Nuvola base, is a pizza that celebrates cardoons—a vegetable that has fallen into obscurity and is rarely mentioned these days—served here raw, marinated in a caper and mint pesto. To top it off, a Dritta olive from Podere Pischiarano sits atop a sliver of chili pepper, with a strip of sumac at the base to enhance the acidity. The stracciatella adds a touch of creaminess and richness, balancing the dish’s flavors. The pairing enhances the vegetable and aromatic notes: The Buddha’s Daiquiri: Veritas rum infused with Buddha’s Hand, mint and chili cordial, and lime juice.
With Lepre, la mia stagione, Filippo Venturi brings game to the table—a staple ingredient from the regions he loves—with the aim of telling its story: beetroot purée, braised hare, and seasonal wild herbs. A dish conceived not by chasing flavor at all costs, but guided by respect for the animal and a desire to bring its story and essence to the plate. «For some years now, I’ve stopped simply chasing flavor and looking for something that’s “just good”: taste is subjective. First and foremost is the life of the ingredient, and flavor comes second. The beetroot cream tells the story of its sunrises and sunsets, its life and its food; the black represents the soil where it lives, the green its nourishment. It is a unique and unrepeatable experience: this is hunting. An uncompromising approach, which has proven to be a constant struggle between the fear of proposing something unconventional and the need to respect the raw ingredient,” he explains. The recommended drink is the Jamaican: Veritas Rum, Hampden “The Younger,” allspice liqueur, and Campari bitter with bitter orange—a perfect mix to pair with game meat.
The dessert is ME Cheesecake served with Fortana Saba, Pirano Salt, and Cellina Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and the pairing is bold: Avanti March!, a Spicy Saison beer brewed by Hibu, an example of how passion can guide food and drink pairings. “The beer’s acidity interacts with an apricot purée, cutting through the richness of the dessert. It is a saison style, where dryness and acidity prevail, with a touch of spices typical of Belgian beers” It is a risky, bold pairing, but one they are not afraid of: the challenge is precisely to transform the beer into an ingredient that enhances and completes the recipe. The tasting concludes with pastries: a Swiss-style pain au chocolat made with Gruppioni Uganda 72 chocolate, the croissant with its cream filling, and finally, the panettone, which Filippo Venturi produces year-round in various versions depending on the season, creatively reinterpreting tradition.
ME: TURNING DEDICATION INTO SHARED JOY
ME embodies many nuances united by a single principle: dedication. This consistent approach is one that Filippo Venturi also applies to his relationships with suppliers, with whom he has built bonds that go far beyond the strictly professional realm. This result stems from the care with which Venturi has cultivated solid personal relationships over time, transforming simple working relationships into connections based on mutual respect and friendship, where every person involved is an integral part of a journey built together. At ME, the obsession with every element that makes up a dish not only guarantees the highest level of quality but embodies a philosophy that makes the technique authentic and genuine. “For me, cooking is the most genuine way I express my affection for others,” concludes Filippo Venturi. “In bringing happiness to others, I find my own. My deepest intention has always been to see fulfillment and contentment in people: that is where I find my greatest satisfaction. Without this sincere sharing, I wouldn’t be able to devote so many hours to my work with the same passion and commitment.”
