A former factory converted into a restaurant, a talented (yet low-key) chef, and a rising star (ready for the vegetable-focused menu?). A journey into the microcosm of Olio in Origgio.
This car right here, you’ve got to put it over there. Francesco Salvi’s art on the walls, cars in the dining room. A gunmetal-green HF “Deltone” behind us, a stunning Isetta past the bar area, a captivating Jaguar XK120—if I’m not mistaken—in the room next to the main dining room. Olio isn’t the kind of restaurant you usually walk into. Olio isn’t just about extra virgin olive oil. There’s plenty of motor oil and just as much oil on canvas. If the light of the newly acquired star is what drew us in, the headlights of the cars and an entrepreneurial venture built fundamentally on the passions of the owner and his children are what opened our eyes to something more than just a simple dinner.
Luigi Milini owned a textile printing company; he later sold the patent and transformed the building and surrounding land into a 30,000-square-meter complex dedicated to beauty, wellness, and hospitality. Oil is the conceptual thread that ties it all together, encompassing a fine-dining restaurant, greenhouses and productive vegetable gardens, spaces dedicated to art, and an automotive hub that serves as a storage facility and workshop for classic cars. Talk about turning a passion into a career.
Luigi Milini speaks with remarkable calm about this venture of his. An entrepreneur all his life, his existence has been one of sacrifice—which, quite simply, means always being the first to arrive at the office and the last to leave. This is something we see less and less often in this era of home offices and remote work. Who better than him could have imagined launching such an ambitious project without drafting a proper business plan? “There isn’t much difference between one business and another, whether you’re generating revenue through machinery or the restaurant industry. This is what I enjoy more now. After analyzing the market and the local area, we decided to focus heavily on seafood.” Over the past three months, the numbers have improved—they don’t deny it. Even in January, which is usually one of those slow months you can’t wait to get through. The Michelin star has given them more conviction to keep going and even more confidence in Chef Andrea Marinelli, both as a chef and as a manager. “He’s not the type to seek the spotlight; he keeps a low profile.”
We weren’t aware that Francesco Salvi, the iconic face of the comedy show *Drive In* in the 1980s, was such a versatile artist. “Francesco is a friend; he started out as an illustrator and artist, but then realized he could make more money doing stand-up comedy”. The owner’s quip playfully introduces us to the space dedicated to beauty, which is certainly not lacking at Olio. Although it stands in the middle of an industrial district northwest of Milan, it takes just a moment upon entering to feel as though you’re in a luxury hotel. The dining room is incredibly spacious, with widely spaced seating and sophisticated, modern furnishings. The kitchen overlooks almost the entire dining room. Wait, actually there are two. Andrea Marinelli runs two kitchens simultaneously, one dedicated entirely to people with celiac disease, where he manages to replicate almost all the dishes from the main kitchen’s menu. “The Michelin star wasn’t one of our primary goals. We implemented what I believe we could do, through daily growth.”
Marinelli’s words convey his deep gratitude for being part of a project where, without having to shout, he can express his ideas and his desire to never stop learning. His decision to join Olio came after three years in Copenhagen and a stint at Innocenti Evasioni as executive chef under Chef Arrigoni. “I felt the need to express myself, to be on the front lines. It was also the first time I moved from the city to the countryside for work. I was hesitant at first, but then I took the plunge, convinced by the owners’ determination to invest in fine dining.”
The Dishes
At Olio, seafood dishes take center stage. On the menu, you’ll see “sole alla mugnaia”—I don’t think you’d ever expect to be served a whole fillet of sole. Just imagine the size of the whole fish when it arrives. An unusual mugnaia sauce, delicate and without the typical cheap tartness of lemon. The light, pungent bitterness of the celery; a texture that doesn’t melt in your mouth but invites you to bite into it, releasing the pleasure of chewing. “I’ve never been able to work with fish and seafood ingredients the way I do now. I have almost personal relationships with my suppliers, and now we’re able to source items that are rarely available. I learn from them how to handle fish, and I’m very careful not to stop studying and learning from others. We have great determination: to make mistakes and try again to do better. The key members of the kitchen team, the ones who drive things forward, have been with me for four years. When we think of new dishes, we do a lot of testing; I need people who are as determined as I am. With all the dishes we’ve changed, we could write a cookbook.”
We were told that the star rating wouldn’t bring about any major changes, yet when Luigi Milini and his daughter Lucia talk about the vegetable dishes, their eyes light up. As for us, our palates were delighted. Take the Artichoke, Mushrooms, and Leeks: here, Marinelli combines a designer’s presentation with a delicacy that is anything but predictable, considering that artichokes are generally perceived as bitter, tough, and stringy. An artichoke flan is stuffed with a mushroom duxelle, resting on a leek-based beurre blanc. A sweet-and-sour gel and a wafer resembling an artichoke leaf—made from artichoke purée—complete the dish. A mushroom dashi broth envelops the dish with earthy and woody notes. On paper, it’s a technical dish for connoisseurs. But from the very first bite, it’s a deliciously satisfying dish for everyone.
The other vegetable highlight is the fresh pasta bottoni, beets, late-season radicchio, and blue goat cheese. Here, there is a bold culinary approach that remains somewhat understated.
It’s clear that the chef wanted to temper the dish’s two extremes: bitterness and acidity. So as not to alienate anyone and to please everyone. It would be foolish not to consider the sixth fundamental taste for a restaurant: business. We’ll be honest: we wanted a punch in the face and for a bit of bitterness to linger on our tongues. Despite our extreme preferences, the recipe calls for a filling where the radicchio is almost caramelized in a pot with red onion. A beet extract is then made, left to dry for 15 hours at 35–40 degrees to create the sauce for the buttons—glossy and viscous but not overly sweet. Goat cheese to boost the comfort food vibe, wood sorrel, and raw radicchio marinated in raspberry vinegar to finish. These last two elements give the dish its true twist, stimulating emotional reactions on the palate.
Amid the daily hustle and bustle of an industrial zone, there is a small factory that has transformed the assembly line through the art of beauty; there is a family that has turned their passion into a productive and delicious venture.
Contact
Olio
Provincial Road 33, 21040 Origgio VA
Phone: 02 8362 0900
