Isa Mazzocchi: Time is the secret ingredient
Tireless commitment to unforgettable moments: restaurateurs reveal their secrets for making special gastro moments possible.
Isa Mazzocchi, what is your secret recipe for creating unforgettable moments for your guests?
‘Time! The Italian lifestyle is the same as that in our kitchen: we take our time. A joint lunch lasts at least two to three hours at our place. If guests arrive at 12 noon at my restaurant, they often don’t leave before 3 p.m. And that’s just how it should be!
Obviously, there is not just one course. In Italian, we say‚ ‘condivisione’. We love enjoying many courses together and sitting at a table full of dishes and drinks.
Lunch includes plenty of bread – because in our region we have lots of excellent types of cured meats. Salame, coppa and pancetta… But also plenty of vegetables and of course pasta. Pasta, pasta, pasta, in all different shapes, with or without filling. When it comes to the pasta filling, each province, and even many villages, have their own predilection, whether with cheese or meat ... In our region, near Piacenza, we also love ‘pasta fresca all’uovo’, that is to say, fresh handmade egg pasta. True, they take longer than store-bought, ready-made durum wheat pasta.
But that simply is our ingredient for unforgettable moments: time.’
About … Isa Mazzocchi
Maria Luisa ‘Isa’ Mazzocchi, born in 1968, has managed the restaurant La Palta in Borgonovo Val Tidone in the Italian region of Piacenza since 1989. The name ‘La Palta’ – the term for a small general shop in the local dialect – comes from the business her mother had already operated there: a small shop with tobacco products and small dishes.
‘My success is the success of my family and my team,’ says Mazzocchi. In 2012 her restaurant was awarded a Michelin star and in 2021, she was named ‘Premio Michelin Chef Donna 2021 by Veuve Clicquot’ (‘Female Chef of the Year’). Her nephew Luca works alongside her in the kitchen, while her children Bianca and Luigi are training to join her in the restaurant in the future.
📍 Fraz. Bilegno 67, Borgonovo Val Tidone, PC
Website: www.lapalta.it
Instagram: www.instagram.com/ristorante_lapalta
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ristorantelapaltachefisamazzocchi
Tireless commitment to unforgettable moments: restaurateurs reveal their secrets for making special gastro moments possible.
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