mi invite someone to dinner, just to say, just to be polite. Because you can be taken at your word. Knows something about Laudomia Pucci, daughter of the designer Emilio Pucci, that former Prime Minister Tony Blair found himself at home overnight. He had met the British prime minister and his wife Cherie during a palio in Siena and, between one small talk and another, or between a chat and a glass of wine, he had invited them to his country house in Granaiolo, outside Florence.
Then she left for the sea with the children. The next day she received a call from Scotland Yard which went something like this: “Mrs Pucci, the Prime Minister is coming for dinner” (Mrs Pucci, the Prime Minister is coming to dinner with you, ed).
“I had a moment of panic. The fridge was empty. Arrived in Granaiolo, still wearing the sarong, I went to the supermarket and cooked the first thing that came to mind: the spaghetti omelette, which I served with ice cold beer» reveals. A simple dish. Much appreciated by Mr & Mrs Blair also because abroad it is almost unknown.
Ferragamo’s Rainbow Cake
Dan and Dean Caten’s meatballs
The tasty anecdote is one of many told in the book Italian Fashion Cookbook, written by the Bolognese journalist Maria Vittoria Melchioni (Guido Tommasi editor), now in the library. With a work that lasted two years, Melchioni asked for the “recipes of the heart” from seventy stylists and models, from Eva Cavalli to Valentino via Fausto Puglisi, Francesco Scognamiglio and Rossella Jardini, just to name a few.
The combination of fashion and food, indeed, it would seem unlikely in a world dominated by finger food and above all from size 38 (that of the models). Yet a decidedly unusual gastronomic “map” has come out that goes from Patrizio Bertelli’s “pigeon pie” (“It takes five hours to cook it” says the CEO of Prada), to Giuseppe Zanotti’s “taboo cocktail”.
The cover of Italian Fashion Cookbook
Fashion and food: Dan and Dean Caten’s meatballs
«The most surprising aspect was the sentimentality behind each dish, everyone has a “madeleine” linked to family tables or to a grandmother» says the author. Like that of Canadian twins of Italian origin, Dan and Dean Caten, the creative duo of Dsquared2.
Her name was Arcangela Fiore Catenacci. Thanks to her they learned to cook veal meatballs with mint, lemon and pea sauce, which they now have chef Elio Sironi prepare at Ceresio 7, the restaurant that the brothers manage in Milan at their headquarters. Nonna Arcangela – they say – used to leave the house with a rolling pin in her bag (even as self-defense…).
The memory of the twins, the last of nine children (there are five brothers and four sisters), also goes to the lasagna with twenty-two very thin layers that the grandmother prepared for the whole family. They also proposed them when, a few years ago, they brought together in Toronto the entire Catenacci clan from around the world, one hundred and fifty people, in a neo-Gothic style castle with 98 rooms and 30 bathrooms, built by a romantic financier and philanthropist, Sir Henry Pellatt.
The creative directors of Dsquared2, Dean and Dan Caten
At dinner with Madonna
Francesco Maria Coveri, on the other hand, has a cult of bread soup, the Coveri house version of the famous Tuscan ribollita. And to think that with uncle Enrico Coveri, who died in the 90s, dinners were a constant surprise.
«It happened that I went to lunch and I found Andy Warhol next to me. I must have been thirteen when, one day, around midnight, my uncle called home: Wake up Francis! Let’s go have spaghetti with Madonna». He also talks about childhood the top Bianca Balti. She was forbidden to eat chocolate if not at little cousins’ parties. Which is why the recipe of her life has remained Aunt Daniela’s chocolate cake.
«It reminds me of the birthday parties of my three cousins Francesca, Laura and Elena. As much as I loved playing with the other kids, I spent more time at the candy table. In fact, my mother didn’t let me eat snacks or drink sugary drinks, so these holidays were my chance to fill up. And the aunt’s cake was definitely my favorite dessert of all ».
The chocolate cake loved by Bianca Balti
Fashion and food. The Starlette Cake loved by Carla Bruni
The stylist Anna Molinari loves to prepare her cheesecake with rose jam instead («You will always make a beautiful impression» he underlines) which he loves to frame with a crown of roses to enhance their perfume. «I have loved this flower since I was a child, when I saw my mother composing centerpieces with roses from our garden. I was intoxicated by the delicate and persistent scent that came from that flower full of grace and energy at the same time and I still hear her voice saying to me: “You are my little rose”».
The author also contacted Carla Bruni Sarkozy. His the most famous anecdote, which however did not enter the book due to the copyright on the recipe of chef Michelle LaPorte. One day in Paris, she was tired and hungry after a shooting, Carla entered Thé Cool, a newly opened venue, together with her colleague Karen Mulder.
They wanted something tasty, but light, so LaPorte prepared for them what would later become his signature: the Starlette Cake, a shot of Greek yogurt with a touch of agave and blackberries. Number of calories: 12. Not only was it the chef’s luck, but since then the model singer only eats this dessert.
Fashion and food. Monica Bellucci’s tiramisu
Tiramisu or apple pie?
Monica Bellucci is, however, surprisingly, a specialist in tiramisu with apples. «I cook for my daughters. They’re the only ones who believe I’m a good cook. I prepare pasta, meat, simple things. The dish that I do best is tiramisu. It never fails when I organize a dinner with my friends. I like to spoil them and give them a portion to take home».
Its recipe calls for apple crumble and speculoos among the ingredients, the thin biscuits spiced with cinnamon, cloves and cardamomtypical of Belgium and the Netherlands which are prepared, according to tradition, on the day of Saint Nicholas which is celebrated in a few days, on December 6th.
Monica Bellucci’s tiramisu
Fashion and food. The beautiful Ferragamo Rainbow Cake
The most aesthetically successful dessert belongs to Giovanna Gentile Ferragamo, daughter of Salvatore Ferragamo and currently president of the Ferragamo Foundation who decided to combine his father’s creations with the very famous and very American Rainbow Cake: «This cake is called “Rainbow”, from the name of a historic shoe created by my father. It is part of a group of fifteen cakes dedicated to a different and iconic shoe that I had made and displayed during one of our receptions.
The idea came to me one day when I said to myself: “These shoes are really beautiful… to eat!” It was a challenge with myself to make them “edible”». Finally, Gianni Versace went crazy for custard: his chef Donato De Santis says that he prepared several cups for him which he then left in the fridge.
«After his death (July 15, 1997, ed), I remember the family gathered in the villa. The silence was chilling and, despite the pain, these broken souls could not let off steam. I thought of serving the cream I had prepared for Gianni that day. The mere sight of the cups made everyone finally dissolve in liberating tears. Gianni’s presence was perceptible, in the orange blossom scent of his favorite dessert. I like to think it was a last cuddle for his loved ones».
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