vivy Antonino Cannavacciuolo being moved is alienating. Above all because we are used to an Antonino who knocks out (metaphorically) anyone who comes within range with pats on the back well placed. But everyone has a weakness. What broke down the corpulent chef’s defenses was the assignment of three Michelin stars to Villa Crespi, the restaurant in Orta San Giulio that he manages with his wife Cinzia. An acknowledgment that catapulted the chef (broadcast every Friday at 21.30 with reruns of the eleventh season of Masterchef Italia) in the Olympus of Italian catering.
Antonino Cannavacciuolo: «The first time in the kitchen at the age of 8»
Born in Vico Equense 47 years ago, Antoninus he started cooking as a boy. «I was born into a family where food has always come first. My father taught cooking and was a chef. The first time that I set foot in a professional kitchen I was about eight years old. Even then I thought that I didn’t want to do anything else in life », she writes on his website.
The father, who knew the hard work of the cook, would not have wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. Antonino, however, was a leader, and no one in the family was able to convince him to give up. And fortunately, we can well say today in light of the many successes.
Antonino Cannavacciuolo. (Press office)
His secret? Cynthia’s wife
After graduating as a chef from the hotel school and some work in the Sorrento peninsula, Cannavacciuolo moved to France for a while. In his early twenties he was hired for three months in a restaurant on the shores of Lake Orta. It is that of the parents of Cinzia Primatesta, whom he marries 4 years later, on November 23, 1999 (two children: Elisa and Andrea). Also in 1999, Cannavacciuolo and his wife took over the villa in Orta San Giulio built by Cristoforo Benigno Crespi between the end of the 1800s and the early 1900s, and transformed it into the resort with adjoining restaurant, Villa Crespi.
In the Michelin firmament
The first Michelin star arrives in 2003four years after the opening, the second in 2006. The third could have come between 2009 and 2010, when Cannavacciuolo went head-to-head with the restaurant From Victor of the Cerea family who then obtained it. In the meantime, however, other prizes kept pouring in (3 forks from Gambero Rosso and 3 hats from L’Espresso) and other stars.
Antonino and Cinzia didn’t stop and opened other restaurants and other resorts which, punctually, light up the firmament of Italian catering. The Cannavacciuolo Cafè and bistro of Novara and the Cannavacciuolo Bistro of Turin both receive 1 star in 2018, the Cannavacciuolo Countryside of Ticciano in 2021.
Antonino Cannavacciuolo was awarded 3 stars by the “Guide Michelin”. (Michelin)
Third star and special thanks
The third star for Villa Crespi arrived on November 23rd, a very special day for Antonino and his wife – anniversary of the 23 years of marriage. The chef’s special thanks went to Cinzia Primatesta: «This is the only time my wife has forgiven me for not celebrating it».
Casanova’s Cannavacciuolo Vineyard was also awarded, taking another star, bringing the chef’s total to 7. However, all the fans of the chef on TV should also thank his wife.
Cannavacciuolo and success on TV
To convince the Neapolitan chef to participate in Hells Kitchenthe show with which he made his debut in 2013 on Fox Life was the wife. In the programme, which in the meantime has moved to Sky Uno, Cannavacciuolo puts disaster-stricken premises back on track.
However, the real success comes with Master Chef Italy, where, in 2015, he joined Carlo Cracco, Joe Bastianich and Bruno Barbieri as the fourth judge. His sympathy and pats on his back become legendary, and today, without fear of being proven wrong, we can say that he is the most loved judge of the cooking show. To dramatically increase her popularity – which also brought him to the stage of San Remo Festival – there are other programs as well.
The three judges of “MasterChef Italia”: Giorgio Locatelli, Antonino Cannavacciuolo and Bruno Barbieri. (Sky)
Came aboard fishing boats for the 2 editions of ‘O my sea. He told behind the scenes of his work in Antonino thinks about it. He did the judge a Celebrity MasterChef Italy And MasterChef All Stars Italy. He cooked ne Cannavacciuolo’s menus. He also continues to be a judge in Antonino Chef Academywhere he selects young people for his kitchens, and in Family Food Fightcooking challenge for the whole family.
His dishes
«Cooking, for me, is feeling the call of the places where I grew up. Welcoming people means discovering places they’ve never been“, He says. His cuisine has the gift of simplicity and reconnects to tradition: his mission, he explains, “is to try to bring it back to light in a new form, respecting the value of each ingredient”. Among his iconic dishes are the Scampi alla pizzaiola, veal tuna, duck Plin, foie-gras soup and buffalo milk sauce, rice, thyme, lemon and clams and red mullet, black cabbage and smoked provola.
Taking a seat at Villa Crespi, where the chef always tries to be present, is not cheap. There are three tasting menus and they range from 190 euros Traceto 240 of Put your soul into it passing through the 210 of Itinerary from the South to the North of Italy. You can also choose from the card: dishes range from 30 euros (for desserts) to 50-70 for other courses.
The passions of the chef
Among the passions of the chef there is football and cheering for Napoli and fishing. As a young man, he said, the only profession he would have considered as an alternative to cooking was fishing.
And then there’s the passion to pat on the back. “I’ve always good-naturedly beaten for fun, to unload anger or to encourage someone,” she confessed. “For me it is a very intimate gesture and my pats must be deserved, in fact they are not all the same”.
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