92 Ettore Bocchia is the father of molecular cuisine. At Villa Serbelloni’s Mistral restaurant in
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by Alessandra Meldolesi – photos by Bob Noto
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Molecular cuisine is a foundling with a multitude of would-be fathers and a host of DNA tests to its name. A revolution repudiated by most, which could end in a misconception no less explosive than the one that hit nouvelle cuisine, reduced to the rarefied contemplation of a solitary bean. Yet molecular cuisine has one proven father in Italy: in this age dominated by a paleo-cuisine worthy of the Flintstones, with collective skinning sessions and bonesaws for gory heads and femurs, Ettore Bocchia is a chef who continues to focus all the energy of a firmly-held creed (as that is precisely what is involved) on his plate. Where there is no room for messy improvisation or slapdash effects, but the scalpel descends firmly into the invisible nerves of the matter, dissecting its unsuspected potential. What
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emerges from the nitrogen fumes is a distinctly Cartesian, calculated and precise effect. Flowing as lightly as a hand raking the lake’s waters. The scene is set at Villa Serbelloni, the praises of which were sung by Stendhal and Flaubert: a magnificent neoclassical building with renaissance foundations, whose loggias and spires are reflected in the blue waters of Lake Como. In the background, layered terraces are covered with flowerbeds, box trees and yew trees trained into geometric forms by a topiary artist. Inside, evocative atmospheres reminiscent of Visconti unfold under coffered ceilings and frescoed vaults, caressed by the evening breeze of the lake and the vibrations of chords played on the piano. Ettore Bocchia landed here back in 1992 and it was his first
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