Ristorante Marconi, named for the engineer and inventor Guglielmo Marconi, has been here in Sasso Marconi (also named Guglielmo) since 1990, but its story began in 1983. It sits inside in an elegant bright red building that’s partly covered with Corten steel, overlooking the provincial road in the front and a small vegetable garden at the back. You breathe in the air of memory mixed with a dose of novelty.
Chef Aurora Mazzucchelli (ph Valentina Sommariva)
As of less than five years ago, the restaurant, which has held a Michelin star since 2009, stands beside Forno Mollica where, every day except Mondays, puff pastries, cakes, and pizzas are leavened. The scent of bread and light entering through the large windows welcome us along with Massimo Mazzucchelli, Aurora's brother, the restaurant manager, and sommelier. A cheerful chatter comes from the kitchen: Aurora, her mama Maria and sister Mascia struggle with the tortellini dough and fillings. I observe the rapid and seemingly precisely choreographed movements hypnotized.
Chef Aurora Mazzucchelli with her sister Mascia and her brother Massimo (ph Valentina Sommariva)
Aurora, how does the history of the Marconi restaurant begin?
“It starts with some meatballs cooked on the stove. From an early age, my dad wanted to cook, and those hopeless meatballs are the emblem of the tenacity that he has accompanied him throughout his life. He started as a cook in Bologna and then with my mother Maria chose this area to open a fish restaurant with traditional local recipes. At first, I was in the dining room. But since I walked into the kitchen in 1999, things have changed "
Have you abandoned the typical recipes?
“Far from it. The search for the creation of new dishes always starts there. Now, for example, the menu has a dish of broth, and pork head, cabbage, and fermented black garlic, prepared with the cup of pig's head that my father taught me how to make. And then there are always tortellini, right Maria?” adds Aurora, turning to her mother.
Ristorante Marconi, indoors (ph Valentina Sommariva)
How many do you prepare?
"Once I kneaded 130 egg yolks by hand, now I have reduced the quantity a little," says Maria.
You are a nice group in the kitchen, but what is it like today to be a female chef?
“Better than a few years ago, for sure, but it remains difficult. In the beginning, you perceive a veil of distrust, as if you always need to prove that you’re to it ."
Only in the kitchen or also in the dining room?
“The work of the cook is always under scrutiny. In the kitchen, it’s often harder. My approach is open to those who stay here every day, side by side; I want those who work with me to understand the ideas that are the basis of my dishes. Unfortunately, many still believe that you live as you would in the barracks in the kitchen, but that's not my style. Those who do not have the intelligence to understand that welcome and calm are not synonymous with laxity can go elsewhere.”
Mamma Maria (ph Valentina Sommariva)
How is your day?
“Full, without a minute of breathing. Breakfast with juice and tea, at 7:00 a.m., I go for a ride with Igor [a wonderful Weimaraner, a very lively seven-year-old German hound, ed]. Then I reach Massimo, who opens the Forno Mollica at 7.30, and I step into the kitchen to check that the boys have found the indications that I leave on a sheet in plain sight from the night before. Finally, I carry on doughs and leavening, which have precise times that for more than three years have marked my days.”
Why did you decide to open a forno?
"Il Mollica was born for a concrete need: to get closer to the local inhabitants. The gourmet restaurant still remains tied to special occasions, the moments to celebrate. They know and value us in the area, so we thought of a formula suitable for everyday life. At Mollica, you can come from 7.30 for a coffee, a slice of cake, a brioche and to buy bread, for lunch a slice of pizza alla pala, a salad, a plate of tagliatelle al ragù or friggione (a dish based on onions and tomatoes). In the evening, they can come in for an aperitif and pizza. All prepared with mother yeast and stone-ground organic flours.
Pizza bianca with burrata and prosciutto crudo at Mollica (ph Valentina Sommariva)
The restaurant's symbol is an M, a letter that occurs in your family. Does it have a meaning?
“Graphically,” says Massimo, “it is a strong, firm letter that rests on three points, just like our family, united and tenaciously tied to the earth and reality. Mario Mazzucchelli, Maria, Massimo, Mascia, Marconi. Only Aurora is an exception, in the sense that she’s exceptional. This is how I consider her cooking, and so I try to tell our guests about it when they are in the dining room.”
Aurora, what is the main feature of your kitchen?
"The balance and the ability to combine many ingredients in a single preparation knowing how to preserve the flavors, without overlapping. For some time, then, I have focused on my recurring style: I wrap and seal as if I wanted to protect the ingredients. In life, as in the kitchen, I feel the need to preserve the things I love. Tortellini well represents this feeling of affection and care.
Parmigiano Reggiano tortelli with lavender, nutmeg and almonds (ph Valentina Sommariva)
Do you have a favorite ingredient?
“I have yet to find out. And I'm always on the lookout.”
Ristorante Marconi, Via Porrettana 291, Sasso Marconi (BO), tel. 051 846216, info@ristorantemarconi.it