An Italian friend of mine invited to a dinner organized by the Association of Italian Academics in China and the Shanghai chapter of the Italian Cuisine Academy in an Italian restaurant in Shanghai, Va Bene, to celebrate Leonardo Da Vinci. 2019 marks five centuries from the death of this boundless genius.
The dinner menu was designed by the chef of Va Bene and inspired by Leonardo and his time. Before the dinner proper, an Italian professor based in China, Andrea Baldini, spoke about Leonardo and his relation with food. There was a lot to be said. I am reporting what I heard from the professor. (He also framed his remarks within the context of creativity theory, but I will skip on this aspect since the focus here is food.)
To begin with, Leonardo is believed to have invented the saffron rice, a typical dish from Milan. While working for Milanese and French royalty, Leonardo was often involved in the organization of banquets and he invented a number of tools to expedite the work in the kitchen, including some pasta grinding machine. Leonardo was very much interesting in what we call today “plating”, that is the aesthetic presentation of food. He even started his own restaurant in Florence in cooperation with another illustrious artist, Sandro Botticelli. It was specializing in frogs, but it did not survive long (perhaps being ahead of his time). The table napkins are another invention ascribed to Leonardo.
The president of the Shanghai chapter of the Italian Cuisine Academy tried to argue that Leonardo may have been the illigimate son of a Tuscan nobleman and an Asian slave. So chances are that Leonardo was half Chinese! But do not quote me on this.
The dinner
The dinner and the presentations took place in the Va Bene restaurant in Xiantindi. They prepared an impressive table occuppying the all length of the dining room located on the second floor of a traditional shikumen house.
The dinner started with three type of canapes: cucumber with delicious cream cheese, lemon and mint; a creamy cod puree on a crispy semolina cracker; a small pastry filled with lamb ragout and cinnamon. I think they did a very good job with these amuse bouche.
The break basket was also there.
The appetizer platter included three items: chicken liver pate in a sourdough bread “oreo” with some orange jelly (top); a classic bruschetta with a piece of finocchiona (a type of Tuscan salami), Parmesan cheese foam and onion jam (creating an interesting mix of sweet and sour, pictured on the left); a fantastic porcini mushroom flan with sweat garlic cream on top (right). I appreciated the creativity of these appetizers and how the references to Tuscany and flavors of another time were gradually introduced.
The first main (“primo”) was the classic saffron risotto with a boost of bone marrow. This dish could not be missed since Leonardo is believed to be the father of this quintessential Milanese risotto. It was very good, I would say perfectly executed.
The second main (“secondo”) was a very inventive dish: roasted pork filled with beef, figs, and foie gras in a sauce made with egg yolk cream and anchovy mayonnaise. Two small boiled chestnuts completed the ensemble. This dish was inspired by a popular practice in banquets at the time of Leonardo that we might call “recursive filling”: the idea of filling a type of meat with another type of meat also filled with a third element. Strangely I did not find the dish very flavorful, but I really appreciated the inventiveness.
Before the dessert, we were offered pecorino cheese (both spicy and sweet) with fruit mustard. The cheese and mustard were excellent.
The dessert included a glass of vin santo, a typical dessert wine from Tuscany.
The dessert was one of my favorite dishes because it was delicious and made full use of the ingredients and cooking style of five hundred years ago. It was a very soft bread cake with raisins, Elderflower rosemary with almond milk.
Wines were a big part of the dinner with a selection from Tuscany and Lombardy, the two Italian regions more connected with Leonardo.
The check
The price of the dinner was 700 RMB. I wish there was a price for people like me that did not drink wine. Not a cheap dinner, but I appreciated all the organization and creativity behind. Certainly I do not regret attending and learning more about Leonardo Da Vinci in the kitchen.
Where in Shanghai:
Xintiandi, 2/F, North Block,
Lane 181 Taicang Lu.
In Chinese: 太仓路181号2楼新天地北里, 近马当路.
Venue closed in early 2020.