Antonella and Vinod. Apulian star chefs since 1996, they met during a seminar on Apulian cuisine that Antonella held in Mauritius.
In 1998, when Sandro Morari was thinking of a team of women to represent Italian cuisine abroad, he chose Antonella, who, on leaving her restaurant, greeted her parents with a prophetic phrase: “I will come back with a husband”. On the island, Vinod was hired to help her. They married after a year.
Antonella Ricci
Despite her degree in economics and banking from the University of Lecce, she never became a banker by choice; instead, she attended Paul Bocuse’s famous cooking school in Lyon, then an internship at a two-star hotel in Normandy.”In French restaurants, I became familiar with smells; in fact, before anything else, we had to recognise the aromas and scents that nature provided. I used this experience to create the “Tavola dei Ricci” (the Ricci’s table).
In 1998, she joined the Jeunes Restaurateurs d’Europe, an influential and selective association that gathers the best “talented ones” under 35 years of age. In 2004, she was a teacher at Alma, the international cooking school directed by Gualtiero Marchesi, who in 2010 awarded her the prestigious “Arti e Mestieri, la qualità della formazione” prize.
She participates in the TV programme “Prova del cuoco” and a few months ago was part of the jury for the programme “Cena di mezzanotte” alongside Claudio Sadler and Matteo Pisciotto.
Director of the Mediterranean Cooking School in Ceglie Messapica, Antonella made Angelo’s dream come true.
Vinod Sookar
Already a chef, he impresses with his simple, outgoing personality and great professionalism; this is what was needed for the Ricci team to be complete. He and Antonella are also married in the kitchen. “In my country, I used to prepare Italian cuisine and identify it with ragù alla bolognese, pesto, carbonara, linguine alle vongole.Once I got to Apulia, Angelo immediately introduced me to orecchiette pasta with turnip tops, broad bean puree and many other tasty things’. Vinood quickly learnt how to prepare homemade pasta, capocolli and mouth-watering salami and acts as a bridge between the Apulian tradition and the Oriental exoticism.
In his so-called Mondo nel piatto (the world on a plate), he tells of the aroma of ginger, aniseed and cumin, the lure of a spicy and fragrant cuisine, the marine odour of the Indian Ocean island mixed with the scent of the hills of Ceglie and the nearby Mediterranean.
In 2015, Vinod produced Grand Bay, the exotic-flavoured Italian beer. The blanche flavoured with lemon gras was a huge success in the hot evenings of the Apulian summer.
Antonella Ricci & Vinod Sookar, Ceglie Messapica
* Michelin Star
- welcome aperitif with glass of Alta Langa DOCG wine and tasting dish of Prosciutto Crudo di Cuneo DOP (ham)
- tasting dish prepared by the Chef paired with a glass of wine
- water
No variations can be made in case of food allergies, intolerances and special dietary regimes.
The Alba White Truffle slice is not included in the fee as it usually follows the daily quotation of the Truffle Exchange.
DURATION: about 1 hour and a half.
Children who participate in cooking shows by tasting the dish, must be provided with a ticket. Please inform info@fieradeltartufo.org of the presence of children in the room who do not take part in the tasting in order to arrange a chair near the parents within 72 hours.
The event is simultaneously translated into English.
