50 Top Italy award highlights the cuisine of chef Nello Cassese at the Copacabana Palace hotel
The Ristorante Hotel Cipriani, located in the Copacabana Palace, was voted the best Italian restaurant outside Italy by the 50 Top Italy award.
The kitchen run by chef Nello Cassese, born in Naples, is the only Brazilian representative on the Guida al Made in Italy list, announced on Monday (16) in Milan. The address was described as “unmissable” and “contemporary”.
The chef, at the helm of the restaurant since 2016, presents an 11 or 14-course tasting menu with his reinterpretation of classic dishes from different regions of the European country. Among the recipes are cannolo with tuna tartare with burnt orange puree and risotto with sour butter, urchin emulsion, smoked oyster, crustacean oil, red miso and sea lettuce.
Cipriani stood out in other awards this year: it won a Michelin star and came 77th in the 50 Best extended list of the best restaurants in Latin America.
Before making his career in Brazil, at the age of 29, Nello won the award for best young chef in Tuscany at the age of 20 and worked in starred restaurants such as Taverna Estia, Maze and Gordon Ramsey.
The guide defined the chef’s work as “elegant in taste and presentation” and added his ability to evoke the history and richness of the Italian palate through “technique, heart and selected ingredients”.
Ristorante Hotel Cipriani was also acclaimed with the D’Amico Award, which recognizes the best performance of the year. The Essenza dell’Evoluzione tasting menu (R$735 with 14 courses) is a testament to the excellence of Nello’s work since 2016.
With information from Folha de São Paulo and the newspaper Estado de São Paulo, Estadão
Credits: Power Agenda