Stories
Like on the bridge of a ‘sciabecco’
A stunning sunset, a good company and an excellent Fiano: these are the ingredients chosen to create our favorite aperitif.
Those of us who live the summer in an almost totalizing way, especially love the months of June and September, when we can breathe a little and enjoy a few rejuvenating moments. And this is about one of those.We climb from the ramp that seems to take us on a ship docked at the port: sea in the background and the gulf to the north. Ana Paula awaits us, whose innate finesse adds a pleasant and discreet note to our ... landing.
"I’d like you to taste this". With her elegant gestures, she shows us the label. We nod almost distractedly, knowing that once again it more than satisfy.
She is from Rio de Janeiro, from the world of classical dance and business economics. In Rome for a post-graduate master's degree, she receives a one-year plane ticket as a gift, a time to visit Europe and return to Brazil. But she never caught that flight: trainee in a mountain hotel, meets Gino, in the sector since he was very young, and today a chef, at the rudder of the Sciabecco.
The move becomes permanent with the arrival of Raffaello in 1996: "We asked ourselves what was best for our son. The sense of family, attachment to the land, community life ... this is life in Cilento".
Sciabecco was established years earlier and was a good restaurant-pizzeria, with a beautiful panorama.
Then Ana Paula and Gino arrived and something changed. That something became a revolution when he chose to definitively reverse its course. "Gino is like this: an impulsive dreamer". And his wife, his exact opposite, mitigates him but does not stop him; she has never stopped him, supporting him in the search for his own dimension, which led him to find the best way to express his passion: a contemporary cuisine, linked to local products and also a little to the inspiration of the day; yes because...if you happen to meet Gino in the saddle of his inseparable Liberty, know that he has started looking for some delicacy, in the throes of exquisite inspiration!
For tonight ‘only’ the aperitif for two is accompanied polpettine di alici (deep fried balls of anchovies, breadcrumbs, cheese and parsley), panzanella (a rustic salad with stale bread, tomatoes and onions) and impepata di cozze (mussels in a peppery soup).
Guests begin to arrive for dinner and Ana Paula takes leave.
Raffaello whisks past with cavatelli (a homemade short pasta) and seafood for another table, then with other tasty dishes that leave a trail of inviting aromas; then it's the turn of a Genoese tuna fish and a parmigiana of red mullet and courgette flowers.
The sun is setting, there is a wonderful breeze and the colours blend to those of a delicious Cilento Fiano: it’s like being in a painting.
Phone in hand to capture that wonder, we end up dialling the house number: "Mamma, don't wait for us: we won't be back for dinner."
Just time for a couple of sips … and mum and dad join us at the table.