They were born from a family of restaurant owners, Simone and Francesco: the father of two chefs would always greet artists that in those years ( talking about the 70’s) would populate Trastevere, that was at that time a kind of roman Montparnasse.
The bohemian essence of the roman streets would act as a frame for the bold exchange of a few paintings over a hot meal. This casual custom gave birth to all the paintings that the clients of Antica Pesa can admire today on the walls of the restaurant. This cuisine travels between Rome, New York (Brooklyn to be exact) and Doha.
“If you love it this is job is fantastic, is lets you work wherever you go”
– Simone Panella –
Quatar will be the next destination of their project of restaurants for 2016. The roles are defined. Simone will be in charge of the kitchen and staff, dictating rhythm of orders and confronting with staff, Francesco will be in charge of the hall and customer service. 2 halves of the same union, both important and functional.
The chef food from today for the Panella brothers needs technique, talent isn’t enough: Italians are advantaged but you need more. The ideas fly from Rome to Doha using constant comparisons between Simone and the executive chef that follows the project in Quatar, helps to not cut comparison of progress, they are far, but very close when it comes to cooking.
A part from the art of the restaurant, even if Simone thinks the chef more than being an artist is actually a craftsman, Antica Pesa has a great winery. What the Panella brothers love about wine is the continuous evolution of it, it seems still in time but it’s not. A young wine can accompany a strong dish but when it ages it can accompany a different one. This is the fascinating thing for the chef. There are many chefs in Roman territory that the Panella brothers feel close to. Heinz Beck de la Pergola, Antonello Colonna, Massimo Bottura, Angelo Troniani, these chefs are also from the Capital and have to manages the difficult clients of this city. Some of their most valued clients: Carlo Verdone, Christian De Sica and in Brooklyn a famous Russel Crowe, more than just a client.
With the new projects there is also a place for the charity that the Panella brothers have already sided with thanks to the Onlus Children for Peace, to build a school for farmer that can teach the children of Uganda. A project that has allowed to put together enough money to feed 10000 plates in Haiti. Simone Panella thinks that the chef has a way to deal with food so this is his way to help who can’t. This is the real art of cooking.
[widgetkit id=”71″ name=”Gallery Bottom-A Gallery”]
