OMINA ROMANA MEETS MULTI-STARRED CHEF HEINZ BECK

 by Maria Carla Magni

Ômina Romana's long-standing collaboration with one of the most influential chefs of Italian cuisine in the world has allowed us to get to know the multi-starred chef Heinz Beck up close and discover some of his secrets, which we would like to share with our cellar's friends.

Having the opportunity to enter the kitchen of a great chef is not something to be taken for granted, but Heinz Beck's helpfulness and kindness allowed us to cross into his 'realm', thus allowing us to provide his many admirers with a gift.

Heinz Beck's track record is impressive, almost Guinness-worthy, and his unique interpretation of "Modern" cuisine goes beyond his undisputed culinary talent, something which includes the utmost attention to the selection of ingredients and their transformation into highly innovative flavours.

Heinz Beck is considered the leader of Italian and Mediterranean culinary tradition. Among his numerous awards, Chef Beck has been honoured by "Michelin", "Bibenda", "Gambero Rosso" and "L'Espresso" (to name but a few of the most well-known in Italy).

Heinz Beck is truly a multifaceted genius of our time, managing to interpret the true dimension of modern gastronomy. His numerous awards include the 'Taste & Health' award, an unprecedented new award which testifies to his growing interest in the nutritional values and benefits of food on the body .

In 2016, this famous Chef he was appointed as the Extraordinary Ambassador of Italian Taste by the MIPAAF, The Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies, in order to promote Italian Cuisine all over the world. In the same year, he was also awarded the "Eccellenza Italiana" (Italian Excellence) prize as well as being the UniversityDegree in Natural Bio Energies he achieved as Best Chef. Last but not least, among the most prestigious of Heinz Beck's awards, the one he received from the Senate of the Italian Republic in 2019, theInnovation Experience Award within the Oscar of innovation event should surely be mentioned.

Given Heinz Beck's high cultural background and unique characteristics, the chef has been a keen observer of the effects of food on the body for more than 20 years, and he was the inspiration for important collaborations with both national and international scientists, as well as with several Italian universities, focused on studying the benefits of a good balance between food and health.

Heinz Beck's activities do not stop at the culinary world. Together with his wife Teresa Maltese, he established the 'Beck & Maltese' consultancy firm, which provides global consultancy and training in food, industry, partnerships, management services, research and innovation.

For those who have not yet tried the unique culinary experience proposed by Chef Beck, they can try it in one of the many restaurants managed directly by the B&M Consulting Group, the first of which is "La Pergola" - Rome *** Michelin since November 2005. It is here that our meeting with Chef Heinz Beck took place during the special show-cooking organised for Ômina Romana and the wine pairing .

We were thus able to exchange some thoughts with the Chef, which we provide in the exclusive interview below.

- CHEF BECK, WHAT HAS CHANGED IN THE HIGH-QUALITY RESTAURANT SECTOR IN THIS LONG PERIOD MARKED BY THE COVID EMERGENCY?

HB - Unfortunately, Covidrelated issues have not been completely solved yet, but despite everything, I want to keep trusting in believing that we are going to get better, mainly because of science and vaccinations. Although we should all have learned by now that a lot depends on our own behaviour and on us taking care in order not to get sick, but also not to make others sick. The long period we are living through, marked by the pandemic, is proving to be very difficult and complicated to deal with, especially because of the many unforeseen circumstances that we could never have imagined otherwise, a truly imponderable sword of Damocles. However, considering things with optimism is always good. One of the positive features of such a situation is undoubtedly the profound collaboration that has been developing between colleagues as they helped each other build workplaces able to protect and safeguard the health of all, both for us professionals and for our clients. My Group 'Beck&Maltese Consulting' has implemented every tool in order to ensure the safety of its clients by complying with the social distancing required.

- YOU HAVE BEEN A PIONEER AMONG CHEFS IN SHIFTING THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE COOKING AND SENSITIVITY TO THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY: HOW DID SUCH STEPS COME ABOUT?

HB - Remaining on very interesting and appropriate topics, I would like to remind you that 10 years ago, during a meeting at the FAO (The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations) I presented a project focused on the circular economy in catering. Moreover, development and research have been fundamental to me for several years now, and we pay particular attention to sustainability as a basis for greater awareness and knowledge. More effectively, such a concept already applies to the creation of dishes as an important step concerning linear economy (i.e. the use of raw materials derived from a lot of waste in order to achieve a perfect end product). In the field of circular economy, it is important to avoid waste as much as possible when creating a dish. Awareness must be raised against waste, something which always entails a cost in the end. For example, for the winter we created a dish featuring the use of all the seasonal vegetables such as cabbage and dried cabbage including their leaves, to create chips, which is unusual. Considering chestnuts, we have taken to recovering the skins, which are then roasted and put in oil in order to make 'chestnut oil powder'. Therefore, such an approach nets us many other dishes. In addition, great care is taken in using raw materials, which are selected in cooperation with both organic and biodynamic producers, which are scrupulous in adopting an ideal agriculture approach, itself careful to comply with climate change in turn. This means regenerating the soil with new crops, reducing mechanical work on the land, and creating the conditions for a more oxygenated, and therefore more naturally fertile, soils. It is therefore essential to activate an agriculture designed for the good of the earth, of humanity, but above all for the quality of the fruits produced by the earth. All the above does also benefit quality, taste and health. For several years we have been working with a producer of perfect herbs, that is to say without the use of pesticides or fertilizers. Fortunately, over the years the market has become more open to small producers who cultivate crops with an ecological and sustainable production cycle. All this is aimed at ensuring healthier, lighter and tastier food to our guests. This has been my goal for at least 20 years, when I started working in collaboration with scientists and doctors with the aim of making my dishes digestible and rich in micro nutrients. Therefore, for some years now, I have been working on the second phase of the project, towards replacing the previous supplies from the markets with higher quality products, starting from the origin of the raw materials, which are sourced from especially selected small producers.

I actually find a previous FAO pilot project to be very timely, and I would like to remind you that it was already implemented a few years ago, when the advancement of desertification was concerned. More precisely, a deserted area in Africa was taken as a sample and converted into a highly vegetative area by finding the right balance in repopulating animals and plants through tilling. A field was taken and divided into four parts, where every three months various animals grazed on restricted areas, with the exception of goats, which are more destructive. While grazing, the animals ate on the existing vegetation, uprooting the carbon-rich roots and making the land more and more fertile without the use of pesticides. The physiological waste from the animals also creates a perfect compost in the soil.

- WHICH OF THE DISHES YOU HAVE CREATED IS THE ONE YOU ARE MOST FOND OF AND WHICH OMINA ROMANA WINE WOULD YOU PAIR IT WITH?

HB - Well there are several dishes, but perhaps the one I feel  more connected to nowadays is the dish I proposed at the reopening after the lockdown. It is "Watermelon Carpaccio with Seafood and Tomatoes in different preparations".
It's obviously a summer dish so full of colour and sunshine, the particularity here is that it is marinated with an infusion of birch (i.e., the tree of resistance that never dies, of life and hope), a  vital element in creating a link between resilience and the future of rebirth within the dish. Such a dish is therefore extraordinary, both in its taste and symbolism. Such a dish is also paired with jasmine (summer plant par excellence, as it is feminine, fragrant and sensual) and I wanted to bring an optimistic vision of the future, which was a great success, there as well.
I usually pair this dish with an aromatic white wine such as a fragrant Viognier Linea Ars Magna, while a Hermes Diactoros II Bianco is also perfect, due to its freshness.

- YOUR PROFESSIONAL CAREER IS STUDDED WITH COUNTLESS AWARDS, IS HEINZ BECK STILL ABLE TO FIND NEW STIMULI AND EMOTIONS?

HB - For me, the awards I receive are never a point of arrival, but always a starting point in order to do better and renew myself instead, above all when stimulating the team is concerned. Never stop, it's always important to think about the new things to come; you can feel the need to only after that.
And I hope I still have a lot to tell!

- WHAT IS THE WISH YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEND TO ALL LOVERS OF CUISINE AND OUR FRIENDS AT OMINA ROMANA?

HB - To always eat and drink well because life is too short to eat and drink badly, but jokes aside, we really are what we eat, the sooner we are aware of eating well the better we can be healthy and the better we can grow old.
Eat well to grow old well, keeping both your strength and your health; this is my wish for you all!

CAMPAIGN FINANCED ACCORDING TO (EC) REGULATION NO: 1398/2013