Giovanni Astolfoni and Massimiliano Forno represent the new generation of Genovese chefs. Thirty-nine-year-old Forno is the Executive Chef of one of Italy’s oldest hotels, The Grand Hotel Savoia in Genoa’s Porto Antico while 40-year-old Astolfoni heads up the open-plan, zero-kilometre kitchen at the newly-developed, Verezzi stone and reinforced concrete, “quiet luxury” Capitolo Riviera Hotel in Nervi, a few miles down the Ligurian coast.
Genoa is the city of palaces, Columbus and pesto. It even holds a biennial World Pesto Championships. But the city has always had a reputation for its gastronomy. The Knife explores the worlds of these two major talents who are spearheading the rich flavours of Ligurian cuisine which, of course, includes pesto.
Chef Forno
The Grand Hotel Savoia, built in 1897, has a private underground tunnel that connects the hotel to the main railway station through which the elite royal families were accompanied at full privacy and discretion during their stay at the beginning of the 19th century. The hotel preserves a precious guest book with signatures of illustrious politicians, writers, composers, actors such as Igor Stravinsky, Ella Fitzgerald, Liza Minelli, Ray Charles and Nicole Kidman. It is said that during the construction works of the hotel a treasure of golden coins and precious objects were found; this story inspired the creation of the Pirate Garden dedicated to children.
Massimilano Forno is the son of a cook and a steelworker. He tells us: "My passion for cooking was born thanks to my grandmother, also a professional cook, and summers spent with her preparing fresh pasta and convivial dinners in the small town in Piedmont where my paternal family comes from, where my grandfather cultivated a small vegetable garden and took care of some family vineyards.
"I honestly wouldn't know what I could have done with my life if I weren't a cook, probably a farmer. My earliest food-related memory is of gnocchi rifati with a fork on my grandmother's cupboard. Italy is full of great masters. I particularly appreciate Mauro Uliassi and his techniques for cooking fish and Davide Oldani for the attention he pays to health and serenity."
Forno worked for nine years under famous Genoese restaurateur Gianni Malagoli: "With him, I perfected my techniques and knowledge, and after a few years he entrusted me with the kitchen of his second restaurant and catering company."
Forno is very fond of octopus salad with potatoes; his mother always makes it for him on his birthday. Pickled vegetable giardiniera accentuates with its acidity the contrast with the sweetness of the octopus. His Bocconi di polpo features on the menu along with cold anchovy bagnum with tomato cream, wild herbs risotto with red mullet and salted lemon, green tagliatelle with rabbit ragout, three milk coconut cupcake and lime powder, and watermelon tataki dessert with the local Basanotto basil liqueur (best Liquor in The World 2024).
As for pesto? "The secret to any good preparation is raw materials and knowing how to choose them, but if you mean a secret to preparation, surely the most useful tip is to try not to overheat the basil."
Chef Astolfoni
Ligurian cuisine is based on using aromatic herbs, which have found their ideal ecosystem in the unique microclimate of the region.
As well as home to four significant museums including the Wolsonian-Florida International University, the Passeggiata Anita Garibaldi – a 2km clifftop walk considered one of Italy’s most scenic promenades – and the 22-acre Parchi di Nervi, the town is home to the just opened, five-star Capitolo Riviera Hotel, which describes itself as "a hotel within a park".
Its Executive Chef is Genoa-born, the son of a high school teacher. Says Giovanni Astolfoni: "My grandmother's food was delicious, and my mum's cooking still is. I grew up eating good food and watching them and helping in the kitchen at home. I loved how food brought everyone together. Some of my earliest memories are of these long nights filled with lots of food and laughter. The first dish I ever cooked was probably mashed potatoes. I was hooked!
"I was lucky enough to have worked with Donato Ascani, Gianluca Gorini and Paolo Lopriore. I admire chefs who truly believe in what they do, keep it real, who cook for real and use real ingredients. The ones who crave feeding you."
Having attended Gualtiero Marchesi’s ALMA Cooking School, Astolfoni trained under renowned Italian chef Lopriore. He has worked in San Francisco and at Matteo Downtown in Sydney, bringing his Ligurian heritage with him. It's reflected in his latest menus.
"Brandacujùn is a traditional dish from west Liguria," explains Astolfoni. "It's made with a combination of stockfish (usually dried cod), potatoes, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts, parsley, and seasonings such as salt and black pepper. The combination is mashed and mixed until smooth and creamy. Brandacujùn is typically served as an appetiser and enjoyed smeared on crusty bread that's been rubbed with garlic.
"Bottarga is an Italian delicacy consisting of a dense, salt-cured fish roe from tuna, mullet, or swordfish that resembles a petrified sausage, as it is first left to harden and then coated with beeswax. It has a salty flavour with a silky texture. Bottarga is often grated over pasta or egg dishes, although it can also be cut into smaller pieces, drizzled over with lemon juice, and served as an appetiser.
"One of San Francisco's greatest contributions to culinary history is cioppino fish stew. That is also on our menu."
Cappon magro is a flavourful seafood and vegetable salad from Liguria served on a hardtack cracker. Traditionally it's plated in a pyramid, and drizzled with green sauce. Some of the most common ingredients used in cappon magro include lobsters, white fish, carrots, potatoes, celery, olives, capers, and hard-boiled eggs.
Other dishes on the menu include kingfish tartare, Santa Marguerita prawns, Rosotto with chinotto citrus fruit from Savona, and salted cod with Smitance sauce. San Stè cheese, meanwhile, is made from unpasteurised bovine whole milk principally from the Bruno-alpina or Cabannina cattle races, which is then coagulated with veal rennet.
Continues Astolfoni: "Anchovy pie is a very traditional Ligurian recipe. We slice potatoes very thin and blanche them, composing our millefeuille with semi-dried tomatoes, super-fresh local-filleted anchovies and breadcrumbs. Then it's cooked until it gratins.
"Eel was once very common in Italy. I fell in love with it in Australia. Not anymore. I never had eel before moving to Australia. I ate 'unagi' all along the west and the east coast. In Venice, I had the best eel ever and promised myself I would always have eel on my menu to show people how tasty it is. I’m still trying to cook as good as Loris in Venice does. I will get there one day!
"The same with pigeon, it has fallen out of popularity. Pigeon is another beautiful meat. It should be pan-roasted with butter. Breast should be cooked rare and legs must be well done with a nice jus and some seasonal vegetables."
Most of his ingredients are purchased directly from farmers and visits to country markets. He likes to use antique flours, "heirloom herbs" and the Ligurian countryside. Preboggion is a traditional mix of edible wild plants (piante spontanee or erbe selvatiche if you're Italian) harvested in spring. Val Graveglia is the reputed cradle of Preboggion. Borage, bluebells, beet, bellflower, sheep sorrel, burnet spring cabbage (gaggia), dandelions, bladder campion, the chicory/arugula tarragon-like sculpit/stridolo (Silene inflata) and nettles are all used, normally in "pansotti", with the cooked greens mixed with sheep milk ricotta, tucked into triangular ravioli and served with a walnut sauce.
As for the sweet-toothed? Chef Astolfoni considers "latte dolce fritto" a great dessert: "We use a very old recipe, which includes stirring the custard for one hour!"
Pesto, however, remains the true taste of Liguria. Explains Astolfoni: "I inherited my recipe from my first chef de partie. It’s 20 years old. Basil tends to oxidate pretty easily. For a brighter and greener pesto you should reduce this process as much as you can. Lower temperatures help with that, as sharper blades and fast blenders. I make mine in a machine, which is meant for making ice creams. Purists use pestle and mortar, so I would be instantly disqualified if I entered the world championship!"