On the ground floor of Palazzo Arnolfini stands Michelin-starred Giglio Restaurant. Lampoon in conversation with the three chefs Benedetto Rullo, Lorenzo Stefanini, Stefano Terigi
The origins of Giglio restaurant in the 1970s
«In the seventies, they say there was a sort of gambling den with billiard tables in the room. Above the fireplace it seems like there was a talking parrot inside an aviary that greeted those present and at its feet slept an old dog. Il Giglio was born in 1979 as an offshoot of Buca di Sant’Antonio – Lucca’s historic restaurant and former Michelin star – to make room for the skills of Loredano Orsi, at the time a shop boy. It was intended to be a fish restaurant, there are still some vintage photos where you can see a buffet with salmon on the knife in the middle of the room, a somewhat baroque atmosphere in short. However, this idea did not work very well and the Giglio became a traditional restaurant instead, achieving great success. Paola Barbieri, with whom we three chefs are today in partnership, then took over».
The Giglio Boys. How the chef trio was formed
Different training paths led the chefs to embrace a common project ten years ago, «Stefano and Lorenzo have known each other since middle school. Lorenzo then studied at the International School of Italian Cuisine where he met Benedetto. The two then returned to Lucca and worked at Giglio for a month. At the time Stefano was studying at the IUAV in Venice, where he later graduated with a thesis on Ferran Adrià and came to Giglio to try a tasting menu. He then chose to devote himself completely to catering and went to work in Berlin at Pierre Gagnaire’s Les Solistes, where Benedetto was too. After that training period, we all decided to return to Lucca and begin a professional marriage that has now reached ten years».
A Michelin star for the Giglio Restaurant
«The Michelin star was awarded to us in November 2018. Over time, our culinary approach has changed. It is a continuous metamorphosis, perhaps it has stabilized a little in the last two years but the need to evolve remains. Ours is a cuisine that pays a lot of attention to detail but is not experimental. It is based on technique. It is comfortable and concrete. We progress by transforming ourselves, and our identity is projected into the place. Cooking for us is first and foremost a passion, not a mission that only contemplates success».
Bread and rebellion: Gigliola, the carefree soul of Giglio restaurant
«We opened Gigliola in 2020. We were aware of a good product coming out of this kitchen: bread, and we were initially looking for a place where we could install an oven and also dedicate ourselves to baking. Then, when we found the right place, the ideas started to add up. The cuisine in Gigliola is more ethnic, young, informal, and musical».
Creating a menu: a seasonal search at Giglio restaurant
The Giglio cuisine is characterized by an ideational process aimed at creating a culinary proposal in harmony with seasonal cycles.
«We change the menu four times a year according to seasonal products. There is a fixed structure with respect to the type of dishes to be included around which we move, and which varies over time. We do not use exotic ingredients. Ours is a Mediterranean cuisine with a touch of haute cuisine, which belongs very much to Benedetto».
«We have reintroduced traditional dishes that also tie in with the territory. In recent years there are dishes that we ‘regret’ having proposed, while we are very attached to three first courses. Two are spaghetti, they are cousins in a certain sense because they have a strong character. The first is cooked in marc, the waste from the grape harvest, a pasta that remains tannic on which pigeon liver pâté is grated. The other is a cacio e pepe creamed with Vin Jaune and on which Comté cheese is grated. The third is a risotto cooked in tomato water. After being creamed, it takes on an umami note and is served covered with nutmeg».
International experiences and participation in GELINAZ!
«A year ago we were invited by the Italian Embassy in Tel Aviv on the occasion of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World. The local cuisine was a great source of inspiration, the use of coriander in particular. We then participated in GELINAZ! twice. The second time, we organized a reunion of chefs at the Tenuta di Valgiano, including Riccardo Camanini, Carlo Cracco, Mauro Colagreco and Chiara Pavan, and cooked for a hundred people. The taste experience was accompanied by a performance by the musical group C’mon Tigre together with live painting by Danijel Žeželj. Near the lemon house, a single long table was placed with the neon installation Enjoy Your Fucking Dinner by artist Pepemaniak nearby».
The research around wines at Giglio restaurant
Il Giglio offers a wine list with niche choices. «We like to get to know new wineries, we look for those that work with an ethical approach to viticulture. We research its wines that are less manipulated and more faithful to their natural process».
Food bloggers or food tasters? Dish composition at Giglio restaurant
«Some people still come just to eat. We are not so good at creating iconic dishes on an aesthetic level, less than others certainly. Our aesthetics are very functional for the taste side. Putting a pigeon leg in a second course is nothing so transgressive. Those who eat animals should have the consistency not to feel uncomfortable seeing the animal on the plate, unless they are reworked into shapeless solutions. It is a question of awareness. You go to a fine dining restaurant for the quality it offers, for the experience of someone who knows how to present you with an alternative taste path to the everyday».
The socio-cultural dimension of a restaurant
Can cooking be political? «Everything can be political. We make choices that seek to nurture environmental and social sustainability. In addition to respecting the seasonality of raw materials, for years we have decided to guarantee more free time for our collaborators, and although it is a seasonal activity, everyone has summer holidays».
Identity associations at Giglio restaurant
«If the Giglio Restaurant could be a song, it would be the Clash’s London calling album. Apart from the fact that they are a band, a bit like us, because of their ability to merge several genres into one project. We also like to take inspiration from Marcel Duchamp’s alterego, Rrose Sélavy. A now iconic, historicized figure, born out of a collaboration with Man Ray, but still relevant and capable of taking on various forms over time».
Ristorante Giglio
Benedetto Rullo, Lorenzo Stefanini and Stefano Terigi are the three chefs of Ristorante Giglio in Lucca, Michelin starred from 2019.
