It didn't feel like being in Milan last Sunday, at Hangar Bicocca, for the event organised by Identità Golose, "grande cucina, piccoli piatti", informally called Rubitt, from an idea of Cesare Battisti and Danilo Ingannamorte, the two people behind the three Milanese restaurants Ratanà, Erba Brusca and Dopo Lavoro Bicocca, the restaurant at the Hangar Bicocca. In the Milanese dialect the word "Rubitt" means "small precious thing" and comes from the Milanese literary and artistic movement of Scapigliatura (dishevelled), which happened towards the end of the 19th century. On this occasion the movement is the inspiration for high-end cuisine served in small (but nonetheless delicious) portions. The event took place for up to ten hours, to allow everyone, from morning till evening, to enjoy the atmosphere and the dishes.

Photo courtesy of Virginia Gaspardo 

"We organised this because we believe in what we do, in high-quality food" says Paolo Casanova, chef of Dopolavoro Bicocca - the Restaurant at the Hangar Bicocca, which hosted the event -  “also during an aperitif. Too often in Milan you swop quality with quantity, and many aperitif are really not worth it. This is also a way to tell people you can eat very well during an aperitif in Milan, spending the same amount of money you'd spend on two (bad) cocktails and stale chips."

I completely agree, and have found myself too many times in the position of excusing myself in front of my foreign friends who asked for a "cool place for aperitif". Sure, there are many in Milan. But how many would take your dearest friends to without being ashamed of what's served?

So it was a breath of fresh air to be among people who really cared about food, who decided to be here – and nowhere else - to taste real cuisine. The Chefs involved were Cesare Battisti from Ratanà, Alice Delcourt from Erba Brusca, Paolo Casanova from Dopolavoro Bicocca, Roberto Okabe and Gustavo Young from Finger's Garden, Eugenio Roncoroni and Beniamino Nespor from Al Mercato, and Luca De Santi from Peck. Three dishes each, the excellence of their cooking was brought to the Hangar Bicocca, a conjugation of art – a stunning site-specific work by Anselm Kiefer, the Seven Towers, is worth the visit alone  – with fine food and good atmosphere.

Photo courtesy of Virginia Gaspardo  

Ratanà presented amongst other dishes, a veal tartar with bottarga, trout eggs and crispy Jerusalem artichokes;

 Photo courtesy of Barbara Torresan 

Erba Brusca watermelon with quartirolo and mint, zola and caramel;

Photo courtesy of Barbara Torresan  

Dopolavoro Bicocca “schie” (fried shellfish, in the Veneto dialect) on Mediterranean polenta;

Photo courtesy of Barbara Torresan  

Finger’s Garden – gyoza chicken ravioli;

Photo courtesy of Barbara Torresan  

Al Mercato – pickled eggs;

 Photo courtesy of Barbara Torresan  

Luca De Santi – soft brownie with milk chocolate cream and hazelnut cookie with salt.

Photo courtesy of Barbara Torresan  

Talking to the chefs I was surprised by their willingness to share their expertise with each other so to reach excellence together. Long-gone are the times in which the chef was like a magician, working behind the scenes, hiding his secrets. Nowadays chefs talk about their colleagues with respect and collaboration, and it was very clear from the atmosphere that this event was not a competition but more of a way to exchange ideas, to enjoy the conviviality of food, to make people happy and to educate them about good ingredients that Italy offers.

Written by: Elisa della Barba