The Chef Serving up Stars

The season has finally recommenced, and we have many surprises in store for you! But as well as the new, there’s plenty of things that you can rely on from before: the comfort at our hotel, the warm welcome from the ColorTeam and our bright, shining Michelin star, recently reconfirmed by Michelin Guide Italy for 2021.

This fills us with enormous pride and drives us to continue working hard to provide you with the best experience and leave you speechless once again!

While we wait for you at La Veranda del Color in Bardolino, we thought we’d introduce you to our chef, Fabio Cordella, the man behind the team and this wonderful achievement.

Fabio, when did you first realise that you wanted to be a chef?

I first realised that I wanted to become a chef when I fell in love with raw produce, and from that moment on, I wanted to convey my own ideas, my vision for cooking and what it meant to me. Years of hard work and commitment finally led me to achieve my goal, and I saw my dream come true when I received my first Michelin star in 2017.

What is the most undervalued ingredient when it comes to cooking?

Time. Cooking is like a love story. The time that you dedicate to cooking is what makes it a unique experience and allows you to explore your imagination and open up new worlds. Time is everything.

Is there any secret to cooking at the stove?

The real secret is concentration. Sometimes, the slightest distraction can be enough to see all your efforts go up in smoke.

Do you think that eating well can improve your mood?

Of course! Food definitely has an effect on our mood. It’s really important to enjoy healthy foods that are good for both body and mind. When you taste a Michelin-starred dish, you experience what we call the “wow effect”, where your palate tastes the full flavour of each ingredient.

What is the recipe for a happy life?

Love, happiness, relaxation, passion, friends, family.

Together with other esteemed colleagues, you contributed a recipe to “Chef Stellato per una Sera” (Michelin-starred Chef for an Evening), a book containing anecdotes and suggestions for people preparing Michelin-starred dishes at home. Can you share that recipe with us?

Of course! Here you are!

Seared blue lobster, cucumber gazpacho, sea lettuce, frisella and apricot

Cucumber Gazpacho

• 6 cucumbers (washed and with seeds removed)
• 10ml of white balsamic vinegar
• ¼ onion
• 40 ml of water
• 30 ml of white vinegar
• 180 ml of vegetable stock
• ½ stick of peeled celery
• Chilli pepper to taste
• ½ green Cayenne pepper
• 3 basil leaves
• 5 parsley leaves
• Salt to taste.
• Extra virgin olive oil to taste.

Put the water, white vinegar, salt and onion in a bowl and let sit for 30 minutes. Then combine all the ingredients in another container and leave to marinate for about 8 hours, including the onion but not the olive oil. Then, blend everything with the olive oil and filter with a sieve.

Apricot Ketchup

• 370g of stoned apricots
• 40g of white wine vinegar
• 20g of white balsamic vinegar
• 45g of cane sugar
• 10g of grated ginger
• Extra virgin olive oil to taste
• ¼ onion
• 2 cloves

Sauté the onion and then add the rest of the ingredients. Cook the mixture slowly so that the liquid evaporates, then remove the cloves and blend everything. Let it rest in the fridge for at least an hour.

Blue Lobster

• 1 litre of water
• 50ml of white vinegar
• 50ml of white wine
• ½ lemon
• 1 bay leaf
• 3g of black peppercorns
• ¼ stick of celery
• ¼ onion
• ¼ carrot

Boil the lobster in the court bouillon, starting with the large claw (4 minutes), the small claw (3 minutes) and then the body (2 minutes and 30 seconds).

Sea Lettuce

• 120g of sea lettuce
• 10ml of extra virgin olive oil
• 15ml of soy sauce

Wash under running water and add dressing.

Presentation

Remove meat and beat the lobster claws to create a tartare and season with extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon. Place the previously seasoned lettuce on the plate with some chopped frisella, then place the lobster body on top. Make small spikes of apricot and small scoops from the lobster claws. Drizzle with the cucumber gazpacho.

Bon appetit!

More about Chef Fabio Cordella

Originally from Copertino, a small town in the province of Lecce, Fabio Cordella describes himself as a self-taught chef. He arrived at the ColorHotel in 2006 as a chef de partie, and in 2017, he became the Executive Chef at the La Veranda del Color restaurant and was awarded a Michelin star.