STARRED BIOCHEF PAOLO SARI INVITES YOU IN HIS KITCHEN
A word from the editor. Dear followers, on December 26th 2017 a mean hacker attack invalidated the entire Montecarlotimes.com. Today we are pleased to re-publish some of the most liked posts. Yours truly, Ilio Masprone – Knight of the Principality of Monaco for cultural merits, with the Team.
by Paolo Sari. MONACO. I am Paolo Sari, the only Michelin starred Bio Chef Certified Organic Chef in the world, inviting you to join me in my Kitchen. It will not be a monologue or a simple report about the world of cooking and chefs but, as the title says, I call you to discuss and face various issues dear to the Principality, its inhabitants, and beyond. Monaco is at the forefront of renewable energies and energy choices, but still it has a long way to go. Monaco is home to the only organic starred restaurant in the world and can be the spokesperson either international or local, for a more healthy and responsible gastronomy. Monaco has the highest concentration of Michelin stars in the world. Paolo Sari will host you regularly in his kitchen. You will discover recipes and ingredients paying the greatest attention to tradition and especially to the season. Paolo Sari is looking forward to chatting with you on Montecarlotimes.eu blog. Discussions on gastronomy’s biological, ecological, cultural and social topics are by now open!
The Principality uniqueness could bring it closer to a tangible biological reality. Monaco has everything to become the green hearth of agriculture, as it was in the past, thanks to the fertility of its land and to its exceptional climate. The area could be a cradle for crops, enriched by the sunny and gentle air and by the odour of the sea. There is nothing new but the respect of tradition and history that asks to reposition a territory to its ancestral destination, key to the future, and the only viable now: organic food, protection of the environment, natural energies and zero impact. The city which today is mainly known for its casinos, hotels, restaurants and Banks, the Principality which is one of the most coveted tourist destinations in the world, made of shopping, glamour, culture and entertainment, must and can add to all that an overpowering resolution. This project must follow a precise timetable, attentive to the nature and to the territory’s actual needs. This project has to become everyone’s heritage. Today, Monaco boosts the highest concentration of Michelin stars and the only biological star chef in the world. But, it has also the highest concentration of places like for instance the fairs and the Christmas Market, offering just Hamburgers and Hot-Dogs!
There are statistics certifying that Monaco’s citizens are eating a lot of fast food and junk food! Moreover, it looks like gastronomic excellence is much more appreciated by foreigners than by the Monegasques. I must say that it is quite a paradox that Monaco be represented by a sovereign who every day try to sensitizing the local and international community on environmental sustainability. As for more than ten years, “The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation” is sending messages much more listened at an international level than at the local one. Monaco is located in one of the most idyllic places on the planet. Its microclimate guarantees dry summers and mild winters. The Ocean has clean certified waters hosting a multitude of rare animals, and the town is circled by hills and mountains guaranteeing the finesse of its air. A little to the left towards France and a little to the right towards Italy, one can find the best agricultural products of the world, since host the highest concentration of certified organic products. The Provence, Liguria and Piedmont certified organic products come from agricultural territories cultivated since the Roman Empire’s era. Here, for centuries agriculture has made enormous progress, becoming the cradle of many agricultural specialties, as in “primis” the millenary production of extra virgin olive oil.
Yet and always paradoxically, in Monaco’s supermarkets and restaurants these regional products are the rarity. Instead, one can find both Spanish and Netherlands intensive produce on the shelves. Monaco’s best kitchen is influenced by two archaic gastronomic cultures, the Italian and the French interconnected. Traditionally popular stuffs like Barbajuan, socca and fougasse could be enriched by greener and biologically healthier kinds of “street food”. I also dream that fairs and markets serve other than hamburgers, hotdogs, fries and kebab. The solution is quite simple; we must dust off the French and Italian culinary tradition, offering a better quality. Chefs must become the “food and taste shrinks” of their clients, offering quality dishes prepared with the most excellent ingredients. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides must be avoided. As for the using of the controversial OGM, they must be certified by the EC Regulation. I dream of a Monaco’s Government fully supporting the agro-food quality. The Grimaldi Forum has hosted and will host many Health Conferences and I am sure that Monaco will follow the World Health Institute’s recommendations about pesticides and chemical fertilizers that are drivers of serious, if not fatal, diseases. I dream of a return to the future. I dream of a 100% Biological Principality. During the Route du Goût, the first organic festival held in Monaco from 12 to 16 October 2016 and supported by Montecarlotimes as media partner, the “Bio Chef Global Spirit” Association sent an important message, proposing a biological and ecological agricultural solution for the Principality: the Moses.Bio is the free, zero impact, first floating project of garden, whose irrigation system uses seawater, desalinated by solar panels. Last but not least I dream that Monaco’s planned expansion in the sea adopt the Moses.Bio, thus offering to the residents of the extension an ecological and biological agricultural production “home-made”. Opportunely, the plan of the architect Renzo Piano is sustainable and responsible, offering the right percentage of green and housing.
The fact is that, just as twenty years ago a proportioned to housing cars’ parking was imperative, by now it is imperative to start to feeding the planet in the most responsible and sustainable way. The success of the project is only apparently complex. Everything resides on the will of those who want to be involved. They must make up a schedule being conscious of the long time ocurring to maintain a process mainly based on the rules written by nature, much more pateint than us. Do you think impossible to build using ecological energy solutions such as solar panels? Do you think impossible to give space to the local market of organic farmers instead of importing massive, conventional, intensive products? Do you think impossible to implement a schedule raising the awareness about the protection of the planet? Do you think i impossible to introduce an organic cooking course at the hotel technical schools? Do you think impossible to invite restaurateurs to increase the percentage of organic products in the food preparations? Do you think impossible to guarantee healthy, organic and quality meals in school canteens? My answer is no, I find all this quite normal and consistent. But, to arrive at a Monaco 100% organic, Monaco needs you and your choices.
