Davide Oldani, the chef of multiple talents

Davide Oldani is a fascinating person. He is one of those great chefs who don’t let anything to chance but are deeply thoughtful about every detail - from the cuisine itself to affordability. He went even further in creating the culinary experience that includes designing objects which make guests’ stay even more pleasant. He is one of the most famous Italian chefs and one of the most fascinating thinkers in the Italian food world, so it is not at all surprising that his restaurant D’O, not far from Milano, needs to be booked more than six months in advance. Well, what awaits you is worth waiting for!

Your cuisine is often described as “cucina pop”. What is it?

I prefer avoiding labels, so I like to describe my cooking simply as a well-thought-out haute cuisine. My new restaurant, which was opened recently and which was created from scratch, is a result of my thoughts and experiences accumulated throughout my entire life. It is based on great cooking, sustainability and affordability. It’s about great flavours and affordability which are made possible through the usage of seasonal products.

So I would say that for me “cucina pop” is in a balance between the contrasts of affordability and seasonality. If I offer you a dish composed of contrasts like savoury and sweet, sour and alkaline, with textures which include creaminess and crispyness, but all perfectly balanced, I will tickle all the senses of your palate. These are the rules of haute cuisine and there is a very strong logic behind every dish created this way.

What role do sweet components have in your cuisine?

There are no limits anymore between sweet and savoury. I would describe my cooking as a research of balance between savoury and sweet. You may, for example, find chocolate in a starter - but since I am always looking for balance, you will in such a case not find it in the dessert. In the dessert you could find for example rosemary or estragon … It’s about the balance of the contrasts, about creating harmony, about not repeating the same ingredients in the same menu.

You also design objects, and with such success that some great brands asked you to design some for them …

Yes, I started designing because besides creating pop cuisine I also wanted to offer my guests everything they need. In my thirteen years of running my first restaurant, I became well aware of the needs of guests. I designed plates, cutlery and glasses and now, for my new restaurant, I designed also tables and chairs. The chairs have a space for the bag below the seat and there is also a place for phones and glasses. The table I designed is 80 cm high instead of the ordinary 75 cm and the chairs 50 cm instead of 45 cm. The reason is my belief that digestion has to start already at the table and these dimensions allow it to happen. My design is also sustainable - I made tables out of elm wood which is locally available.

Just before leaving for Rio, you published a book about food and sport. What is your rule number one?

Eating healthy and in small quantities.

And how do you eat?

One day I eat fish and meat, another day fruit and vegetables, one-day carbohydrates - that day I also eat chocolate - and one day I don’t eat at all.

What about sport and chocolate?

Of course! But a bit of each. What is important is not to exaggerate in any direction. Like in my cuisine - everything in life is about the equilibrium of contrasts.