On the evening of the 1st of June the Quirinale Palace, the home of Italians summed up in the figure of President Sergio Mattarella, opened its gardens to around one thousand five hundred guests for the dinner that every eve of Republic Day on the 2nd of June renews the bond between citizens, institutions and our nation. I am writing about it fascinated by the preparations. In fact, in mid-March, while in the Cucina Grande to film an episode of Capolavori del mondo in cucina for Striscia la notizia, I was amazed to see several images of the most varied dishes hanging on a wall.
It suits an editorial staff or a restaurant that has to prepare for an important banquet or a new menu. Since I wasn’t familiar with the place and I am always curious, I asked Fabrizio Boca, the current executive chef, at work there since 1993, what on earth they were prepping for and he did not deny it: 'These are the dishes we are preparing for the dinner on the 1
st of June. It is a very long job, which requires commitment and attention because it is not a service like other catering services with an equally large audience.’ But no one has to satisfy the palates of so many of the nation's leading figures as Boca and those who work with him, starting with Federico Iorio, the head pastry chef.
Fabrizio Boca, working since 1993 in the Cucina Grande of the Palazzo del Quirinale in Rome, now its executive chef
The two start thinking about the dinner eight months in advance, basically at the end of the summer. All starting with one rule: to exalt the twenty regional cuisines of Italy. All that is cooked at the Quirinale cannot be separated from them. Faithful to traditions, but contemporary and with a charming flair, just like a restaurant awarded by critics and guides. And to say that they have to slalom between several limits such as the imperative that everything must be served portioned, so forget about trays of pasta or baked crespelle, it should be eaten without fear of traps, even when serving
cuttlefish spaghetti with cream of peas and olives because pasta is Italy, but with a sauce that is stain-proof, think of bucatini all'amatriciana, excellent yet impossible, far from Trastevere.
The test at the beginning of March, practically three months earlier, is also for this purpose, to catch potential trouble spots, not just to assess taste. Everything must be simplified as much as possible. When talking, for example, about broths, one must think of jellies, not liquid consommés, just as ice cream and sorbets, or even ice cream cakes, will never come out of the pastry shop, because they suffer from the heat. Some vegan options and others for those who might suffer from allergies are a must. Yes to bowls, ingredients that are as scalloped as possible and seasoned vegetables that are practical and pleasing to the eye.
On the eve of Expo 2025 in Milan, Gualtiero Marchesi signed his decalogue for a correct interpretation of the cook's role. The first point reads as follows: 'That of the cook is a profession, or better still, it is a service, a ministerium'. Attention: cook, not chef. A framed copy hangs in the corridors of the Cucina Grande of the Quirinale palace in Rome
If the president's weekly menu follows his personal needs, it is pure coincidence that tonight, under the heading of first courses, shine
Ruote alla Norma, as Sicilian as himself. Recipes must rotate, and for five or six years they are not repeated. And those invited must not show voracity. It is not the buffet of a holiday resort, one must show a certain detachment from the gluttony of the various proposals, no rush. There is plenty and for everyone:
Tortelli di pasta e patate con pancetta; Lasagnette agli spinaci; la
Norma;
Frittura di pesce, calamari, gamberi e baccalà; Supplì di scarola, crocchetta pollo e peperoni e polpetta cacio e ova; Tonno vitellato; Terrina di parmigiana fredda; Pappa al pomodoro and so on from delight to delight right down to the desserts such as
Cremoso al pistacchio e visciole and
Tartelletta con meringhe e limone.
A mouth-watering preparation of cuttlefish waste during the rehearsals for the 1st of June party menu
Over time, attention has grown. Even at the Quirinale, sustainability and the fight against waste have become as imperative as saying no to plastic. So glasses here are made of glass, plates and cutlery of compostable and robust material that can hold the most diverse contents. But nothing is sloppy or cheap enough to spoil the service. So there can be porcelain trays. We are still in a place that is an emblem of our institutions.
Souvenir photo for Sergio Mattarella at his first Republic Day on 1 June 2017 in the Quirinale Gardens
And the service is offered by the pupils of five catering schools chosen in agreement with Miur, the Ministry of Education and Merit. On this occasion, the schools are Gioberti in Rome, Federico di Svevia in Termoli, the Ecole hotelière de la Vallée d'Aoste, the Enaip of Tione in Trento and, finally, Sandro Pertini in Monfalcone (Gorizia). For the chosen ones it is an honour and also a serious commitment, not to be taken lightly. It’s the first real service of their lives, underlined by the president's greeting. Associations, such as
Tortellante from Modena, which take turns in the course of the year in the Cucina Grande so that those accepted learn a trade by overcoming more obstacles and prejudices, participated too.
The weather was decisive for the success of the dinner. Woe betide if it rains. Were it to happen, everything would be have been moved inside and it would not be a piece of cake because there is no hall ready to accommodate one thousand five hundred people.
Translated into English by Slawka G. Scarso
