Rosanna Marziale

«Inside of me there’s a people. I am also a passionate farmer, a sensual eater, a child building his catalogue of flavours, an old baker, a fisherman of anchovies, a shepherd, a cheese producer, an internet navigator and much more»: this summary is called Rosanna Marziale, 44, chef, and living testimonial of Campania’s excellent products, one Michelin star with her restaurant Le Colonne in Caserta.

She fuses the tradition of her moors with techniques and creativity she learnt over the years when she was fascinated by the new Spanish cuisine; she’s a concentrate of flavour (which she transfers to her dishes) and energy; versatile and energetic, she writes books and was even the protagonist of a cartoon.

The daughter of a professional: her father, Gaetano, used to run the family restaurant, La Bomboniera, under the same roof of the current Le Colonne – the name-change dates back to 1988. Here she spent her early years, learning all the kitchen secrets, training as a sommelier and barman too. The turning point arrived after 2000, with various internships, especially those with Gianfranco Vissani and Martin Berasategui: «Spanish chefs and their innovations fascinated me, I wouldn’t miss a congress in San Sebastián».

The challenge was then learning this lesson and transferring it to Viale Giulio Douhet, in Caserta. Easier said than done, «people here want a meal that is made of concreteness and chewing, not ideas and inspirations». She got the right compromise: enhancing local raw materials – buffalo milk mozzarella in primis – with a touch of creativity. Her activity in the bookshops is also intense: among other things she wrote Evviva la mozzarella! published by Gribaudo, Il MangiaRime and Il nuovo MangiaRime together with writer Rosanna Bazzano, while her latest effort is a booklet-menu called Carta Marziale, that is to say Le Colonne’s menu, with a detailed explanation of all the products, producers and origins of the dishes and so on.

She was also the protagonist of a cartoon called La cuoca girovaga, seven episodes, each one of which dedicated to the discovery of a product in the great gastronomic tradition of Campania.