Just like its English equivalent ‘taste’, the Italian term ‘gusto’ packs a double meaning. It is cultured discernment, that effortless instinct for placing the right chair, or word, or color, in just the right place. It is also one of our five senses – more than any other, the one that brings us such pleasure at the dinner table.
Passalacqua honors taste in all its rich diversity. From table setting to service, from our home-baked breads to the patisserie selection, we aim to make every detail perfect, built on timeless beauty and gestures, just as they were in the great houses of Italy and Europe. From fresh seasonal produce we coax dishes that exalt flavor and honor tradition. This is grand villa cuisine.
Every grand villa had its chef, who would accompany noble Italian dynasties on their seasonal migration from city house to country retreat. Grand villa chefs were trained in the classic tradition but were also in nuanced dialogue with the territory, with its food artisans, growers and foragers. They were able to guide the kitchen brigade like a family and to respond to every desire of the family they served.
At Passalacqua, this art lives on thanks to Viviana Varese, one of Italy’s most celebrated chefs. Viviana has passionately embraced what she calls “the greatest opportunity of my life”: to revive the historic Italian tradition of grand villa chefs and redefine it for the 21st century. In the latest chapter of the story that led her from the seafood trattoria on the Amalfi Coast where she grew up to her own Michelin-starred restaurant in Milan, Viviana is making Passalacqua the benchmark for a new vision of grand villa cuisine.
One of the small joys of country house life is wandering into the kitchen, helping yourself to a tempting snack, striking up a conversation, getting involved in the baking or the pasta-making. Passalacqua’s open kitchen is yours, to learn in and to linger in. So too is our snug and stylish bar, which celebrates northern Italy’s vibrant cocktail and aperitivo scene and the gentle art of conversation.
