The art of failing and the enduring success of Italian food
Itried skiing for the first time last month. Yes, I am milking my Switzerland trip for stories but bear with me a little here. I promise, this is fun. I had a gazillion opportunities to learn how to ski. Most of my family lives in Europe and my husband and I even lived there for over three years. One new year holiday, I even found myself in Poland’s skiing capital at the foot of the Tatras – Zakopane. But I was with the wrong company. Nobody skied or was even remotely interested.
If you told me at 18 that I was going to go and learn how to ski, I would have said yes. It was a time I had way too much confidence. I was someone who even wanted to try bungee jumping. Emphasis on “was.” As I got older, however, I found that I became more careful. I don’t merely live for myself anymore as I have a husband and a dog. He will drown in laundry without me and our pooch? An obvious mama’s boy. The age of taking risks was over. So when I was told that we were going for ski lessons, I first said no. “I’ll be there for
après-ski,” I cheekily told our guide. “But there is no après-ski if you don’t go skiing!” He’s right. It does, literally, mean “after ski.”
With the promise of alcohol after, I found myself suiting up for the sport. I looked at myself in the mirror wearing the sporty, gray ensemble and felt it wasn’t a bad look. I would love it more in white or a neutral beige, though. Like what Diana Rigg wore as Bond Girl Tracy di Vicenzo in the ski chase scene of On Her Majesty’s
Secret Service. We were in Mürren, where parts of it were shot after all.
It’s not easy to ski but in that quick, two-hour lesson, I learned how to glide, make little turns, and even stop. Well, sometimes. Learning to stop was the hardest part, especially when you’re having fun as you gain momentum. Once you realize you’re going way too fast, it’s too late and much more difficult. I fell a couple of times and while it didn’t hurt, I always took a couple of moments to whine and complain.
“We call it the emergency brake,” the coach told me as he explained that I was falling the right way, sitting on my buttocks when I could no longer control the speed. The videos were hilarious but aside from bruises (Swiss tattoos, as someone joked), there was no permanent damage. He told me it was the right way of falling so as not to get hurt and the most important thing was that I got back up and tried again. It was the only way to get better and it always took time. I stopped whining after that.
“This really feels like a metaphor for life,” I said with a laugh as we were getting ready to try again, at a higher part of the slope this time. He smiled and I immediately realized how cheesy that was. Fortunately, I don’t think he really heard me thanks to snowboarding teenagers on the other side of the slope. It looked fun and I never thought I’d be thankful for rowdy kids. But hey, maybe I’m just a little jealous I didn’t start winter sports at their age.
Comforting, authentic Italian food
Japanese-Italian chef Salvatore Cuomo is in Manila for a month, visiting his eponymous restaurant chain. As the BGC branch is set to undergo renovations, he is also looking into opening another branch while the one in Podium remains open.
While the current dining trend is going for smaller servings, tasting menus, and having the word “foraged” on half of the dishes on the list, Cuomo says Italian food will and should stay the same. While he has also done the tasting menus and smaller servings, he says there’s nothing wrong with Italian food staying big and hearty. After all, it’s mainly comfort food.
A major ingredient of Italian food is air. “Like Chinese fried rice, you see them using the pan to introduce air into the dish. It’s the same in Italian,” he said, showing the proper movement to toss the ingredients in the pan that injects air. “When
you want to do that with a smallportion dish, it’s difficult.”
This, he says, is especially true for pasta and risotto. It is why most fine dining restaurants that offer small plates offer fusion food. Authentic Italian is always best served the way their would do it. Cuomo was also asked about Filipino spaghetti and while most Italians would scoff at the idea of sweet pasta, the celebrity chef sees nothing wrong with different interpretations of Italy’s beloved carb source. “I think the Filipino [version] came from America and who brought pasta to America? We [Italians] did,” he said. “It did come from Italy. It’s hard to say it’s not original and we cannot call it an Italian dish. It’s the original Filipino pasta.”
When eating at an Italian restaurant, Cuomo says it’s important to appreciate the dough. Neapolitan pizza dough is lighter and won’t leave you too stuffed. Rightfully popular for his pizzas, Cuomo also urges Filipinos not to skip the risotto on Italian menus.
He explained that I was falling the right way. The videos were hilarious but aside from bruises (Swiss tattoos, as someone joked), there was no permanent damage.
The seemingly simple dish is a great gauge of a chef’s skill. As someone who orders risotto quite often, I’ve never felt more validated.