135 TURIN. THIS IS HOW A TRATTORIA SHOULD BE

This ‘sharing’ restaurant has opened at the new Lavazza headquarters: a creation by molecular chef Ferran Adrià. Social cooking and Oscar-quality settings

« Did you know that food is only the fourth reason, in order of importance, why people go to restaurants? » asks chef Ferran Adrià. «It has been demonstrated by a study that wasmade in Paris. Before food comes politeness, followed by quality of service, and then interior design. So, opening a new restaurant, these days, is the most complicated thing there is. Even the most successful places only last for an average of five years ». The inventor of molecular cuisine, ranked by Time magazine as one of the hundred most influential men in the world, he hung up his apron and closed elBulli in 2011 and now sees gastronomy from different points of view. So, it’s no surprise to find him playing the role of ‘strategic thinker’ for Lavazza, the coffee multinational that last April opened its new headquarters in the Aurora area of Turin, a project with a floor area of 30,000 squaremetres that cost € 120 million and was designed by Milanese architect Cino Zucchi, who salvaged the former ENEL electricity generating station from memory and abandonment. It was ENEL that first brought electricity to the city, and it was in one of those historic buildings that Adrià worked out his concept for Condividere, which will open to the public on 8th June. «More than a restaurant it’s a social/gastronomical trattoria, a format that hasn’t yet become very widespread in Italy. It focuses on the Spanish idea of ‘compartir’, where eating well is of course important, but where dining can’t just be a formal experience. It must also become fun, interaction, and communication ». He’s paraphrasing the same philosophy as Tickets, his brother Albert’s restaurant in Barcelona, where gourmet tapas are served in a ‘democratic’, almost circus- like and even cinematographic environment. «A restaurant is like a set for a film», continues Adrià. So, if cinema is what it’s all about, why not bring in Dante Ferretti, the Oscar-winning set designer who previously constructed unforgettable worlds for Scorsese and Tim Burton? « My job is to invent dreams», says Ferretti. «In that sense, I feel I’m very Fellini-esque. I like everything that materialises visions; not looking for perfection but reinventing reality ». In this particular case it’s a factory with pipework and gearwheels that seem like something straight out of a film script, and which at times becomes an artistic place for graffiti cartoons and metallic lace, transforming the king of industrial materials into an ornate Baroque. How did he do it? « Well, you know, duringmy career I’ve designed so many fake restaurants that doing a real one isn’t very different. I just had to think of something that would have an impact and be impressive, and since the true richness of the twenty- first century is time, I concentrated on clocks ». The clocks mark the passing minutes and also define the two dining rooms where the itinerant meal comes to life: savoury dishes served in the first room, and desserts and coffee served in the second. Meanwhile in the kitchen is Federico Zanasi. Formerly the sous-chef of Moreno Cedroni, he was trained by Adrià himself for two years, to learn the history of Italian cooking. And did he discover anything? « That there’s only one kind of Plin stuffed pasta».