Fabio Trabocchi might be a miracle worker. Over several decades, the Italy native has shepherded his culinary skills from England to Spain to Russia, garnering wheelbarrows of accolades for his genre-bending cookery. But when the chef landed in Soho's Fiamma last year, Trabocchi faced his toughest hurdle notoriously Italian-averse New York Times critic Frank Bruni.
But instead of dropping a red-sauce bomb, the critic gave Fiamma three-star praise, lauding Trabocchi’s sweetbread lasagna, Wagyu-wrapped tofu and butter-sautéed hazelnuts atop braised veal cheeks. Trabocchi takes a timeout from Fiamma to chat with Metromix about comfort foods, cracking the Bruni code and the future of Italian cuisine.
Congratulations on cracking the Bruni code. What’s the secret?
It’s a vision, and I’m lucky enough to work with people that share the same vision. What I do is take classical Italian cuisine and adapt it to modern times. It’s about the quality of our ingredients—knowing who grows our vegetables and raises the pigs. But the review’s aftermath means that we need to live up to expectations by upholding our consistency and quality. That’s the beauty and the challenge.
Were you hesitant to follow in former Fiamma chef Michael White’s footsteps?
No, I had run a four-star restaurant [the Ritz-Carlton’s Maestro, near Washington, D.C.]. I was prepared.
Another challenge is keeping Italian cuisine modern and relevant. How do you achieve that?
It’s fine-tuning the balance between the new and a cuisine and culture that’s existed for a long time. Nothing is really new; it’s always been there. But the cuisine of any country is always evolving. As far as Italian, it’s a pure expression of creativity. Even though Italians have a strong culinary tradition, every recipe is a little bit different—maybe a difference of one or two ingredients, depending on what’s available from town to town. The one constant is that there will always be simple but precise executions that announce ingredients’ natural flavors.
What’s the defining trait of Italian cuisine?
Italian cuisine reaches into the soul and the spirit of each dish. When we take a regional dish that’s been there for thousands of years and shorten the cooking times or use less fat, the only requirement is that original flavor needs to be recognizable. As long as that one element is there, the creativity is endless. There’s never been—and never will be—an end to the variations of Italian cuisine.
Does this explain its endless popularity?
Whether it’s a perfect execution of pasta with tomato sauce or crudo or a sea bass baked with olive oil, these are dishes that have existed in the Italian diet for centuries. There are so many combination of proteins, starches and vegetables, there’s bound to be one that appeals to everyone.
What’s not appealing?
There’s no big mistake, as long as you carefully choose ingredients. Italian cuisine is about creativity and simplicity, using just two ingredients and making something simple and delicious.
And now, in the Fiamma kitchen, you’re conducting cooking classes. Why?
It’s a way for me to embrace our guests and show them the amount of work that goes into a dish. Some students are really interested in a career in cooking, and others are interested in seeing how a professional kitchen operates, understanding how flavors work together and learning the tricks of the trade. It’s more than just a two-hour cooking class; it’s a discussion about food.
I come from an open kitchen, and at Fiamma we have a closed kitchen. I want to break down the wall between kitchen and customer. It’s nice to go to a diner’s table and ask if everything is OK, but it’s great for customers to come behind the scenes and ask as many questions as they want.
What do you want to eat when you’re not on the clock?
It could be as easy as spaghetti with tomato sauce and basil or a baked sea bass. They’re always going to be comfort dishes.
Photo by Melissa Hom
