At Hotel Cipriani in Venice, Chef Vania Ghedini Blends Tradition, Innovation
Chef Vania Ghedini admits that when she was offered to helm the Michelin-starred Oro restaurant at the luxury Hotel Cipriani in Venice flanking Massimo Bottura as culinary creative director, his name “sent shivers down my spine,” given his standing in the industry and his reputation.
The opportunity was entirely unexpected, but she realized “it was one of those trains that pass by quickly and you don’t want to miss catching it. Also, Massimo is bewitching, it’s hard to say ‘no’ to him and I liked what he had in mind for Oro.”
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While unassuming and approachable, Ghedini has made a name for herself and is recognized as an influential and experienced chef, which led her to the Belmond property in April.
The idea shared by Bottura and Ghedini was “to create a venue that would provide a unique experience, offering food from the territory, but also reflect our roots,” she says, referring to the fact that she hails from Ferrara and Bottura from Modena, both in the Emilia Romagna region. “There are many important restaurants in Venice, with different concepts behind them, but we felt we could make the difference.”
Ghedini defines herself as “very direct,” and “no-frills,” traits she believes she shares with Bottura, and which helped her create “a great feeling and understanding” with the renowned chef behind the Osteria Francescana, Ferrari’s Cavallino and Gucci Osteria restaurants.
“I was fascinated by the idea of returning to Venice, it’s such a unique place in the world and to live here is a privilege,” says Ghedini, who previously launched the Sesamo restaurant with the Alajmo family at the Royal Mansour Marrakech, moving to that country in December 2018 and leaving at the end of 2023. She had become a member of Gruppo Alajmo at the renowned Le Calandre restaurant near Padova, Italy, in early 2016.
Her curriculum also includes stints at Grancaffé Quadri di Venezia, on the iconic St. Mark’s Square, and she opened the Amo restaurant at the Fondaco dei Tedeschi in the Italian city. A student and later teacher at ALMA, the Italian School of Culinary Arts, she began her training at Rigoletto di Reggiolo, and became sous chef at Peck at Palazzo Italia during Expo 2015 in Milan.
She describes the Cipriani as “a temple of Italian hotellerie, a magic location with a unique history that can’t be found anywhere else, and it offers experiences you can only have here, driving guests to return over the years.”
Founded on the island of Giudecca in 1958, a five-minute boat trip from St. Mark’s Square, surrounded by the Casanova Gardens, guests have ranged from Yves Saint Laurent and Sophia Loren to George Clooney and Madonna to name a few.
Ghedini can’t really pinpoint the moment when she knew she wanted to become a chef, as she eased into this job naturally. Her grandparents were bakers and she “grew up with the fragrance of freshly baked bread,” which remains to this day “inebriating.”
“I always had some contact with food, as my other grandmother made pasta, gnocchi [potato dumplings] and tortellini by hand at home. I don’t really know when it all began, but I remember there was a newsstand near the bakery. I would go after school and there was a series of cooking books near the comics, so I think that I grew into them after Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck,” she says with a chuckle.
Ghedini brought to Cipriani some “techniques gathered through the years, inspired both from my heritage and from my travels abroad.” For example, she cites the Moroccan way of grilling, the mechoui, or the pan-fried potatoes “in tecia,” a storied recipe from Trieste with onions and bacon, protecting and transmitting traditional cooking.
Seafood from the Adriatic Sea is a key element at Oro, with a view on the lagoon. Guinea-hen with vegetables, a maccheroni timbale from Ferrara, or sweet and sour fish with onions and raisins are only some of the recipes offered by Ghedini.
Also, with Bottura she shares the goal of avoiding waste, recovering all parts of vegetables, and even parmesan cheese crusts.
Constant training, “passing on what we know,” is fundamental, she says, as is “being empathetic, listening to people” which is one of the main lessons learned from chef Massimiliano Alajmo. She acknowledges the media hype around chefs today, but doesn’t really understand it. What she does comes natural to her, she says, and “I don’t think it should be made into a spectacle or show at all costs. Some things should not be lived through a screen but directly and personally.”
Being a woman “is not an issue,” as she says she has never been questioned or had to assert herself because of her sex. “Experience is what matters,” she believes, and admits the approach to women has changed compared to the past. “There are many more women blooming in the industry,” she says smiling.
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