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Our expert gourmet has already seen many a thing, but a restaurant in Lombardy really rattled him

I've now been travelling the world for more than seven years to find famous guest chefs for Restaurant Ikarus in Salzburg and then it comes to this – a restaurant in the middle of Lombardy that really rattles you. And one which raises fundamental questions, such as "OK, are the rest of us all stupid?", because obviously things are different here.

We're talking about "Da Vittorio", the weirdest 3-star restaurant I know. As head chef Enrico Cerea is in charge, his brother Roberto manages the restaurant.

The staff structure alone is, at least as far as I'm concerned, a nightmare. The restaurant was established in 1966 by Vittorio and his wife, Bruna. They had five children, who continued to run the business in the same style as Vittorio after their father's death. Together!

And to top it all, all five are married and their spouses all work in the country house empire. What should be the perfect recipe for a family feud has worked fine for many years at Brusaporto, a business which runs perfectly, where everyone sets to with a will, like in a trattoria.

This includes the appearance of the manager's attractive daughter, Barbara who, completely unconcerned, handles the lunchtime restaurant service wearing a track suit. In a 3-star restaurant! And not one single guest thought that something wasn't right. On the contrary, it seemed so natural that every gourmet temple runs the risk of seeming laughable by comparison.

Yes, I know, normally the concept of "trattoria" and "three stars" doesn't go hand in hand. A small, simple restaurant and the endless demands of the very apogee of gastronomy just don't go together – unless we're talking about "Da Vittorio". To express my complete bafflement another way, we're talking about a restaurant in which pasta such as paccheri in tomato sauce with parmesan costs 30 euros. And then suddenly, there's a potato dumpling with fonduta and white truffles on the table. Or confit shoulder of suckling kid, with olive mash and leeks au gratin on chopped kid's liver, or a polenta soufflé with artichoke broth and black truffles. Three stars, without a doubt, yet with the charm of a trattoria. Which ought to have four stars when it comes to desserts. There's a 12-man team in the patisserie! The large number of pre-desserts, desserts, petit fours and all the other sweets explain why this number of staff is required.

In answer to the original question, no, of course all the top chefs around the world who cook and look differently aren't stupid. But the realisation that a man like Enrico Cerea can cook his way from a family business to absolute world class and remain so loveably normal – the journey was worth it just for this realisation alone.

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Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus

Preview
Guest chefs 2012 /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2012/preview-guest-chefs-2012/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: May 2012

Pino Lavarra /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2012/pino-lavarra/

Trettl meets Pino Lavarra

Pino Lavarra
Italy /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2012/roland-trettl-meets-pino-lavarra/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: April 2012

Tanja Grandits /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2012/tanja-grandits/

Trettl meets Tanja Grandits

Tanja Grandits
Switzerland /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2012/roland-trettl-meets-tanja-grandits/

Guest chefs at Restaurant Ikarus: February 2012

Tim Raue /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2012/tim-raue/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: March 2012

Ryan Clift /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2012/ryan-clift/

Trettl meets Ryan Clift

Ryan Clift
Singapur /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2012/roland-trettl-meets-ryan-clift/

Trettl meets Tim Raue

Tim Raue
Berlin, Germany /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2012/trettl-meets-tim-raue/

Guest chefs at Restaurant Ikarus: January 2012

Nuno Mendes /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2012/nuno-mendes/

Trettl meets Nuno Mendes

Nuno Mendes
Viajante, London /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2012/trettl-meets-nuno-mendes/

Guest chefs at Restaurant Ikarus: December 2011

Daniel Redondo &
Helena Rizzo /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/daniel-redondo-helena-rizzo/

Guest chefs at Restaurant Ikarus: November 2011

Björn Frantzén &
Daniel Lindeberg /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/bjoern-frantzen-daniel-lindeberg/

Roland Trettl on tour

Helena Rizzo & Daniel Redondo, São Paulo, Brazil /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-meets-helena-rizzo-daniel-redondo/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: October 2011

Xavier Pellicer /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/xavier-pellicer/

Roland Trettl on tour

Xavier Pellicer,
Barcelona, Spain /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-meets-xavier-pellicer/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: September 2011

Alvin Leung /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/alvin-leung/

Roland Trettl on tour

Alvin Leung,
Hong Kong, China /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-meets-alvin-leung/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: August 2011

Ikarus Team /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/ikarus-team/

Roland Trettl on tour

Peter Goossens,
Kruishoutem, Belgium /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-and-the-ikarus-team/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: July 2011

Peter Goossens /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/peter-goossens/

Roland Trettl on tour

Peter Goossens,
Kruishoutem, Belgium /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-meets-peter-goossens/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: June 2011

Emmanuel Renaut /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/emmanuel-renaut/

Roland Trettl on tour

Emmanuel Renaut,
Megève, France /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-meets-emmanuel-renaut/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: May 2011

Anatoly Komm /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/anatoly-komm/

Roland Trettl on tour

Anatoly Komm,
Moscow, Russia /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-meets-anatoly-komm/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: April 2011

Daniel Humm /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/daniel-humm/

Roland Trettl on tour

Daniel Humm,
New York, USA /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-meets-daniel-humm/

Guest chef at Restaurant Ikarus: March 2011

Claus-Peter Lumpp /en/ikarus/guest-chef-at-restaurant-ikarus/2011/claus-peter-lumpp/

Roland Trettl on tour

Claus-Peter Lumpp,
Germany /en/ikarus/roland-trettl-on-tour/2011/roland-trettl-meets-claus-peter-lumpp/