mauro colagreco

text by paolo vizzari

mauro colagreco is a fire that burns blazing in two big flames of different colours: from the subtle orange nuances of his abruzzo origins that characterize him with humility and genuine soul, to the deep red of the argentinian pasión that pushes him to improve and never give up even when the odds are against him. few other cooks in the world feel the ingredients and the methods of cooking as he does, used to almost talking to the embers and asking them for the perfect result, and nobody else combines the best of south america with europe, rereading france in a way that is both contemporary and respectful. you have no choice but to know michele massaro by bumping on the way into one of his knives and getting enchanted by it. if you look at the blade, you’ll see imprinted every hammer hit that has flattened it to perfection, this result is achievable by an artisan only through committed and crazy craftsmanship.

in the work of the one you can glimpse the other, the same satisfaction that raises from exertion and the same magical touch able to transform a detail of nature into something better. i was expecting that from this encounter a spontaneous bond would originate between two persons born to understand each other without words, and in the end i wasn’t disappointed. mauro and michele, the “fire bearers”, are able to find the hidden magic in the warmth of the glowing embers, two we need to protect and support every time they make a spark fly.