We got the opportunity to interview Enrico Bartolini, chef of Mudec by Enrico Bartolini in Milan, Italy.

Early inspirations

After graduating from the Hotel Institute of Montecatini Terme, I spent a few months in my uncle's trattoria where I took my first steps in the kitchen. It was a busy place that served classic Tuscan recipes prepared in the traditional way. I still remember that the calmest and quietest time of day was the morning when we prepared the broth with fresh vegetables… then we started running! At the time, my dream was to prepare Maltagliati with porcini mushrooms well. To enhance my training, I left for London, where I worked with Mark Page, and then I went to Paris to continue my training with Paolo Petrini. It was in Paris, in 1999, that I started to frequent two-three Michelin-starred restaurants as a customer and I was surprised by the qualitative greatness of the offer, at the table and in the dining room. One in particular was illuminating for me: I invested my monthly trainee pay in a memorable dinner at Pierre Gagnaire, three Michelin stars, it was an incredible experience, a revelation. There I understood what kind of restaurant I wanted to run and I started working and delving in that direction. Back in Italy, I went to work with the Alajmo family.

Philosophy in the kitchen

In the cuisine we offer, there are special ingredients that tell a story about a territory, its biodiversity, and the culture of that place. Choosing the best ingredients, transforming them into dishes that in every season manage to convey a gastronomic message, bringing them to the table, serving them in that particular place: all this makes the experience of a restaurant dish unique.

A Signature Dish

The Risotto alle rape rosse e salsa gorgonzola (Beetroot Risotto with Gorgonzola Sauce) originated nearly twenty years ago at the Le Robinie Restaurant in Oltrepò Pavese. The intention was to celebrate the Lombard and Pavia cuisine through a risotto, highlighting rice as a symbol of the area's agriculture, along with two characteristic ingredients of the territory's biodiversity. Over the years, this dish has remained a staple, still served at Mudec with a slight aesthetic revision, incorporating a sour cherry sauce in the summer and a blackberry sauce in the winter, resembling a painterly drip. This idea came about several years ago during a visit from Maestro Marchesi, when they discussed the art of Jackson Pollock

The Essence of Mudec by Enrico Bartolini

Each of our restaurants focuses on the pairing of talent and territory: that is, in every place, the talent of the people who run the restaurant must narrate and enhance the products and biodiversity of the place itself, so that the experience can be unique, original, and make the guest say 'it's worth the trip'

Advice for Aspiring Chefs

What does winning the JRE Enterpreneur of the year award 2024 mean to you and your team?

An important recognition for the entire team, but also an incentive to always do well and even better. On an entrepreneurial level, we have an organizational method: a human resources department and an administrative office. Their management is complex, just like the gastronomic side. They are two very similar and parallel paths, but the gastronomic part is the main vehicle of our business, it is the one that receives our attention first, but it cannot be coordinated and carried out if the organizational side isn't there first, so it is a combination of the two things. For this, I must thank Monica Biella, General Manager of our Group, who does a fundamental job