Chef Federico Zanasi, born in 1975, comes from the Pianura Padana, the lowlands around the River Po, and spent time on the Adriatic coast before moving to his current location, high up in the Alps.
Zanasi began his career in historic Emilian restaurants like Amerigo 1934 and also worked in the United States and Spain before ending up in 2005 at Moreno Cedroni’s Clandestino, on the Marche coast, where he spent nine years. He now runs the restaurant Snowflakes in the Principe delle Nevi hotel in Cervinia, Valle d’Aosta.
Here, at the foot of the Matterhorn, he unites solid tradition with great technique and creativity. Ingredient selection is crucial, and products are often sourced from local producers and the Slow Food network. His dishes reveal a strong rooting in the local area as well as a desire for innovation. Many have names that reflect ancient local origins, but offer a modern reinterpretation, with unusual flavors and colors.
At Pollenzo, he’ll be offering a rich and intriguing week of gastronomic delights, starting on Tuesday with Valpellinentze soup, stoneground polenta and veal tripe and Chantilly millefeuille with salted caramel. Wednesday it will be the turn of Parmesan risotto with turnip, miso and radish broth, followed by kid goat with Savoy cabbage, chamomile and toasted almonds, then for dessert polenta, brossa (a milk cream made in Alpine dairies) butter ice cream and coffee. On Thursday, passatelli in Parmesan rind broth with beans, veal ribs braised in Petit Arvine (a Valle d’Aosta white wine) and roasted potato purée, finishing with apple with goat’s milk yogurt, apple peel foam and quince sorbet. The last menu, on Friday, will feature polenta ravioli with butter, smoked eel and trout roe, followed by buttermilk-cooked lamb leg with roasted carrots and pumpkin seeds, then blood orange with Alchermes-marinated strawberries, candied yolk and mint granita.