This December, iconic department store Harrods welcomes the next multi-Michelin starred Italian restaurant to its in-store pop-up concept, Stelle di Stelle, this month is the turn of legendary 3 Michelin starred ‘Enoteca Pinchiorri’.
Giorgio Pinchiorri and Annie Féolde will take up residency throughout December, serving special edits of the restaurants signature dishes.
Enoteca Pinchiorri is found in the heart of Florence set in a former Renaissance Palace, and serves innovative cuisine inspired by French-born chef Annie Féolde. When the restaurant opened, Tuscan sommelier Giorgio Pinchiorri’s extensive and impressive selection of wines were the focus of Enoteca Pinchiorri, introducing the ‘wine bar’ concept to Italy, whilst Féolde presented a few supporting dishes.
However, the emphasis soon shifted to Féolde’s exquisite handling of Italian cuisine combined with French influences, and in 2004 she became the first woman in Italy to receive the ultimate culinary accolade of a third Michelin star. Pinchiorri’s wine cellar remains one of the best in the world with 145,000 bottles on offer.
Inside the Pinchiorri kitchen today, an impressive four decades on from the restaurant’s beginnings, Féolde collaborates with young talent and the cooking responsibility lies with chefs Italo Bassi and Riccardo Monco. Bassi and Monco have been part of the Pinchiorri team since 1993 – Bassi joining from his position as head chef at Enoteca Pinchiorri in Japan - and together the team create a modern approach to traditional Tuscan flavours.
Enoteca Pinchiorri’s signature dishes represent simple and fresh Italian cooking, but with an ambition to continuously innovate in their field. They look to seek out new suppliers (“We don't want the same lamb loin or Romagnola pigs as the others. Where is the novelty, otherwise?”). Dishes are always and only centred on the richness of taste, because, “a tomato must taste like tomato, not hay”. To this end, their restaurant is recognised as a destination for gourmands worldwide.
Enoteca Pinchiorri’s six-course menu at Harrods will feature:
- Chestnut mousse, pancetta, pine nuts and rosemary
- Octopus cooked in olive oil with pumpkin cream, coffee pearls and watercress sprouts
- Poached egg with Alba white truffle and Grana Padano cheese fondue
- Fusilli ‘al ferretto’ with artichokes, scampi and liquorice powder
- Rack of lamb topped with garlic and thyme, with polenta and cavolo nero
- Bread, chocolate, oil and salt
The menu is priced at £65 for lunch (an abbreviated version of the menu), or £115 for the tasting menu (£85 and £140 respectively, with matching drinks), with one lunch and two dinner sittings each day. To book a table, call 020 7893 8700 - bookings can be made 10am – 6pm, Monday - Sunday.
Running until January 2015, Stelle di Stelle features five of Italy’s best restaurants taking up residency in the Knightsbridge store. With 13 Michelin stars between them, the acclaimed line-up will still feature Enrico Crippa’s Piazza Duomo in January.
Stelle di Stelle, is presented in association with Identità Golose, a culinary organisation with a
mission to promote the best of modern Italian cuisine and showcase regional culinary excellence worldwide. There have been editions in London and New York, and this September, they will be in Chicago.
