Stelle di Stelle: Cerea brothers

Harrods welcome Roberto and Enrico Cerea this October as part of the 'Stelle di Stelle' series which sees Harrods featuring five of Italy’s best restaurants and inviting them to take up residency in the Knightsbridge store.

This October, Harrods welcomes Roberto and Enrico Cerea’s three Michelin starred restaurant Da Vittorio, for a one-month residency as part of this pop-up event that showcases the best of contemporary Italian cuisine.

Vittorio Cerea and his wife opened Da Vittorio in Bergamo forty-eight years ago, and the Cerea family have run the restaurant ever since. Today, Signora Bruna Cerea still runs the restaurant, with her five children all involved. Executive chefs Enrico and Roberto integrate traditional Italian cuisine with modern techniques, earning the ultimate culinary accolade of three stars from Michelin.

Da Vittorio opened in 1966 in a region where meat dishes dominated menus, yet Vittorio Cerea chose to focus on cooking seafood. This desire to be creative whilst paying respect to the roots of Italian cuisine earned the restaurant respect and it became a destination for lovers of fine Italian dining. Enrico and Roberto impart their parents’ philosophy in the kitchen and passion for the trade, whilst introducing contemporary practices learned from working alongside some of the best chefs in the world.

Enrico Cerea trained with Heinz Winkler in Aschau, Georges Blanc in Vonnas and Ferran Adrià at the legendary El Bulli before returning to the family restaurant.  In his years of training, Enrico perfected progressive culinary techniques that he has since applied to the menu at Da Vittorio. Younger brother and fellow Executive Chef Roberto is passionate about the primo course and is responsible for dishes such as risotto, creamed trombetta courgettes, crisp sausage paste and smoked ricotta.  Stelle di Stelle will offer a special edit of Da Vittorio’s signature dishes to London with a focus on the fish and seafood that made Da Vittorio famous.

Da Vittorio’s six-course tasting menu at Stelle di Stelle will feature:

Cantabrico anchovies, tuna sauce and Piedmont hazelnuts

Langoustine with almond cream and Roveja wild peas

Soft polenta, Roccaverano robiola cheese, white truffle and Grana Padano sauce

Potato gnocco filled with white cheese fondue

Sea-bass Mediterranean style with yellow tomatoes

Avocado cream with caramelised macadamia nuts and yoghurt sorbet

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 9am-8pm Monday to Saturday and 11am-6pm on Sunday.)

Running until January 2015, Harrods welcomes five of Italy’s best restaurants. With 13 Michelin stars between them, the acclaimed line-up will still feature Gennaro Esposito’s Torre del Saracino; Giorgio Pinchiorri and Annie Féolde’s Enoteca Pinchiorri; and Enrico Crippa’s Piazza Duomo.

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.