What is the Alain Ducasse Restaurant in Naples like?

Describing him is no easy feat, in fact, a lot has been said about him. With his haute-cuisine française Alain Ducasse, the most starred chef in the world, or more simply, “the maestro”, has conquered the world. An icon of the international culinary scene, who on June 27, after a first quiet opening, officially inaugurated Il Alain Ducasse Restaurant on the ninth floor of the ROMEO Naples Hotel by ROMEO Collectionthe Italian luxury hotel group with a strong international vocation that is part of the prestigious Small Luxury Hotels of the World circuit. Awaiting him is a series of Neapolitan starred chefs, including Pepper Guideof Antica Osteria Nonna Rosa and Villa Rosa-La Casa di Lella in Vico Equense: «His arrival – tells – It will do a lot of good for the city».

Ducasse’s entrance in the Neapolitan capital is an important one, as he promises: «We will bring our small contribution to interpret the region and the territory, and we will do it with our know-how. In the menu, both a la carteboth tasting, Pasta will not be served because we come from a territory dotted with master pasta makers and only when we too have achieved excellence in this art, will we offer it on our menu».

A simple story

A cuisine of inclusion that will add a new narrative to the Neapolitan gastronomic proposal. «The restaurant tells a very simple story: French cuisine meets Italian products – explains Ducasse – I can be more specific: most of the products used in our cuisine come from Campania, from the territory or from local fishing. Some come from Italian regions a little further away, such as Tuscany. We prepare them using French techniques and with a French approach. For example, the structure of the menu – appetizer, main course, dessert – is typically ours. That’s what makes the whole story interesting, because the flavours of the products are very specific, very tied to the territory, but the preparations are typically French».

Alain Ducasse with chef Alessandro Lucassino, head of the kitchen at the Alain Ducasse Restaurant at Nap Hangar Design Group

Respect for tradition

An ambitious project, especially if placed within a culinary heritage where the taste of tradition has always had a strong impact on the palate of Neapolitans. «Neapolitan cuisine has a great and solid tradition – and even more so Italian cuisine in general. However, with this restaurant, my intention is much more modest and is not to compete with Neapolitan cuisine. I just want to offer food lovers, Neapolitans and visitors, another option: a French cuisine, contemporary and elegant. Knowing the passion of Italians for food, I am sure that our project will meet this expectation.

The team led by Alessandro Lucassino

The young 33-year-old manages the kitchen of the Alain Ducasse restaurant, Alessandro Lucassinofrom Follonica, who has more than 10 years of training under the guidance of Monsieur Ducasse, and a team of young people, all from the area, aged between 18 and 30. «The transmission of knowledge is fundamental in a restaurant – Ducasse emphasizes – I am very committed to training through my network of Ecole Ducasse. I will always support initiatives that will go in the direction of greater preparation».

A careful and meticulous preparation that is the basis of every dish. «When I started working for Alain Ducasse I was a boy and for me it was how to approach an icon, a legend, I kept thinking “I’m working with a living legend”. Today, however, especially for this new project there is sharing, an exchange of ideas where I am involved in every single part of the processeven in the composition of the menu that we studied together”, says Lucassino who worked at the Plaza Athénée on l’Avenue Montaigne, another of the chef’s restaurants. In 2011, Alain Ducasse offered him the chance to take the reins of the Salon des Manufactures on rue des Petits Champs in Paris, where he demonstrated extraordinary skills and inventiveness: this talent did not escape Monsieur Ducasse who gave him the opportunity to work at Cucina, his Italian restaurant in Paris.

The Blue Crab

The menu

That proposal is a Mediterranean cuisine that explores, researches and exalts native products, an approach that valorizes what the place where each Ducasse restaurant is located, represents in some way the DNA of his cuisine. Here, then, are the grilled tomatoes with sea lettuce, stracciatella and spicy Piennolo, the red mullet fillet with tapenade, courgettes and flowers, the Mediterranean blue crab, Controne white beans and chinotto. «Including the blue crab in the menu was an invitation to let Neapolitans, but also all the international guests who will come to visit us, experience something new.. The blue crab, in fact, is very tasty and flavourful but not yet used much in cooking, at least not in the South”, explains Lucassino.

There will be two tasting menus, a six-course experience menu and a five-course discovery menu. which will include, among other dishes, also foie gras ravioli and chicken broth “a connection between Italy and France” underlines the young chef, and Laura Peri’s pigeon with cherries, greens and white chard. In addition to the fine dining proposals, Alain Ducasse fwill also mark the Hotel’s breakfasts which will include the best of French pâtisserie. A format that will also be repeated in the Alain Ducasse restaurant inside the Romeo Roma, which will open soon, and in Massa Lubrense, on the Sorrento peninsula.