Adagio Chef’s Table: Where Piedmont and Sicily Meet in a Culinary Narrative by Mario Maniscalco
Starting in April, the fine-dining restaurant Adagio—located within the Relais Almaranto—will launch one of the most intimate and immersive experiences in its culinary offering: the Chef’s Table. An exclusive format, designed for a maximum of six guests, where the cuisine becomes a vivid, direct, almost intimate narrative.
The star of the show is chef Mario Maniscalco (born in 1993), Sicilian by birth and Piedmontese by choice and training, who brings to the table a distinctive, profound cuisine capable of transforming tradition into a contemporary language. Not a simple fusion, but an authentic dialogue between two strong gastronomic cultures, which come together without ever losing their distinct identity.
Here, every dish is born before the guests’ eyes, taking shape in real time, crafted through gestures, techniques, and memory. The journey unfolds as a sequence of “one-bite” creations—small expressions of culinary thought in which Piedmontese tradition is reinterpreted through the chef’s Sicilian perspective and roots.
With this concept, Chef Mario takes the idea of “open kitchen” to a higher level, bringing the magic of “behind the scenes” to life in an even more intimate and engaging way: it is not the guest who observes the kitchen, but the kitchen that moves directly to the table.
In front of a maximum of six guests, the ingredients arrive “raw and unadorned” and take shape before the diners’ eyes, through express cooking, molecular techniques, and meticulously plated presentations.
A close encounter with the chef’s creative flair, blending the warmth of Sicily and the elegance of Piedmont in twelve creations cooked and served in real time. The “one-bite” style courses take diners on a sensory journey that blends the chef’s culinary roots.
There is no set wine pairing: four wines and a sparkling wine are served to start, selected and paired on the spot, chosen from Piedmontese and Sicilian excellences and small Italian producers.
Capunet, plin, arancino: regional icons transformed into new narratives. The interpretation of the arancino is particularly emblematic, becoming a meeting point between North and South, blending Piedmontese ingredients such as veal cheek and Moscato di Canelli in a surprising harmony.
“My cuisine stems from the meeting of two strong identities: Sicily, which represents my roots, and Piedmont, which shaped me,” says Maniscalco. “I don’t want to overturn tradition, but to infuse it with my own experiences, creating a dialogue between flavors, techniques, and memory. The Chef’s Table is the ideal place to share this journey, in a direct and authentic way.”
The experience comes to life within the Accademia Adagio, the Relais’s cooking school, which for the occasion transforms into a veritable gastronomic theater. Deep-frying, grilling, and live preparations unfold before the guests, who witness every stage—from preparation to plating—while engaging directly with the chef.
It is not just a dinner, but an exchange: a continuous dialogue made up of stories, inspirations, techniques, and the local terroir. A moment in which tasting becomes a shared, personal, and immersive experience.
Among the most representative creations, two dishes stand out as symbols of this meeting between North and South:
ARANCINO DI GUANCIA
A tribute to Sicily enriched by Piedmont: Gigante di Vercelli rice (Slow Food Presidium) enveloping a veal cheek slowly cooked with vegetables and Moscato di Canelli. The dish is finished with a reduced demi-glace sauce, pea purée, and a Moscato foam, striking a balance between intensity and delicacy.
RABBIT TONNO CAPUNET
An elegant reinterpretation of a great Piedmontese classic: rabbit tonno, prepared according to tradition and preserved in oil with spices and aromatic herbs, is wrapped in savoy cabbage leaves and accompanied by a siphoned red onion foam and a tangy vegetable gelée, creating a play of contrasts and depth.
An experience that goes beyond the dish: it is memory taking shape, identity telling its story, the point where two distant lands cease to be apart and become, simply, a single shared emotion.
