Gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian: the chef talks about the philosophy behind a project designed to combat what he calls ‘dietary discrimination’
With its Maggiore lake-side location, chef Ferdinando Moia has designed his restaurant around the idea that no-one should feel left out where dining out is concerned. Close to fifty years in kitchens, canteens, delicatessens and professional training have strengthened his beliefs. ‘We’re all equal and it is ridiculous that people should have to worry about getting ill when they eat out.’ This is the simple but farsighted idea behind a restaurant which has been entirely gluten-free since 2021, with something for everyone, not just celiacs and those with a gluten intolerance. ‘I wanted to set up a place in which no-one can say ‘there’s nothing for me here’, said Moia. It’s a philosophy which has made the restaurant an international benchmark with clients from the United States and Scandinavia attracted by the opportunity it offers for a no-limits quality culinary experience.
And inclusiveness is not just a matter of food here. The restaurant’s first employee was Giacomo, a young man with Down’s syndrome who is a food server now. ‘A good culinary symphony requires a conductor with a good relationship with his musicians,’ explains Moia, noting the difficulties he himself experienced at the beginning of his career, when rigid hierarchies and humiliations were the order of the day in the restaurant world. Now he has transformed this experience into a very different vision based on respect for people and an appreciation of their value.
This comes across in the menu, too. Around one third of it is vegan and designed to eliminate key allergens such as milk and eggs. One of his symbol dishes is his ‘non-squid’ designed to emulate the texture and flavour of squid in a version accessible to vegetarians and those with allergies. And then there are the risottos, the chef’s true signature dishes: from a vegan asparagus and bell pepper cream risotto to his DOP Taleggio cheese and grape must risotto revolving around sweet-savoury contrasts.
With his special Navigazione Lago Maggiore restaurant service concession, Moia has been following this same philosophy in his on-board kitchen, and food is primarily a hospitality and dignity tool for him. The words of his many customers after their meals confirm this: ‘Thanks for thinking of us.’
