Between Verona and Vicenza, an ancient Palladian Villa brings bucolic atmospheres and viaggilontani
Osteria del Guà is located within the Villa Pisani complex built by Palladio in 1541, now a UNESCO heritage site.
The Villa Pisani Bonetti complex https://labarchessadivillapisani.itsiconsists of the manor house and the barchessa, which was an ancient agricultural building used for grain processing , while today it houses Osteria del Guà and an elegant relais, La Barchessa di Villa Pisani, a Michelin Key.
Osteria del Guà, https://osteriadelgua.it is a very cozy restaurant. The large stone fireplace harks back to rural dwellings . Carpets, design elements and works of contemporary art from the private collection of the current owners embellish the room. A dehors on the garden is ready to cheer patrons in warm weather.
The cuisine of Osteria del Guà
The menu of Osteria del Guà, although with some contemporary nuances of gastronomy and special techniques, places the territory at the center and thus consists of traditional recipes reworked with personality and attention. But it does not stop at tradition as such; it revives it with flair and vitality.
On the one hand,a rustic cuisine, reminiscent of the tables of the nobility of yesteryear, and on the other, distant flavors.
Riccardo Forzan bases his philosophy on the search for high quality raw materials, connection to the land and respect for the origins of products without closing himself off to foreign countries.
Biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, support of ethical livestock farming become an essential reference for the chef, but there is no shortage of exotic spices and innuendo. Forzan, who has traveled to many countries, is fascinated by Asian techniques for slow and delicate cooking; in New Papa Guinea he explored cooking meat in wood and coals. “The fire gives a special texture to the meat and does not make it lose its liquids” Even the wood he uses is researched since it is the one that will give the flavor ” I buy it in Namibia.” She has also learned to preserve the powders of the materials she uses for cooking, such as hay extract. He gets his spices brought in from abroad.
“In my cooking there is research and travel but there is mostly a lot of territory.
and rurality , from which the history of this context starts.” The rural world is somewhat of a backdrop to all his creations tinged with travel notes.
Among the short-term future plans, the chef intends to have feathered animals such as guinea fowl, turkeys, mallard quail, and raise Horses
“I am studying Palladio’s texts, but there is little mention of cooking. More than anything I refer to peasant culture also looking for connections with Venice.” . There is Veneto in the dishes but the chef also does a bit of traveling to other regions of Italy and faraway places.
For wine, too, I chose small producers, and my team is very young.
Forzan’s cooking is both simple and complex at the same time, but you have to experience it to understand how much shrewdness is behind each dish.
Our tasting at Osteria del Guà
Our tasting told us a few pages of Forzan’s gastronomic world and moved us.
We tried a small salad with three different kinds of shiso, carrot sprouts, sugar grass, cardamom essence
The 30-yolk tortelli filled with Rocca di Verano robiola cheese, Fassona tail ragout served in a Beurre blanc parsley oil sauce and Fassona tail reduction
Guinea fowl egg cream parmesan cheese and white truffle and white truffle in gentle breadcrumbs
A carnaroli risotto whipped in hay and chamomile with morels
A Controfiletto “Caledonian Crown” the highest expression in Scotland of angus , accompanied by broccolo fiolaro di Creazzo, typical of the Vicenza area, and raw cauliflower leaf with beet and spinach dried and rendered into powder
Bignet craquelin zuppa inglese a mascarpone soup
Staying in the Barchessa of Villa Pisani
Those who find themselves in this countryside area between Vicenza and Verona, in addition to the pleasure of a dinner at Osteria del Guà, can treat themselves to the pleasure of a stay a romantic and historical setting.
La Barchessa has 15 rooms, each characterized by a different touch of charm and elegance.
Adjacent to Villa Pisani Bonetti is a swimming pool surrounded by a large relaxation area, where you can spend pleasant moments in tranquility and admire the landscape of the boundless countryside. In addition, you can take advantage of thefitness area, which includes a modernly equipped gym and a Finnish sauna. At guests’ disposal billiard area, a rich library and the large park, to stroll in the green while admiring the Palladian Villa from the outside.
