Milan / 28 posti: Marco Ambrosino, the compass

A lot has been written about Marco Ambrosino and the stage of his daily performance, 28 posti in Milan, but probably not enough, at least to the humble opinion of this writer.

Ambrosino is talented, curious and prepared: important characteristics, but certainly shared with other young and ambitious chefs. What makes him unique, or at least part of a more restricted club, is the ability to be like a compass, able to navigate in all directions while keeping its own.

His culture and knowledge makes him live a professional life that goes beyond his past and current experience and gives him the ability to create memories that are beyond his own.

He is son of the south and the north: born and raised under the sun of a small island in front of the Gulf of Naples, Procida, and initiated to the art of cooking in the warmth of the Mediterranean sea by Libera Iovine (second woman in Italy awarded with the Michelin star), all the way up to the almost arctic latitudes of the Noma of René Redzepi.

A cursus honorum, especially at the court of the Nordic Maestro, that has marked many indelibly, up to the point of losing the identity: not Ambrosino, whose cuisine navigates 'solidly' around the Mediterranean mixing the richness of the umami flavors of the sea, the saltiness of its breeze and the cultures of the populations facing it with the acidity of the fermentation and the thriftiness in the use and research of ingredients.

The aesthetic of the plates is often minimalist but offset by strong flavors and profound narration, that is ultimately responsible for the combination of the ingredients.

28 posti is the perfect stage for this narration, with its look of modern trattoria and a Nordic-Berliner touch, where the abundance of wood meets recycled materials and peeling walls.

An address worth the trip.