Sapori Ticino 2023: three dinners in dishes

The 17th edition of the S.Pellegrino Sapori Ticino dinner series continues throughout the month of October up to 12 November. The event, which pairs stars of Swiss hospitality with stellar chefs from the world’s best Michelin-starred restaurants – this year, solely from France – continues to showcase incredible culinary talent collaborating for dinners of the highest standard. 

After the initial inauguration gala and the first four dinners, the next three took place in various locations in the canton. Here you can see a selection of the dishes that were served.  

12 October: Restaurant Seven, Ascona 

_{Blue lobster from Brittany à la royale, 'cardinal' whipped apples}

Chef Nicola Leanza was joined in Ascona by guest chef Benoît Carcenat of two-Michelin-star La Table du Valrose, Rougemont, Switzerland, also Best Chef 2023 Gault Millau Suisse. After travelling the world to build his culinary experience with the likes of Joël Robuchon and Benoît Violier, chef Carcenat came to Rougemont in a chalet in the heart of the Vaud Alps in 2021 to start his own restaurant, claiming a first star for the restaurant a year later. His cuisine respects the seasons and honours local producers, and he is committed to authentic quality and the care of their magnificent terroir, harmonising flavours and textures. 

_{Noirmoutier sole, cucumber, Taggiasca olives, pistachios}

_{Finger food}

17 October: Blu Restaurant & Lounge, Locarno  

_{Finger parmacotto}

Joining chef Davide Asietti at Blu was guest chef Florent Pietravalle of one-Michelin-star (and one green star) La Mirande in Avignon. In the luxury hotel La Mirande, originally the palace of a 14th century cardinal, in the heart of Avignon, at the foot of the Palais des Papes, chef Pietravalle creates an intense culinary journey into the beauty and diversity of Provence.  

Originally from Montpellier, and after spending four years in Pierre Gagnaire's kitchen at Le Balzac in Paris and before that Joël Robuchon and Jean-Luc Rabanel, he opened La Mirande in 2016, at the age of 28. His cuisine is technical and refined, fresh and highly creative.  

_{Finger food}

_{Black pear tart}

18 October: Grand Hotel Villa Castagnola, Lugano  

_{Madou: 'Elderly cold tea' – aubergine chokha with dashine flour – olive oil tartlet with seaside crab and vegetable caviar}

Cooking alongside chef Alessandro Boleso on 18 October was guest chef Marcel Ravin of two–Michelin-star Le Blue Bay in Monaco. With an innovative style, Ravin passionately orchestrates the kitchens of the Blue Bay, the restaurant of the Société des Bains de Mer's Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort, located on the edge of the Larvotto peninsula.  

From the Caribbean, his culinary experiences take in Alsace, Lyon and Brussels, arriving in Monaco at the age of 21 to combine his origins with local Mediterranean produce. Today, after 20 years, his cuisine is a bridge between the five continents and his own island of Martinique. The result is a cuisine full of energy and optimism.  

_{Spiced sweet bread with old agricole rum figs, sorrel milk and flower pollen}

_{The chocolate of my childhood in three phases}