Brindiamo! Special edition Italy celebrate 10 years!

Everything started thanks to Elena Martusciello former president of LE DONNE DEL VINO. 

In 2007 la Sig.ra Martusciello asked me to be the Master of the Ceremony of the annual event of LE DONNE DEL VINO “In Vino Venere” the event was held at La Stazione Marittima in Naples.

I said “YES! I will be happy to be the MC, but I would like also to film an extraordinary restaurant for my new TV series”.

Filming a new series of Special edition of Brindiamo! from Italy was the best idea ever. I love to visit my country and film extraordinary places and learn about different traditions and dishes. Italy does not have one cuisines, as every small town has their own specialty food and they create their own traditional dishes.

Elena introduce me to the very best restaurant in the area, and not just because they earned the well deserved 2 Michelin stars, this restaurant was the best because the Iaccarino’s family does everything at their best!

I had the pleasure to spent a full day with the Iaccarino’s family and I could “smell” the passion for their work and the respect of their traditions.

The Iaccarino’s family is the family that keeps live the traditions of DON ALFONSO 1890, while they bringing innovations to their philosophy.

As soon as we arrived we felt home and genuinely welcomed.

The D&B (Dinner and Bed) looked amazing, they just reopened the restaurant after a major renovation and we were the first crew to film the beauty of the restaurant, and coming from New York, (where we film in very tiny Manhattan’s  kitchen), filming in the Iaccarino’s kitchen was a real treat.

The typical maiolica tiles from the Amalfi coast were bright and colorful and so were the dining areas the veranda and the garden.

I love the pink accent wall, the baby blue tablecloths and the fluffy flowery pillows (you may recognize some images in my site)

Everything looked great on camera. Mario was taking me from one lovely place to an other magical space, I was loving every single moments and I appreciated every single wall.

My long interview with Livia Iaccarino (long remember of le Donne del Vino) was interesting and informative. I learned that the very first passion and business of the Iaccarino’s family, started in 1890 in the hotellery business and I learned about the philosophy at Don Alfonso: making traditional recipes with an innovative twist, a philosophy adopted by Ernesto Iaccarino the son and chef at DON ALFONSO 1890.

I had a pleasure to cook (or better to assist) chef Ernesto while he prepared four recipes, I was amazed how many ingredients (organically grown in the garden of Don Alfonso) he uses to create what it seams a very simple and yet super tasty dish.

An other treat was visiting the cellar, the cellar is an ancient pre-roman tunnel where you can find more than 25,000 top-quality bottles. There are about  1,300 labels in the Don Alfonso 1890 cellar, and those bottles are coming from all over the world.

There is also a specific aging room for cheeses.

“Some bottles are true finds. The jewels in our treasure chest, in the hands of an expert sommelier, are the perfect “travel companions” for the meals served in our restaurant and hotel garden” the Iaccarino’s family said.

The only thing missing to this perfect experience was the physical presence of Don Alfonso. But his energy and his philosophy was around us at all the time.

Livia, Mario and Ernesto Iaccarino, where just the perfect hosts to this perfect spots in the south of Italy.

If you are in the Sorrento’s area, you must to visit this restaurant/Boutique Hotel, you are going to be truly impressed with everything, and mostly of all you are going to love the hospitality of the Iaccarino’s family.

If you are not in the area you should plan a special trip to visit DON ALFONSO 1890

 

Below some Pictures taken by Stephen Shadrach 

Livia Iaccarino, Chef Ernesto Iaccarino and Elena Martusciello