July saw the opening of RIGO’, a new restaurant from Gonzalo Luzarraga and Francesco Ferretti, chronicling Gonzalo’s culinary journey from his childhood in Piedmont to time spent in some of the finest Michelin starred kitchens in Europe. French and Italian inspired, RIGO’ will combine modern fine dining with a respect for the season’s lesser used ingredients and unusual flavour pairings along with global influences reflecting a well-travelled life, or as he describes it ‘a kitchen without borders’.
RIGO’, a word which in Piedmontese means a journey of rigorous research draws from Gonzalo’s own experience of food; from the very first taste of his grandfather’s bread on the French borders of Italy, to learning the art of foraging from Walter Eynard in Torino, mastering classical French techniques in Alain Ducasse’s institutional Le Louis XV and winning a Michelin star in 2005 at Le Clivie.
‘I remember my father, while fishing, giving me my first sea urchin as a child, and to this day it’s still a dish I see as an old friend; the recipe is much more than words on the page, it’s a moment in time, a personal narrative about me and the dish which has developed over the years. Travelling has allowed me to add chapters to that story, full of new ingredients and techniques from Russia and South America to Asia and beyond. RIGO’ is a culmination of those experiences—my journey on a plate,’ says Executive Chef Gonzalo.
Embodying the effervescent aesthetic of 1950s Milan, RIGO’ is housed within a quintessential Victorian building. An open kitchen at the heart of the restaurant sits behind a terrazzo counter, while a small bar, best placed for a quiet drink before lunch, is backed by midnight grey tiles and flanked by a handful of seats.
