The Executive Newsletter of TheOfficialBoard

with Annie Feolde

The self-taught Annie Feolde started cooking dishes for the Wine Bar of Giorgio Pinchiorri, her husband. A dozen years later, she was awarded 3 Michelin Stars; one of the highest, most exclusive distinctions for a chef.

Located in a Renaissance Palace in downtown Florence, their restaurant Enoteca Pinchiorri is known worldwide for its pasta and its wines.

What is your secret for Italian Pasta?

We prepare our Pasta daily by mixing 15 egg yolks with 1 kg of flour. Then we shape different kinds of stuffed pasta such as agnolotti, cappelletti or ravioli. We also craft different lengths such as tagliatelle, tagliolini or spahetti alla chiterra.

In that case, we use a long specialized tool called a chiterra (shaped like a guitar), to cut the pasta into the right width. We also make dried Spaghetti with hard wheat flour.

In your world-class cellar, which of your 120,000 bottles are you the most proud of ?

Our first purchases are the ones we hold nearest to our hearts, like Sassicaia 1968/1985, Monfortino Barolo 1958/1971 from Italy; and Petrus 1961, Mouton Rothschild 1945 or Cheval Blanc 1947 from France.

We also have great new wines from Tuscany such as Masseto, Solaia, Redigaffi, Perca, Flaccianello and Silversmiths, and wines from the New World such as Screaming Eagle, Colgin, Maya, Harlan Estate, Dominus or Opus One.

And we can’t forget the Champagne, with the Krug Collection 1966, Krug Clos du Mesnil and Clos d’Ambonnay 1996, Dom Perignon Enoteque 1959, Cristal Rose 1996, Pommery Cuvee Louise 1996 or Salon 1990.

Can Glasses really make a big difference in the taste of the wine ?

Oh yes… At Enoteca Pinchiorri, we offer over 40 types of crystal glasses. There are glasses for Champagne, white wines, young red and ripe, sweet wines…. For every type of wine, we can say there is a glass to showcase it perfectly.

When a customer selects a really special bottle of wine, we will choose the most beautiful, elegant shape to give the customer the most pleasure and ensure that the selected vintage will taste the best. As a restaurant, we do not produce wine but we enhance the taste with our service.

Can you say a word about yourself ?

My passion has always been to make others happy. My husband and I share the same passion for quality. Our pleasure is to help our customers to rediscover traditional, often forgotten products and recipes such as oven-roasted pig, with its crisp skin, potato salad, beet oil, and sweet-sour shallots.

Annie Feold is one of the Grand Chefs at Relais & Châteaux, a family of 480 prestigious hotels and restaurants in 56 countries. With her husband, she owns Restaurant Enoteca Pinchiorri, one of the most celebrated restaurants in Italy.

With Pedro Subijana

You often talk about the wisdom of the ancients, how would you define it ?

As for any art or job, you first need to know the basics and to build solid foundations through academic training. Then, as you get more knowledge and practice, you get the freedom to create and to innovate.  Mixing generations in my teams and in my courses has always been stimulating for everyone including myself.

Tell us about you ?

After studying in Spain, I set up my own restaurant in 1975 in San Sebastian, my native town, in the Basque region. We are located the Igueldo Mount above the Atlantic sea. Our ambition is to be one of the hubs of creative cuisine. I also love to share my cooking secrets.

How do you teach your art ?

I have been teaching cooking on TV everyday for 15 years at Tele5 and at Etb2. It was a great way to meet and teach students every day in the intimacy of each home thanks to the massive mail contacts we had. Now, I am more inclined to give classes at my own restaurant or in schools to the younger generation of people. I wrote a dozen books. As they are all out of print, I am now preparing the next one.

Spain produces outstanding wines. What do you recommend ?

I love wines in all the price ranges. Here are some of my preferred red wines : San Vincente 2005 or Las Gravas 2006 about 20 € ; I appreciate a lot the Finca El Bosque 2007 or the Finca Dofi 2005 around 100 € ; then you can find ultimate wines such as Pesus 2004 or La Faraona 2005 for about 250 €.

Which of your many distinctions you are the most proud of ?

For any chef, the Michelin macarons are among the most prestigious distinction you can get. Each year, you also have to be good enough to keep them. We have got our third Michelin Star in 2007. This has been great recognition for the whole team.

Pedro Subijana is one of the Grand Chefs at Relais & Châteaux, a family of 480 prestigious hotels and restaurants in 56 countries. He is also the founder and the owner of Alekare, a 3-Star Michelin Restaurant located in Spain. He is teaching cooking all over the world and advises several hotel groups.