TURIN, Italy – Condividere: an Italian word meaning “sharing with others,” derived from the Latin cum and dividere.
The new gourmet restaurant CONDIVIDERE by Lavazza is the expression of a new philosophy of taste, a new way to enjoy food inspired by the informal sharing of dishes by masters.
It will be located at the new Lavazza headquarters (PICTURE), in the heart of Turin, becoming the symbol of a city that intends to play a leading role in haute cuisine, in addition to being Italy’s coffee capital.
Created by Lavazza and developed along with Ferran Adrià, CONDIVIDERE by Lavazza will feature a setting designed by three-time Oscar winner Dante Ferretti, whereas the brilliant young Italian chef Federico Zanasi will be responsible for the management of the restaurant and head the kitchen.
“Studying. Knowing. Communicating: the past is fundamental for understanding the future, and it must be clear that what we now eat and share above all is knowledge.” This is how Ferran Adrià — food philosopher and international culinary guru with his elBulli Foundation — describes Lavazza’s new project.
“The idea behind CONDIVIDERE stems from the friendship that has tied me to the Lavazza family for years. This is why, when I was asked to help research and select the chef who would be responsible for running the restaurant, I immediately offered them advice, focusing on finding a person who fully embraces our love for taste.
Together we recognized that Federico Zanasi was the right person to head this venture with charisma and skill. CONDIVIDERE will offer a shared, high-end gastronomic experience, in an environment where people can feel at ease, be comfortable and want to be together.
It will be a way of understanding cuisine, revolving around people and their need to socialise, share and seek quality and love for food. A new experience in a friendly, informal place where sharing in food is underpinned by the enhancement excellence in ingredients, as well as execution.”
“Our relationship with Ferran Adrià, marked by research and innovation, has been solid and fruitful since 2000, the year we first met in Turin,” recalls Giuseppe Lavazza, Vice President of the company.
“Seventeen years later, here we are once more with the desire to astonish each other as we plan a restaurant concept we love and that completely fascinates us, because it will be called CONDIVIDERE and will be an integral part of our new headquarters complex in the heart of Turin.
We have come up with an innovative format for a restaurant that is as democratic as it is unique marked by excellent flavours, and coming in the wake of the Coffee Design trend we launched in the year 2000: indeed, thanks to this trend, coffee was finally introduced into the world of haute cuisine with all due honour.
The time has come to offer Turin a proposal that can make yet another contribution to the already rich culinary scene of our territory and our city.”
With its 500 square metres of taste and experience, CONDIVIDERE will animate the “Cathedral”, the former Enel power plant inside Lavazza’s new headquarters.
The kitchen will be overseen by Federico Zanasi, who has been tapped to head the team of the new restaurant. Born in 1975, wilful and determined, Zanasi has been chef at the restaurant of the Hotel Principe delle Nevi in Cervinia since 2012.
He worked with Moreno Cedroni for nine years and in 2011 he won the “Best Sous Chef of the Year” award.
“The philosophy that underpins Lavazza’s new CONDIVIDERE restaurant is unique. Everything stems from a systematic study of Italian ingredients, the story of where they come from and an explanation of their history and evolution: this is the basis of the CONDIVIDERE gastronomic journey.
This is an experience in true ‘food democracy’, in which we strive to create a pleasant environment marked by informal sharing that makes everyone feel at home,” comments Federico Zanasi (PICTURE).
CONDIVIDERE by Lavazza – a temple of shared taste and coffee experiences – is being designed by Dante Ferretti, the art director who has won three Academy Awards, but was also the creative arm and friend of Pasolini, Fellini and Scorsese.
His way of interpreting this dreamlike space, which showcases time as the true value of the 21st century, is lavish yet also urban and colourful, perfectly reflecting Zanasi’s culinary philosophy.
“Inventing dreams is my job. In this I feel perfectly Felliniesque, in the sense that I like everything that materialises visions and dreams. Without seeking perfection but reinventing reality.
That’s why conceiving this new space with Lavazza takes me to the world of dreams I was talking about,” says Dante Ferretti. “I love grandiosity in my work, and simplicity in my private life. CONDIVIDERE represents me in this sense, because it connects the majesty of the place with the pleasure of being together, of eating together, enjoying haute cuisine with one’s friends, in a place that is welcoming and dreamlike at the same time”.
The roots of CONDIVIDERE by Lavazza begin with the history of Italian cuisine, which Zanasi analysed for months under the careful guidance of Adrià, following the Sapiens method at the elBulli Foundation, and also studying academic texts at the University of Culinary Science in Pollenzo, Italy.
Zanasi then reinterpreted it in a knowing mix between tradition and innovation, lending value to ingredients that are always of the finest quality. This is haute cuisine within everyone’s reach and, while it hints to the informal dining approach typical of Spain, it also wants to rediscover the social side of the typically-Italian Sunday dinner.
“CONDIVIDERE strives to bring together the excellence of our Italian flavours and our glorious culinary history with the spontaneity and joy that so profoundly characterize the most profound sense of what we mean by Italian hospitality,” adds Giuseppe Lavazza.
“Without revealing anything just yet, there will also be room for a new coffee experience that is quite unique and evocative.
In fact, for the first time, the tasting of desserts and the final ritual of coffee will be given the same attention and importance as the first part of the meal, taking place in a specially equipped separate and dedicated area for diners.
CONDIVIDERE will be a bold experiment at the service of taste, cheer, sharing, hospitality and culinary talent, while remaining accessible to all — in keeping with the finest Lavazza tradition.”
Zanasi concludes, “I showed Ferran all my determination and my desire to surprise him. What became immediately apparent to me is that Adrià wanted an all-round vision of the dish and a full awareness of what is being presented.
He wants everything to have an origin and everything to be considered and well-thought out. Seeing how the youngsters working in his Foundation follow him is in itself already an experience: he is a guru who invents passion, analyses it and places it at the service of others.”
Lavazza and Top Gastronomy
It was 1996 when Lavazza, a pioneer in the exploration of the infinite experiments in which coffee can play a leading role, first entered the field of Top Gastronomy and, with prestigious partners, the company launched an in-depth investigation into coffee, uniting a passion for flavours with a passion for traditional know-how.
Convinced of the strategic importance of this approach, Lavazza devoted important resources to developing this channel, and in 1998 it created the first division in the Lavazza Training Center, devoted to training professionals in this field and developing new tasting products and materials and dedicated to experimentation involving this product.
The experience of haute cuisine has evolved and grown with the collaboration of some of the greatest chefs on the international scene, such as Ferran Adrià, Carlo Cracco, Massimo Bottura and Davide Oldani.
Their visionary approach draws on Lavazza’s coffee expertise to invent new and surprising forms, highly imaginative in some cases, for Italy’s favourite beverage.
The leitmotif of all this experimentation is the key assumption of top quality at all times.
Since 2011, Lavazza has been a partner of Ferran Adrià’s elBulli Foundation, which calls for taxonomic analysis of food in all its forms and combinations.
Lavazza’s long path of collaboration and experimentation includes years of partnering with Identità Golose, one of the main Italian events devoted to haute cuisine.
