ROME - ABRUZZO - ITALY
Niko
Romito***
In the heart of Abruzzo, a three-hour drive from Rome, the three Michelin-starred Chef Niko Romito expresses his talent in a studding mountainside setting.
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Two exclusive escapes imagined in collaboration with Chef Niko Romito
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Tasting dinner at his three Michelin-starred restaurant, Reale
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Wine, charcuterie, and cheese tasting with the Chef’s suppliers
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Panoramic picnic at Rocca Calascio castle
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Visit the Vatican before opening hours
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Cooking class in a gastronomic speakeasy in Rome
PRIVATE ESCAPES
From €2,390 per person*
Based on double occupancy
Departure from Rome
From €5,890 per person*
Based on double occupancy
Departure from Rome
*Prices may vary when booking depending on availability
The absolute lightness
Niko Romito's reserved elegance still hides the little boy who used to run through the streets of Rivisondoli with his sister Cristiana. She has always been by his side as his truest supporter through his exceptional destiny none could have predicted!
Niko Romito used to study economics at the university of Rome and to dream himself as a high-flying financial analyst.
His father’s passing, lead him instead to take over the family osteria, the Reale in Rivisondoli, when he was 25. A decade and two Michelin stars later, he moved Reale restaurant to Castel di Sangro, in a monastery dating from 1512.
In the heart of Abruzzo, this self-taught genius keeps building his "empire of taste": the Accademia Romito, a cooking school that trains about thirty students each year, and the Laboratorio Niko Romito where he leads his research on bread and exports his biscuits, panettoni, pandolci and bread all over the world!
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Castel di Sangro will also serve as a launching pad for his creative Spazio restaurants in Rome and Milan and for ALT, a “landing station of taste” for healthy made in Italy fast food for travellers.
In his restaurant Reale, Niko Romito focuses on pure and light cuisine where “the challenge is not to add ingredients but take them away!”
Niko Romito's obsessive quest for simplicity, while respecting tradition, lead him to his three Michelin stars. This ideal also helps him define the new codes of Italian cuisine where taste and intensity of flavors prevail.
Meeting Niko
As I was heading to Abruzzo to meet Niko Romito, a legend of Italian gastronomy, I was totally excited! I was nervous as well. How should I address someone that impressive? How should I interview him without being trite? How should I capture the essence of his work and share it with gourmet travellers who choose L’Hedonist to get a glimpse into his universe?
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He sat under the shade of the centennial tree that is the emblem and talisman of Casadonna – just as he did that night of 2009 when he decided to buy this medieval site and settle his new restaurant, Laboratorio, cooking school there…
I was barefoot on the grass, the sole of my feet anchored in the soil of Abruzzo that is so dear to Niko Romito. I don’t think anyone ever interviewed the Chef barefoot! It made him smile and his eyes gleamed impishly.
He told me then of his childhood, the long walks he used to take up in the mountains with his beloved grandfather who knew the land like the back of his hand; of what bread means to him; of his old friends – winemakers, butchers, cheesemakers whose wonderful products you’ll taste during your trip.
Italy is full of hidden gems. I wish this trip in Niko Romito’s Abruzzo will bring you as much deep emotions as it did for me.
Juliana Angotti, founder of L’Hedonist.