July 29, 2022

4 and 5 August for the 30th edition of A Tavola sulla Spiaggia

The summer festival conceived by Gianni Mercatali to proclaim the Piatto Forte 2022 returns

For the third time, the challenge to the last ladle on the 'noble sands' of Forte dei Marmi will take place without public involvement. Thanks to the understanding and collaboration of Carla and Gherardo Guidi, the 2020 edition already took place 'behind closed doors' at the Capannina. That Capannina was born 93 years ago right on the dunes of a beach that did not yet have a promenade. The same format was repeated last summer and so it will be again this year. So we will be back at the Capannina again for the race.

"It has been 30 years," says Gherardo Guidi, "since Gianni Mercatali proposed to me the realisation of an event that was an authentic novelty. I immediately understood the originality and goodness of his project, among other things at a time when the theme of cuisine was not as popular as it is now among the public and the media. I was right to believe in this idea which, thanks to excellent organisation over the years, has become a true format, consolidating and achieving the success it deserves. This year too, the Capannina is ready to welcome participants and jury with the atmosphere that matches the philosophy of the event".

30 years also recounted in a book just published by Gruppo Editoriale.

The jury tables will be 4, arranged in a perimeter on the traditional dance floor, for a total of 40 metres for 40 jurors with a distance of one metre between them. The event, presented by Annamaria Tossani, is a "mouth-watering" show that will proclaim the 2022 "Piatto Forte" dedicated to Forte dei Marmi, whose Municipal Administration has renewed its patronage once again this year. The "golden colander" created by Petruzzi & Branca of Brescia will be the symbol of victory in this original social-gastronomic talent show. And to celebrate these first 30 years, there will be a special prize, which we will tell you about in the new entries section. The First Absolute Prize of the Press Jury will instead be dedicated to the Capannina and Parmigiano Reggiano.

There will be twelve competitors, divided into the four categories of starters, first courses, main courses and desserts, although, on the beach, these categories traditionally disappear. As many wines will be paired with them. The catering service will be provided this year by Ghirlanda&Milano who, in just under 3 hours, will serve 12 gastronomic proposals with their team to 40 jurors, changing 480 dishes and 12 wines by replacing 480 tasting glasses.

Gastronomically, the theme of recovery is back, of recycling cuisine, of the sublime art of preparing good and healthy dishes without throwing anything away. So much so that also this year the organisers have invited all partners to donate their products to the Banco Alimentare della Toscana, a structure that the event organisers have been supporting for years.

The jury includes journalists, opinion leaders, wine producers, chefs and restaurateurs for a total of 15 Michelin stars, although we are still waiting for confirmation from Gennaro Esposito of the two-Michelin-starred restaurant La Torre del Saracino in Vico Equense. It will be great to find him at the Capannina paired with Cristiano Tomei, that nice but strict couple in the judges' panel of the TV programme Cuochi d'Italia! The now-faithful Gianfranco Vissani will be there, as well as Versilia's starred restaurateur friends.

The wines paired with the 12 dishes represent a little of the vineyard Italy Centre-North: from Friuli with Eugenio Collavini to Veneto with Bellussi, to Piedmont with Peck's Barbera, to Tuscany with La Tognazza, Castello Banfi in Montalcino, Cecchi's Val delle Rose in Maremma, Fittipaldi women from Bolgheri, to Fiesole with Bibi Graetz, to Chianti Classico with Cecchi's Villa Rosa, to Chianti Rufina with Frescobaldi's Castello Pomino in magnum, to Umbria with Arnaldo Caprai. The only non-Italian wine was Perrier Jouet champagne.

The new entries closely linked to the world of food this year are three. Noalya, Alessio Tessieri's cultivated chocolate, which will see his wife Marianna in charge of packaging on the jury. Lube, the brand that narrates the customised kitchen to be built around the individual, which will see dealer Ivan Puosi on the jury. And then Peck, the haute cuisine brand born in Milan in 1883, which last year opened its first Italian shop outside the Lombard capital in Forte dei Marmi. The jury will include Leone Marzotto, who has held the role of Vice-Charmain & CEO of the historic company since 2016. "Whoever wins the Peck - Forte dei Marmi Award will have their dish for a week on the menu of our delicatessen in Forte dei Marmi made, following the recipe, by our kitchen," said Marzotto.