How one Italian chef is fighting to keep authentic Italian cuisine alive in Copenhagen
Table of Contents
- From Rome to Copenhagen: A Chef's Journey
- The Personal Chef Business Model
- The Challenge of Authenticity Abroad
- The 20% Reality
- When Customers Ask for the Wrong Thing
- Education as the Key to Change
- Teaching Children About Real Italian Food
- Making a Choice as an Entrepreneur
- The Danish Market and Italian Cuisine
- Simple Dishes, Extraordinary Results
- Competing in a World of Michelin Stars
- How the Personal Chef Service Works
- The Mission Continues
In a world where "Italian" restaurants often bear little resemblance to authentic Italian cuisine, Chef Massimo Ricci stands as a guardian of culinary tradition in Copenhagen. With over twelve years of experience in Denmark and a deep commitment to preserving the integrity of Italian recipes, Massimo offers a unique perspective on the challenges and rewards of bringing genuine Italian food culture to Scandinavia.
From Rome to Copenhagen: A Chef's Journey
The Transition from Hobby to Profession
Massimo Ricci's story begins in Rome, where cooking started as a passion and hobby about twenty years ago. "What was a job in Rome, but above all a hobby and a passion, transformed here in Denmark into a real profession," Massimo explains.
After moving to Copenhagen with his wife and daughter over thirteen years ago, Massimo took the bold step of creating his own company, offering 360-degree restaurant services with a core focus on personal chef experiences.
Building a Business in a Small Market
Denmark presents unique challenges for any food business. "We must always remember that all of Denmark has less than six million people," Massimo notes. "The capital, Copenhagen, has about one million people, but the rest are scattered across the national territory on a thousand small islands."
His business operates primarily in Copenhagen and within a fifty-kilometer radius of the Danish capital, serving one of three major Danish cities—Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense.
The Personal Chef Business Model
A Comprehensive Service Offering
Massimo's company doesn't just cook—it provides a complete culinary experience. The services include:
- Personal chef experiences at clients' homes
- Catering for events ranging from couple's anniversaries to weddings
- Cooking classes
- Promotion of Italian culinary culture
"We go, either myself or with collaborators, to cook at the homes of clients who call us for various events," Massimo describes. This intimate approach allows him to bring authentic Italian cuisine directly into Danish homes.
The Challenge of Authenticity Abroad
The 20% Reality
One of Massimo's most striking observations concerns the state of "Italian" restaurants in Denmark. After conducting recent research, he estimates that "no more than 20% are truly Italian."
"By truly Italian, I mean that the owners or the cooks are Italian," he clarifies. "Because ultimately, the biggest real problem I think exists here in Denmark—but I also see it in other parts of Europe and I think in the world—is safeguarding Made in Italy in terms of authenticity."
The Importance of Cultural Background
When asked whether a skilled non-Italian chef could create excellent Italian dishes, Massimo offers a nuanced response rooted in culture rather than nationalism.
"It's clear that even an Italian cook can work very well in a French restaurant or a Japanese restaurant. You can do anything if you're good and have the will to do it," he acknowledges. "But I make it a question of culture, a question of habit, a question of flavors and smells that we breathe, that we've always breathed since childhood in our families first, and then for those who no longer live in Italy, also abroad."
He adds a poignant observation: "In fact, I'd say that abroad we feel this need to experience the product and the Italian atmosphere even more, because clearly you're living in a reality that isn't Italian."
When Customers Ask for the Wrong Thing
The evolution of Italian cuisine in Denmark reveals how easily authenticity can be compromised. Fifteen to twenty years ago, there were very few Italian restaurants in Denmark, with French cuisine dominating the scene. The subsequent influx of Italian professionals improved the situation, but challenges remain.
"We strive every day to maintain an Italian identity even in recipes, because it often happens that living in a foreign country, recipes get contaminated by what the customer wants, by what the territory wants," Massimo explains.
The Classic Examples
He cites the most common culprits:
Carbonara with cream: "For us, it's something clearly inconceivable, but abroad they ask you for it."
Spaghetti Bolognese: "It doesn't exist in Italy—or very few restaurants in Italy offer spaghetti Bolognese, and they do it because they have a clientele that's mostly foreign. Foreigners are used to eating that type of dish, so they ask for it and you put it on the menu."
Pizza with pineapple: "They also ask us for pizza with pineapple and spaghetti with ketchup—they ask for all these things. It's not that they don't ask us, but clearly you have to make a choice."
The Critical Decision
For Massimo, this choice defines a restaurant's identity: "Do you want to maintain a Taliban identity about food and recipes and take one path, or do you want to be contaminated for economic interests? Because I understand it's clearly easier to accommodate what the customer wants in the territory rather than somehow impose your cuisine, your recipes, and say no, this dish must be made this way, the recipe is this, the Italian recipe is this."
Education as the Key to Change
Teaching Children About Real Italian Food
Perhaps Massimo's most impactful work happens twice a week at an international school, where he teaches cooking classes to children. He works with two classes—one for children aged 8-10 years, and another for those 10 years and older.
"We verify every day the requests of children that clearly come from what they eat at home," he explains. "You cook a dish, even a basic one like spaghetti with tomato sauce, and there's the child who says, 'Yes, okay, fine, but where's the ketchup?' Because for them, evidently, pasta with tomato sauce is pasta with ketchup."
Breaking the Cycle
Rather than accommodating these requests, Massimo and his team use these moments as teaching opportunities.
"We try not to compromise, to create a sort of food education and say, 'Look, ketchup isn't the healthiest thing in the world, so avoid it—take a tomato, which is a simple thing,'" he describes. "And I must say that the response is there."
Making a Choice as an Entrepreneur
Massimo is clear about his position: "I decided to propose only and exclusively real and true Italian cuisine. Others don't do this, but I'm not saying my method is right, I'm not saying the other method is right. It's a choice, it's a choice that as an entrepreneur you make, it also depends on the situations."
This choice reflects a deeper philosophy about Italian cuisine: "It's not just the taste of the food, it's precisely the fact that Italian cuisine is based on the idea that what you eat must be healthy."
The Danish Market and Italian Cuisine
Simple Dishes, Extraordinary Results
One of the fascinating aspects of Massimo's work is how dishes considered ordinary in Italy become extraordinary experiences for Danish clients.
"Many dishes we propose—I'll say the simplest things—a good lasagna, proposing it at a dinner in Italy would find little response, because we're used to it, our families, our people are used to cooking in a certain way," he explains.
The Lasagna Example
In Denmark, however, a properly made lasagna is revelatory. "The lasagna that Danes make or usually find in supermarkets—they buy béchamel sauce ready-made in a box, they buy lasagna already pre-made and dry. Nobody dreams of making pasta to make lasagna, ragù in a certain way, béchamel made the way it should be made at home."
"They assemble elements they find at the supermarket and make themselves lasagna. It's clear that when they go to taste a lasagna made properly, the difference is there and it shows."
Competing in a World of Michelin Stars
Denmark's culinary scene includes world-renowned establishments like Noma, which was the world's number one restaurant for five years, and Geranium. The Scandinavian cuisine essentially invented by Noma has achieved tremendous success.
"We also position ourselves and compare ourselves with realities completely different from ours, which however doesn't mean they're unsuccessful—on the contrary, they have a lot of success," Massimo observes pragmatically.
He's clear about the distinctions: "If I'm a personal chef, I can't compare myself with a Noma-type situation, with a restaurant like that, because we're talking about two completely different businesses."
Yet despite the competition from high-end Scandinavian cuisine, Massimo remains confident: "We can be influenced by Japanese, we can be influenced by French, but in the end, Italian cuisine is the one that always ends up winning in the long run."
How the Personal Chef Service Works
From First Contact to Final Cleanup
Massimo's process is thorough and client-focused:
- Initial Contact: Clients reach out via social media, website, email, or phone—though much business comes from word-of-mouth
- Planning Meeting: A site visit to where the event will be held
- Menu Agreement: Collaborative menu planning with the client
- Dietary Needs Assessment: Detailed discussion of food intolerances, celiac disease, and allergies
- Shopping: The team handles all ingredient procurement
- Cooking and Service: Arriving at the scheduled time, cooking on-site, and serving
- Table-side Explanations: Presenting and explaining each dish—"That's an important thing because otherwise the whole thing remains very anonymous"
- Complete Cleanup: Tidying, cleaning, and leaving the space immaculate
Special Attention to Safety
Food safety is paramount. For their daily catering service at an international school, "In the request, in the contract we sign, there's a page dedicated to food intolerances where parents must sign and guarantee that the child isn't intolerant to anything."
This attention to detail has paid off: "We've now reached our twelfth year of activity, always growing, and so we definitely manage to satisfy what the market asks of us."
The Mission Continues
An Ambassador for Italian Culture
Massimo sees his work as extending far beyond just cooking—he's an ambassador for Italian culinary culture in Denmark. His commitment to authenticity, education, and quality has built a sustainable business model that proves doing things the right way can succeed commercially.
"When you want a moment dedicated to the goodness of Italian dishes but also to the history of Italian dishes, Massimo and his team will tell you about it," he says, inviting clients to experience not just food, but culture.
Supporting the Greater Mission
When discussing projects like Real Italian Restaurants that promote authentic Italian cuisine abroad, Massimo is enthusiastic: "Everything that can help maintain the culture of Italian cuisine, promote Italian cuisine, certainly can only do good for situations, especially abroad."
His final message is one of solidarity: "Don't give up, continue, because we need it too."
In Chef Massimo Ricci, Copenhagen has found not just a talented cook, but a cultural guardian—someone who understands that every carbonara made without cream, every lasagna crafted from scratch, and every child taught to choose fresh tomatoes over ketchup is a small victory in preserving the authentic soul of Italian cuisine.
For more information about Massimo Ricci's personal chef services in Copenhagen, visit his website or follow him on social media: Coo-King | Instagram | Facebook
source https://www.realitalianrestaurants.com/blog/preserving-italian-culinary-identity-in-denmark-a-conversation-with-chef-massimo-ricci
No comments:
Post a Comment