The Chef, originally from Riccione in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, has more than 25 years of work experience behind him and a very clear identity and idea in mind. Federico Sisti is the chef and owner of Ristorante Frangente in Milan. Initially opened as a delivery service in April this year, it was then converted into an innovative restaurant with a fresh and youthful approach. It mostly offers express cuisine that revolutionises the market offer, with 10 à la carte dishes and as many off-menu dishes, which vary according to ingredient availability. A cuisine concept that Chef Sisti has decided to share through the use of GICO equipment.
‘Tradition never dies’: this is how Sisti describes his cuisine. Tradition must always be the foundation of a great dish, which should be interpreted according to one’s views in order to create something truly memorable. ‘When it comes to cuisine, you never stop learning’, the chef reminisces. In fact, his cuisine is constantly evolving and is the result of extensive experience in the field. Throughout his career, he has worked in all kinds of environments: from simple, traditional Italian “osterias” to multi-starred restaurants, also working alongside renowned international figures in the catering industry.
‘I think that the first thing to do is to decide what our cuisine proposal will be: what kind of cuisine we want to offer, what kind of dishes and what kind of service. Once the basics have been laid down, it will be easier to understand what equipment and machinery, what kind of cooking and how much wattage you need to be able to run your restaurant efficiently.
In our case, for example, everything has been thought through, right down to the millimetre. We knew we had a fairly limited amount of space available and that we were going to offer mostly express cuisine. By working together with GICO’s designers for about a month and a half, we developed and designed a custom-made solution with a single “Fusion” worktop. An open-plan kitchen with 6 induction plates, a griddle and a kettle.’
‘It has numerous advantages. For example, for our express food service, we need to be able to cook food quickly and accurately. When serving, there is no margin for error. And since we tend to cook a lot of dishes on the spot, we need to have equipment that precisely responds to our every command. And GICO’s solutions allow us to work to the best of our ability.
Another particularly important aspect, which should not be underestimated, is the safety and well-being of the people who work in the kitchen. Unlike a gas range, an electric cooker “burns” less oxygen in the kitchen and does not heat up the room as much. In this way, we are able to work in better conditions, which we have decided to guarantee to our staff, thanks also to a project design based on the heights of the machinery, which we agreed on together with GICO’s engineers and were designed to allow the chefs to stand upright, thus drastically reducing the risk of injury.
Last but not least, the concept around which the whole philosophy of our Frangente restaurant revolves: sustainability. We share this value with GICO and embrace it, since we firmly believe that everyone has a part to play in the future of our planet. We embrace it by reducing waste as much as possible, in terms of both consumption and raw materials, thanks to a perfect workflow that we have carefully planned together with the designers; but also thanks to the design of the restaurant, which we like to describe as “state of the art”. An example? The dining hall flooring is made entirely of wood, a material that keeps temperatures mild both in summer and in winter, which means that we require less power for cooling or heating the restaurant.’
‘The first thing is tidiness and cleanliness. It is a sign of respect not only towards our customers but also towards ourselves and our work. This is of the essence in a restaurant such as Frangente, which has an open-plan kitchen. Cleanliness and tidiness during the preparation process, when serving customers and afterwards too. The “Fusion” single worktop solution of our GICO kitchen ensures maximum hygiene as it is completely seamless. Not only is it easy to clean the kitchen, but it can also be done in less time.
Customisation is another must have. For Frangente, we chose an open-plan kitchen so that we could allow our customers to be in direct contact with it so that they can see what really goes on in the kitchen. In this respect, the project developed with GICO has made it possible for us to combine functionality with a highly attractive design. From customised burgundy knobs, which perfectly complement the design of the whole restaurant, to the kitchen’s ergonomic lines.
Ultimately, the “human touch” is a must in my kitchen, i.e. the contribution of the chef who – thanks to the equipment available – is able to add a personal touch to each finished dish.’
We would like to thank Chef Federico Sisti for his time. Make sure you go and see him at Frangente Milano, to find out more about his cooking philosophy and the “state-of-the-art catering” concept that he told us about.
Thanks to Icaro Srl for the photos and cooperation.
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