A Party with a Purpose - My Three Nights in Vico - Pt 1

Last week in Vico Equense (Na), the party to end all parties came, saw, and conquered the heart of hundreds of chefs and great food lovers alike.  I was part of that crowd of foodies who headed towards the sleepy Sorrento coastal town at the tip of the peninsula.  I wrote about Festavico a couple of weeks ago here.  I wrote about how this party with a purpose's goal was to raise money for 3 charities.  I'm happy to report that over 140,000 euro was raised over three evenings beginning with night one.  The Food Republicwhich was  held in downtown Vico, consisted of nearly 100 chefs doing cooking, tasting, and sharing with the thousands who stopped by that evening. 100 chefs means 100 dishes, which was nearly impossible for me to even think of trying.  So here's a look at what caught my eye and palate that evening...

Let's begin with this plate, which I will definitely say wasone of my favorites of the evening. Chef  Ciro de Marino  presented his slow cooked pork layered in soy sauce, honey and topped with nuts. He placed this cube on top of a fondue of fior di latte cheese alongside Neapolitan escarole. Tempo di cottura? I asked, Cooking time?  
48 hours was his response.
It paratically melted in your mouth.  Tenderissimo!

I bumped into executive chef Eduardo Estatico.  We hadn't seen each other in a few months, and one of the first questions he asked was 'come stanno i ragazzi?/how are your students doing?" this chef, like many who are participating in this event, have a deep desire to 'give back' to the community any way they can, spending what little 'free time' they have to raise money for charity. we chatted for awhile about the new season, his new menu - and this...his shrimp bon bon (from capri - of course), ricotta, hazelnut, peaches and bergamot from Calabria

Moving along, I ran into a fantastic pair.  Chefs Maurizio De Riggi and Faby Scarica.  Together to present De Riggi's dish...an escarole soup (served cold) with  citrus-marinated salmon, raisins in maraschino, parmigiano cheese and saffron reduction, and crispy bread chips...
refreshing 

Chef Francesco Fusco  presented his baccala'/cod mousse with a wild garlic/aglio orsino infusion, bell peppers and hazelnuts

Chef Giacomo de Simone's dish : tubetti pasta with lucerna and squid...

Chef Giovanni Sorrentino's vesrsion of stuffed pasta with beans and  mussels...

Chef Giulio Coppola, fresh back from Milan, presented a tasty country dish.  Hunter style chicken with a big chunk of bread to soak up the sauces.

Chef Lorenzo Montoro's dish received its own blog post a while back.  His jazzed up tomato tartare with all kinds of summer goodness featured here in his dish called 'Un Estate Fa'...

Chef Michele De Martino's parmigiana di alici fredda..a parmigiana made with marinated anchovies...

Mimmo De Gregorio had one of  the hottest dishes of the night.  This homestyle cannelloni sold out fast. A favorite with the kids as well!...

 And speaking of tradition, it was hard not to pass up this ragu cart.  Chef Mimmo De Simone prepared one of Il Bikini's top dishes...past with a ragu sauce featuring Riccardo Scarsellil's secret recipe...

I lived in Japan in the arly 90s, so this plate brought back memories...Chef Kotaro Noda's potato spaghetto with biutter and anchovies... 

Chef Saul Halevi of Phoenicia Hotel Malta was also in town last week...I met him in a cake shop where he presented this dish: a shrimp tenderly wrapped in kadaif with a capsicum sauce, and an emulsion of butter and white wine. served with olive powder and wild strawberries..

Sunday evening also had its share of stars out that night.  Michelin stars like Chef Salvatore La Ragione with a hearty dish of pasta with meatballs.

I had just enough time and space for dessert, so I hoped over to see Carmen Vecchione and try one of her light fruit tarts....

What an evening...what a party...a party part 1 of 3...