Hello Mr. White - Kresios, Telese Terme (Bn)

     

Chef Giuseppe Iannotti

A little less than a month ago, I was watching an IannottiLAB IG stories live and thought to myself  - when was the last time I saw the chef face to face?  I was curious if he, Iannotti, had decided to change his style after the restaurant reopened post Covid 19 lock down.  His unique style, one that has earned Kresios a Michelin star. I typed in my question and hit send.  A few minutes later, Chef Giuseppe Iannotti answered my question.  No. was his response, and it really didn't surprise me.  Though many experts in the field had declared that Italy's fine dining restaurants would suffer because diners would want to return to more traditional menus, Iannotti has held his ground.  Why change?  If anything evolve.  Move forward - as Kresios has been doing year after year after year..  And with that, I went to the restaurant's website and reserved a table for lunch for 3 July - one month after his the restaurant reopened.

It had been awhile since I hit the road for Kresios, a mini oasis located in the heart of Telese Terme, in the Benevento province.  Awhile...yikes - nearly 3 years!  The drive was familiar and relaxing. I must have changed my mind about what to order as often as I changed the radio stations during my nearly 55 minute drive. A visit to Kresios is what I like to describe to anyone who asks me as an experience. An experience in the form of two tasting menus - Mr. Pink and Mr. White. Two menus who get their names from the 1992 Quentin Tarantino movie Reservoir Dogs.  

Two names, two menus - blind tasting menus.  Meaning that though you decide the menu, the chef decides what leaves the kitchen - what arrives at your table.  And like Tarantino's movie, which I have seen over a dozen times, though a menu item may look familiar - there is always something that hits you.  And hits you hard.

I arrived, was greeted at the gate by Maitre Sommelier Alfredo Buonanno, 

and put my mask on the table.  

I couldn't help but notice the small subtle changes in the dining room since my last visit - new tables to begin with - and of course, the masks.  Masks that we all have grown accustomed to over the last few months...masks that may have been uncomfortable for the Kresios dining room and kitchen staff, did not take away from the quality of service that I was expecting.

So, Karen...Mr. Pink or Mr. White?

Mr. White, I thought.  Bring it on.  

At that point, my lunch began with a series of 30 + items poring out of the kitchen one after the other...wine pairings?  I left myself in the hands of the very more than capable Bounanno - one of the best young sommeliers in Italy. 

Alfredo Buonanno

                                            

There were familiar items, favorites, surprises..

Let's take a look, in random order....

bread made with  two kinds of  flour type 1 and type 2, 72 hours of leavening and fermentation,  and baked  in a pan to keep the humidity higher !!

cannelloni with tomato ice cream, tomato powder, basil powder and parmigiano cheese.

Ooops!  Here is a fav!  Roasted chicken chip...

and a creamy creamy creamy potato bite....

shhhhhh!

ssshhhh...part 2!

 There were dishes, such as Iannotti's classic spaghetti allo scoglio. A pasta dish featuring 50 different fish in the sauce.  Fifty! A dish that I love and  could not help but think back to when Iannotti's right hand man Eugenio Vitagliano prepared it for me back in 2017.  This time with a mask.   

And a white wine paired especially for this dish!!! How cool is that!!!

                                             

                  

Then a pastina for the little child in all of us...

Dessert....starting a kick off fantasticaaa!  A dish that I named Snow in July..featuring snow and falanghina del sannio cooked must.

As usual the arrival of the petit fours, the piccoli pastries signal that the meal, the tasting menu, has terminated.  That, however, does not mean that the experience is over.  A coffee, a stroll through the garden, a walk through the vineyards, a chat or two with the chef...

I took advantage of my time and discovered exciting plans that Iannotti has in store and will reveal soon - so stay tuned!

Oh, and in case you are asking why I didn't put many descriptions next to the pics...well.  Like a trailer to a film...there should be just enough to make you curious. And like any Tarantino film - Mr. White should surprise...and in some cases, shock you...no matter how many times you may have seen it.  Like it did for me.  

Hello Mr. White...and buon pranzo!