Friends of Pesto Fresco, this week, exceptionally, we have changed the day of release of our article on cooking and other curiosities about Ligurian cuisine.On Thursday, in fact, we preferred to make a post to express our closeness to our brothers and sisters, because they are Italian first and Ligurian second, who mourn the loss of people who were on the Morandi Bridge in Genoa at the time of the tragic collapse.We were speechless and heartbroken, so we did not feel like continuing as if nothing had happened.The enormous sadness over this tragedy stopped us.
Then life must go on and activities resume, hoping with our news to convey to you an iota of our love for our beloved land, Liguria.
Today we tell you about one of the greatest exponents of our Western Ligurian cuisine of the past, Ferrer Manuelli. Do you know him? He is a cook (because he definitely did not want to be called a chef) in love with the sea and Liguria.
Ferrer Manuelli was not Ligurian. Although, due to his shy, shy and somewhat gruff character, he seemed to be a Ligurian DOC, in reality the land that gave birth to this great innkeeper was Romagna.
He called himself the “Steward of the Bow,” this man in love with the sea as a sailor, who embarked at a very young age as a deckhand, to become very soon the ship’s cook.
Ferrer Manuelli was a cook with unique skills who stayed in Liguria by choice, personally opening and running several restaurants in Loano, Spotorno, and Borghetto Santo Spirito in the 1960s-70s.
His cuisine was offered verbally, without a written menu, because it changed from day to day, dictated by the fresh and catch of the day.
His greatest satisfaction was being able to serve his guests with his dishes, without them making demands. And it really happened that way, because they trusted him.
He had a clientele represented by many VIPs who appreciated his style in the kitchen and also knew him from his work as a food popularizer on television.
In fact, Ferrer Manuelli was one of the first chefs to go on TV, strongly desired by Luigi Veronelli in his culinary-themed programs, such as “Breakfast at Studio 7” and “A tavola alle 7,” finding great success.
The Oste di Prua achieved several important awards during his career, including First Prize for Pesto alla Genovese at the 1st Ligurian Cuisine Festival (Nervi 1960), and was recognized as a disciple of Augusto Escoffier (Sanremo 1972).
Together with Dario G. Martini he wrote a book published by Marco Sabatelli of Savona, “Pesto and Buridda,” with contributions from Luigi Veronelli and Enzo Tortora.
We will tell you about it in our next Blog, because it is a wonderful book, a landmark of our traditional Ligurian and seafood cuisine, which is also used in hotel schools.
Happy weekend to all.
Credits: Illustration by Eliseo Salino