Nino Bergese: chef of kings and king of chefs

Mangiare da Re - Bergese's royal fare

Nino Bergese was born in 1904 in Saluzzo, a historic town in the province of Cuneo. A true Piedmontese heart, he - nonetheless - played the lead role in the post-WW II Genoese gourmet scene. A young man of humble origins, Nino started working for affluent families. His reputation as a chef grew in the Twenties among entrepreneurs and aristocrats all over Italy. In 1926, while he was serving for the Sant’Elia household, he created his amazing “torta fiorentina” (i.e. Florentine cake) – a masterpiece of shortcrust pastry, crème pâtissière, chocolate fondant, and royal icing - on the occasion of the 22nd birthday of the heir to the Savoia throne, Umberto.

Decades later, the “chefs of kings and king of chefs” (a fitting definition by gastronome Luigi Veronelli) opened his restaurant in Genoa, the capital of Liguria. La Santa, located in Vico Indoratori (a nice carruggio of the historical centre close to Piazza De Ferrari whose name hints at the ancient craft of gilding, became the gourmet stopover of the local bourgeoisie and captains of industry. Bergese’s risotto al fondo di cottura (bound with a sumptuous long-reduced beef glaze) was addictive. I can provide first-hand evidence myself: the memory of that 1973 family dinner is still vivid in my heart, as it marked the beginning of my personal culinary bildungsroman. After achieving Michelin’s second star in 1969, the chef ran the place until 1974, when his retirement plans were undone by Gianluigi Morini, who coopted Nino at the San Domenico in Imola (always hyper-starred and active).

A rich collection of his recipes features in “Mangiare da Re”, an evergreen blockbuster published by the Feltrinelli publishing company: its 13 sections span from the basics of cooking to pièces de résistance such as sauces and patisserie. A culinary galaxy of old-fashioned charme that still provides a souvenir of bygone hard-working Genoa, a crossroads of business and trades.

Luisa Puppo

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