The Margherita family built the Palazzo Margherita in Bernalda (Matera) during 1892. This small town in Basilicata was the birthplace of Agostino Coppola (1883-1964), the grandfather of the American movie-director, Francis Ford Coppola. Agostino always referred to Bernalda as “Beautiful Bernalda”, although he never returned after he immigrated to the United States.
Instead his grandson Francis began coming to Bernalda in the 1960s and in 2005 bought Villa Margherita, which after restoration he opened as a hotel in 2012.
Today this elegant hotel, with a touch of Arabesque in honor of his Tunisian grandmother, exudes a refined, understated and comfortable 19th-century romantic style reminiscent of “Il Gattopardo” (“The Leopard”), a novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. Its nine suites on two floors are each different from the others, but all have tile floors and magnificent hand-frescoed ceilings.
Matera
Palazzo Margherita is a perfect “Hub” for visiting Matera’s “Sassi” and Greek ruins of Metaponto as well as the numerous wineries in the nearby environs. Our special correspondent Lucy Gordan interviewed Tommaso Lacanfora, Palazzo Margherita’s Executive Chef since the hotel’s inauguration.
Metaponto
Our tastes in food are closely connected to our childhood; what are your first memories of food?
I was born in the center of Matera on September 8, 1988. My father was, still is, a farmer of fruit and vegetables. “I maritati, meaning the married ones, a mixture of our local homemade pasta —orecchiette, cavatelli, and ferritelli, with a ragù sauce made with several different meats: (chicken, meat and pork) is the first dish I remember.
Are there any other professional chefs in your family?
Yes, two of my mother’s brothers work in the hospitality industry. Uncle Mario is a chef. Now he is also the owner of “Le Dodici Lune” (“the Twelve Moons”) in Matera. Instead Uncle Donatello was a hotel director; these days he does consultancies.
Mario was my first teacher, he’s my mentor. He was the Executive Chef at the “Magna Grecia Hotel Village” in Metaponto. I worked under him as an intern. I learned all the basics of cooking from him.
The first dish that you cooked by yourself ?
A fish risotto in 2004. My uncle kind of supervised. In the end he was not very impressed.
A brief summary of your career before Palazzo Margherita?
After Hotel Management School here in Matera and my “Stages” in Metaponto, I spent four years in Germany at the Hyatt Regency Hotels in Cologne and in Düsseldorf. Then I returned to Italy-to Tuscany- to the Hotel Belvedere in Montecatini. Then in 2012 Signor Francis opened Palazzo Margherita.
How did you meet Francis Ford Coppola?
In 2011 when Sofia Coppola got married here at Palazzo Margherita, Signor Francis asked the other hotels and restaurants nearby to help out. I was working in Montecatini at the time, but my uncle contacted me to come for a day’s tryout. I met Signor Francis and I’m still here.
Is he very demanding?
Oh no, he’s one of the sunniest people I’ve ever met in my life. He loves to cook with me. One of his favorite dishes is my lamb casserole with roast potatoes and lampascioni or wild hyacinth bulbs. He loves “capriata”-a legume soup-too.
What are the essential qualities of a top chef?
As my colleague Vitantonio Lombardo recently told you: “Heart, Head, Guts.”
What do you like best about your work?
I’ve always loved to be in front of the stove. I really love my profession. Each new dish is a new challenge for my self-betterment.
The least?
This work is very demanding; it requires lots of sacrifice because you’re forced to spend a lot of time out-of-the-house. It compensates by giving you a lot of satisfaction. Seeing smiles on the lips of people while they eat your cooking is wonderful; it fills your heart with joy.
In a nutshell how would you define your cuisine?
That here at Palazzo Margherita we promote local cuisine and propose the typical dishes of Basilicata.
What are your signature dish and other specialties?
It wouldn’t be completely truthful to say all the ingredients we use at Palazzo Margherita are “Kilometro 0”. Instead I’d say “Kilometro lucano” because, if I have to go 80 kilometers to the Parco Nazionale del Pollino to buy an exceptionally delicious salami, I have to drive 80 kilometers, but I’m still in Lucania as Basilicata is also called. Believe me, it’s worth the drive. It’s fair to say, nonetheless, that the vegetables and fruit here are “Kilometer 0”.
As for my specialties: “I Maritati”, the “Lamb with Roast Potatoes and Lampascioni” casserole, my ricotta cake and my version of tiramisu, which I call “tiramisud”. Instead of ladyfingers I use homemade bread and I use ricotta instead of mascarpone.
Other chefs you admire?
Antonio Guida, Massimo Bottura, Vitantonio Lombardo, and my Uncle Mario.
Up to now you’ve told me about Tommaso Lacanfora the chef; I’d like to know more about Tommaso Lacanfora himself.
What are your favorite foods?
Dishes from Basilicata, the dishes of my childhood prepared by my mother. I especially love the “lamb, roast potatoes, and lampascioni casserole.
A dish you dislike?
Innards.
Your favorite wine?
Primitivo di Matera and Aglianico del Vulture.
Your favorite sweet?
My “Tiramisud”.
Your favorite color?
All shades of green; Basilicata’s fields in spring.
Chefs are well-known for having collections of motorcycles, fast cars, or fancy watches; what about you?
I have a beautiful car, an Audi, and a Harley Davidson 1600 Dyna Super Glide, but I certainly don’t have a collection.
If they hadn’t become chefs, Heinz Beck would have chosen to be a painter, Gualtiero Marchesi a pianist, what about you?
I probably would have become a farmer. It’s not impossible that someday I’ll become one. My parents have around 30 hectares of land. Land doesn’t disappear so you never know.
Do you have a pipe dream?
I was born here in the Basilicata. I know all its best produce and many producers. I have a good network I can count on that would take time to set up elsewhere. Since I want to bring out the best of the Basilicata and promote it, my plan is to stay here.
What do you love most about the Basilicata?
The variety of its landscapes, the views that are so beautiful they take your breath away, its mysteriousness, and its authenticity, its genuineness, which other pats of Italy and not only Italy have lost.
Since it’s not easy to reach, why should a tourist travel to Basilicata?
Because people have been living here since the beginning of recorded history. Then for the beauty of its nature, for its traditions, for its history, for its food, for its monuments, its beautiful sandy beaches and clean sea, and the warmth and friendliness of the lucani.