A Mamuthones mask is displayed on a table. On one wall hangs the cork used to serve roast suckling pigs, and on another, various paintings depicting the island. There are also two large screens displaying images of Sardinia: crystal-clear sea, beaches, landscapes, and recipes for traditional dishes.
The Island in America
In Weston, a few miles from Miami, Florida , there's a corner of Sardinia that for years has welcomed everyone who enters the "Zona Blu" restaurant , run by Andrea Fadda, 53, originally from Sant'Anna Arresi, who has been in America for over 20 years. His mission is clear: to tell the story of his homeland through the food he offers his customers, and then convince them to come to Sardinia. And he succeeds. "When they return from vacation, they thank me for the experience they had in my homeland, which they discovered after eating at my restaurant. This makes me very proud ," says the Sardinian chef, a true ambassador for the island. And in a few days, another restaurant dedicated to the island will open, also in Weston: it will be called "Sardinia."
The story
Those who sit at the tables at Zona Blu order spaghetti with clams and bottarga , or with sea urchins. Then there's malloreddusu alla campidanese, culurgiones handmade by a woman from Lanusei, carasau bread, fregola pasta with seafood, lamb with artichokes, and seadas (a type of pasta made with seaweed) . All the dishes are prepared with ingredients that arrive weekly from the island, including the wines, olive oil, and even the water. "Every day I bring my story to the table," says Andrea Fadda. "As a Sardinian, I couldn't dedicate myself to any other cuisine. It's an honor for me to be able to represent the island with food." But here, you can also feel the island's warmth: "My customers love coming to Zona Blu also for the way they are welcomed. They feel at home; after all, hospitality is our culture."
The mission
Andrea Fadda has managed to create a piece of Sardinia in Florida, thanks in part to his two partners, Deborah and Sheila Marras, daughters of Liliana Ledda and Giovanni Marras di Uri, who emigrated to the United States in the 1960s . Andrea and the two sisters met at his first restaurant, Pappa e Ciccia, in South Beach. "They asked me to open a restaurant with them dedicated to Sardinia," the chef explains. "And that's how Zona Blu was born. I use my art to promote the land where I was born and where I return once a year for a month, in June, on vacation."
Chef Andrea Fadda came to America after working at various luxury resorts in the Maldives, Zanzibar, the Caribbean, and Cuba. It was here that he met Kirenia, who later became his wife and mother to Javier and Daniel. "The new restaurant that will open soon," says Andrea Fadda, "will have a very similar menu to Zona Blu's. The mission, after all, is the same: to bring Sardinia to life through traditional and authentic dishes, and then convince tourists and Americans themselves to visit."
