When he left Sardinia he was 18, and he never returned except for the holidays. A life abroad, in the kitchens of restaurants all over the world, cultivating his profession and trying to «learn more and more». Alessandro Saiu, 39, from Gonnosfanadiga, has opened his restaurant, “Domu Nosta” in Berlin and is the executive chef. A place that has a very specific philosophy: «If you don't have time to wait to eat, it's not the place for you. If you're in a hurry, and you're fine with pre-cooked pasta, go elsewhere».
Hotel management school in Alghero, after some internships he packed his bags. Destination: Holland, Spain, England, Australia, Asia. A series of circumstances prompted him to stay out of Italy: «Enough with double or triple shifts, seasons that never end. This is a very stressful job in itself, passion and sacrifice are needed, but there is also a life. I'm fine in Germany, I miss Sardinia, sooner or later I'll come back, in the future».
For the moment he is concentrated on the "Domu Nosta", which has a very particular history.
«We opened on March 13, 2020, four days before the lockdown due to the Covid pandemic. We started organizing everything at the end of the year, we left for a holiday and returned on January 1st to start renovating the place. Then that terrible news, no one expected that they would deprive us of our freedom".
But she and Laura, her partner and manager of the restaurant, didn't give up.
«On the contrary, we rolled up our sleeves and invented everything to continue with various proposals. The alternative was bankruptcy, and we had great enthusiasm on our side. For example, we started selling chestnuts and mulled wine. Our luck was the fact that we didn't need a lot of personnel and we managed to survive».
Take away?
«No, never done, our food does not lend itself to being placed in containers and consumed elsewhere».
Why not?
«We have very few dishes, all made by hand and at the moment, with extensive care for the products and a high level of food handling».
Any examples?
«From the Sardinian tradition, the malloreddus, which I also propose with cuttlefish ink, and I serve with a seafood sauce, lamb with cannonau, which is what my grandmother used to prepare and I revisited in the plating, maybe I add some prunes or other ingredients that I find here in Germany: purple potatoes, celeriac. At Easter we will include Sardinian IGP lamb, and then artichokes with bottarga, culurgiones».
Family recipes?
«Many yes, I started cooking as a child, that was my game. From there my passion for this job was born. That never stops: I always create something new, it takes even weeks to invent a new dish. Crispy octopus, for example: it took me two months to make it as I wanted it in detail».
Perfectionist?
"Very. With some flaws: I push to get the best out of everyone, whether it's the dishwasher or the assistant cook. In the kitchen you work like when you make a pit stop in Formula 1, you need a lot of concentration».
What do customers say?
«We have 15-20 seats, not many, so there is a lot of care for each of them. I pass between the tables to collect their impressions and they are always happy, the proof is in the fact that they come back. Sometimes they have prejudices because they see that we only offer two or five courses, we have abolished the pasta dish divided in two, which is typical in Germany. But then they change their minds."
Anyone disgruntled?
«Some Germans on the combination of artichokes with bottarga: "In my opinion they don't go so well together". But it's a very particular taste, you can like it or not, there's no arguing about it».
What do you prepare by hand?
"All. From fresh pasta to civraxiu, it takes time but the result pays off. What we offer is not a first or second course, it is an experience, with obsessive attention to every detail».
What comes from Sardinia?
«The raw materials: I mostly choose suppliers from my area, there's one who produces abbamele practically just for me. Then artichokes, cheeses».
Is it true that restaurateurs can't find staff because nobody wants to work in this sector anymore or is it true that they are underpaid professions?
«They are two truths. Even in Italy we need the minimum wage, together with defined hours, the right rest. If you offer these elements, you find who to hire. This summer in Sardinia, I too happened to find places closed for lunch because they had no staff».
Should Sardinian kids who want to be chefs go abroad?
«It is an experience that in my opinion gives a lot. The more you travel the more you learn. Of those I know who have attended hotel management schools, 70-80 percent have done quite the opposite, in Sardinia as outside. This job gives a lot of satisfaction but requires sacrifices before seeing any results, so there are many who abandon it. And then, let's face it, he's not super paid."