Winner of the VI Championship: Matteo Baronetto

Of all the Championships celebrated up until now, without a doubt it was the sixth that demonstrated the highest level among the finalists. The winner, by a unanimous jury, is one of the maximum culinary artists of the last Italian generation, Matteo Baronetto, the young yet experienced chef de cuisine at “Cracco”, in Milan, one of the finest in the Italy. He presented a formula of unprecedented creativity, making olive oil the protagonist that supported this “crème brulée”. Brilliant.

Dish: Olive oil Crème Brûlèe with Sea Snails

Receipt

• 1.3 kg squid
• 450 g Sicilian extra virgin olive oil (ideally from Calabria)
• 18 g sugar
• 6 g salt
• 2 Madagascar vanilla beans
• 50 pea sprouts
• 10 g Maldon salt

Rinse the squid and dry with absorbent paper for more or less 1 hour.
Place the squids in a large pot, cover with the oil, salt, sugar and vanilla and heat.
Place a weight over the squids and cook for 2 hours without exceeding 62ºC/144ºF.
Follow by draining and cooling to 45ºC/113ºF. When it reaches this temperature, blend finely to obtain an oily cream. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

• 200 g sea snails
• 1 carrot
• 1 celery
• 1 shallot
• 1 clove garlic
• 5 grains of white pepper
• 1 sprig parsley
• 4 l water
• 8 g rock salt
• 1/2 bay leaf
• 50 g extra virgin olive oil.

Boil water with the salt and add the sea snails along with the carrot, celery, white pepper and shallot. Drain and reserve only the inside of the snails.
Cook the sea snails in a pressure oven for 30 minutes at 120ºC/248ºF with the garlic clove and 1/2 bay leaf.
When finished, grill the snails with a little oil.
Place 45 g of the olive oil cream with vanilla on a deep plate and, with an electric salamander oven (GIORIK brand) at a moderate temperature, or in a non-ventilated oven at 240ºC/464ºF (5 minutes), cook until golden. And there you have it! A savory crème brulée! Arrange the sea snails over the cream and top with the pea sprouts and a dash of Maldon salt.