From Pietrasanta with love: Visiting Italian chef brings home taste to Ravello's menu

If you chase the fresh, authentic flavors of Italy at Ravello Ristorante to their origin, they’ll lead you across the sea to a grandmother’s kitchen.

That’s where visiting chef Gianluca Tolla of Pietrasanta, Italy — Montgomery’s sister city — learned to love food.

“It started out when I was really little. We were living in the countryside, so I had time with my grandmother to bake cakes, do fresh pasta and fresh breads… My love comes from that,” said Tolla, also known as Chef Luca.

He’ll be at Ravello for the next five months through the Montgomery Pietrasanta Culinary Exchange Program. During his time here, Tolla will offer special chef dinners with a curated menu, and will lead cooking classes and culinary workshops with live demonstrations.

The award-winning chef was already familiar with Montgomery, having visited in 2019 to work with Vintage Hospitality and Ravello executive chef Eric Rivera on dish techniques. Tolla was also here for Ravello’s groundbreaking at 36 Commerce Street.

“It’s definitely a big change, a completely different city,” Tolla said, comparing Montgomery — founded in 1819 — to Pietrasanta (“Sacred Stone”), which has been around since 1255. The two cities have been sisters since 2009, facilitated by the Alabama State Council on the Arts.

What helps is that Montgomery’s people have made him feel welcome — from the staff at Vintage Hospitality and Ravello to people he meets on the street. He likes how warm everyone is.

“Everybody that I meet are like really (the) best guys,” Tolla said. “I haven’t felt that lonely and that far away from my house, even though I have a family and I have kids. I do miss them. But apart from that, I’m having a good time.”

At Ravello, Tolla said he especially enjoys talking with guests as they dine.

“Almost every night, someone with their food asks to meet me… That’s really nice. That makes me feel at home, even if they don’t speak Italian,” Tolla said.

Tolla said his goal this time around in Montgomery is to work with Rivera to push Ravello’s menu “a bit more toward the sky with excellence.”

“We have plans to continue to change some of the menu items, and continue to develop them,” Rivera said. “The food that we’re now doing with Lucca is more about the process of it. Taking out any unnecessary ingredients and simplifying it. Simple cooking and very clean cooking is more traditional.”

One way is through introducing new dishes like a hanger steak appetizer and linguine pomodoro — a recipe and technique handed down from his grandmother that everyone should try at least once in a lifetime, Tolla said.

“It’s the simplicity of the dish that makes the greater dish,” Tolla said.

A couple of staple offerings Tolla is especially fond of is the beef carpaccio and the mafaldine al tartufo — mafaldine pasta, exotic mushrooms, baby arugula and truffle cream. He’s also very fond of the risotto.

“The risotto is actually done the exact same way that we do in Italy,” Tolla said.

So what’s the biggest difference between American-Italian and authentic Italian dishes?

“A lot,” Tolla said. “That’s probably a question that you need five minutes to think and ten minutes to answer.”

Rivera said big part of American-Italian food is an excess of sauce and salt — we tend to eat a lot of both.

Tolla said real Italian dishes should be fresh, light and offer a taste explosion that’s easy to understand. Good technique makes for a great dish, he said.

“Little by little, we try to improve each dish for the customer,” Tolla said.

Though he likes beer, Tolla said most Italian dishes pair best with wine, and that Ravello has a nice selection available.

“I would definitely go for wine,” he said.

So are there any Southern dishes Tolla has grown to like here in Montgomery?

“I did try the fried catfish, and I did love it,” Tolla said.

He’s likely to add a few more Southern dishes to his list in the months to come, and is very interested in trying barbecue.

“I want to try to go out on my days off and see what Montgomery offers,” Tolla said.

Montgomery’s cultural exchange with Pietrasanta goes beyond the culinary arts. Dancers from here have journeyed to Italy for Danza in Arte a Pietrasanta, also known as the DAP Festival.

“I’ve met many people from Montgomery in Pietrasanta,” Tolla said. “In my restaurant in Pietrasanta, they were actually coming to see if I was there.”

Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel covers things to do in the River Region. Contact him at sheupel@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Visiting Italian chef brings taste of home to Montgomery's Ravello