In the center of Milan, the starred restaurant with the ethical hour philosophy
Looking out from its wonderful terrace on the sixth floor which embraces the main streets of the Milanese centre, you cannot help but fall in love with the immense view which on particularly clear days allows you to see the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa and, in the evening, turns your gaze onto an illuminated and romantic Milan after the daily frenzy.
It is the splendid terrace of Horto, a restaurant with sustainable responsibility, awarded for the third consecutive year by the Michelin Guide with a Red Star and a Green Star for sustainability.
The person “responsible” for this masterpiece is Diego Panizza, visionary manager and CEO of Hortocapable of imagining the project – and what he would have transmitted to the client – when the outdoor spaces were still populated only by weeds and machinery. Horto was born in September 2022 after a long research and with the strong constraint that it would only be born under certain conditions: guarantee excellence through ethical, delicious cuisine and excellent customer services.
Alongside Diego Panizza, e to the Executive Chef Alexander Pinton, Norbert Niederkofler (Head of Culinary Strategy), three-starred chef owner of the Atelier Moessmer in Brunico. A perfect marriage between virtuous souls and philosophies based on respect for the territory, seasonality, ethics of the supply chain and the conception of cuisine as a pure art form, where extreme value is recognised, in addition to the maximum quality of raw materials, time, relationships with producers and the responsibility of choices.
After falling in love with the view and the spaces, both external and internal, made of recycled material accompanied by the freshness of a perfume created specifically for the venue, you fall in love (madly) with the food, that food which has already won a red star in the first year of activity and above all the green one, the true star desired by Panizza.
A manager capable of talking with passion about strawberries, figs, pumpkins and eggs, about the search for suppliers and seeds to plant in the gardens. Gardens characterized by the “ethical hour”.
“Ethical time – explains the CEO – it means that the raw material comes from local producers who are an hour away from here, one 100% no-waste cuisine, without waste, refined and unbottled water. There are four menus and they alternate based on the seasonality of the products; the most difficult choice was, in compliance with ethical standards, not to have sea fish, but only lake fish, a choice which however was able to reward us.”
And in combination with an ethical but decidedly tasty menu, you cannot miss the wine list (which in this case embraces the whole peninsula and beyond) which the sommelier Alessandra Veronesi praises wonderfully, inebriating you with pleasure by telling you about vines, elegance, velvety flavors on the palate.
Lately there have been rumors of the crisis of starred restaurants, but Diego Panizza seems to think in a decidedly opposite way.
Diego, are starred restaurants in crisis?
“I would absolutely like to dispel this rumor. Those who don’t know how to do their job are in crisis. Thanks to our work and our dedication, we have increased the sales. Even with regards to the restrictions on wine consumption we are lucky because being in the centre, we have both public transport and taxis that can help us from this point of view. And then, you have to know how to be creative like we do.”
A creativity, class and taste that the Horto team stages daily, to offer its guests an exclusive experience in the heart of a city that knows how to offer refined menus and dream views.
A few steps from the sky
