The Lost Scarf and the Success of the Cerea Family

The secret behind the success of the Cerea family’s “Da Vittorio” was unexpectedly revealed during the grand celebration marking the sixtieth anniversary of its founding, held last night at the Cantalupa in Brusaporto, near Bergamo, when Mrs Bruna – looking extremely elegant in a straight-cut dress with a tulle neckline embroidered with crystals – bent down with the grace of her eighty years to pick up a guest’s scarf that had slipped to the floor. To the lady, who was extremely embarrassed at having been second to that petite, incredibly agile woman—who wasn’t even wearing the ‘Cavaliere del Lavoro’ pin—she replied that, for her, hospitality is sacred; she asked if she was enjoying herself and thanked her sincerely for being there. Undoubtedly, Zeus’s law – which the world discovered the day before yesterday through Nolan’s film – still takes root somewhere, and it also explains why, having set aside the somewhat boastful anecdotes recounted by Chicco Cerea in recent days in Il Corriere regarding the number of cream-filled cannoncini devoured by Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth’s second helpings of risotto, the small restaurant opened by Vittorio Cerea in the early 1960s, based on a brilliant idea – bringing fresh fish to people accustomed, at best, to Sunday stew and the obligatory polenta – has become what is known as a ‘small empire’ with a turnover of 120 million and 1,400 employees, so not exactly small after all.

Just under half of the figure comes from ‘external catering’, as the Cerea family call it – partly for the sake of elegance (the use of English at all costs has become the hallmark of those who list ‘the university of the streets’ on their CVs), and partly to signal that the three Michelin stars also apply to paccheri – the family’s signature dish, to the extent that from today onwards it has been reimagined as a dessert ‘in the style of’: white chocolate and strawberry sauce. And that ‘external catering’ has become one of Vittorio’s key strengths, alongside all its spin-off brands, strategic plans and partnerships – including Esselunga – was also evident from the number of entrepreneurs, managers, university lecturers and figures from the world of football who flocked to enjoy the more than forty gastronomic stations scattered throughout the estate’s main areas, the concert by the Milan Philharmonic and an endless array of attractions – a veritable Boccaccio-esque Land of Plenty, with a veritable stream of panzerotti, macaroni, fish and vegetables prepared by Italy’s finest chefs, both street food specialists and established professionals. We saw the president of Milano Unica, Ercole Botto Poala, piling his plate high with spare ribs, Antonella Asnaghi, the ‘PR of elegance’, waiting eagerly in the queue for a panzerotto, and generally all thousand guests lamenting their own weakness in the face of such delicacies – and the clear proof that the fashion world, for which Vittorio has been the go-to caterer for every event, fashion show and dinner for decades, eats heartily whenever the opportunity and excuse arise.

We have also seen and noted much more. For example, the agreement between Remo Ruffini, who recently acquired a stake in Vittorio through Our Group, and Silvio Campara of Golden Goose, the group of Bocconi professors led by Maurizio Dallocchio and that of the great winemakers led by Lamberto Frescobaldi and Vittorio Moretti with his daughter Carmen, the newly appointed vice-chair of Altagamma; Davide Oldani’s affection for those who ought to be his competitors; and also the understated charm of Pier Luigi Loro Piana. He too, like Mrs Bruna, is entirely free from any need to stand out or be recognised. Of all the names mentioned here, not a single one appeared in the official press release the following day. Unlike, alas, what is customary in the fashion world, even for a dinner of twenty people.