Ride and Create : Andrea Sarri

Andrea Sarri – The Star Chef

Receiving a Michelin star is the Holy Grail for a Chef, the recognition of their tireless art. It crowns creativity, talent, and the sheer hard work of an establishment, striving for the very best possible quality.

But keeping one's star is often depicted as a subject of stress or even anguish for a Chef, the fear that the Michelin inspectors, who will arrive incognito, will

enjoy the experience which achieved it in the first place.

But Italian chef Andrea Sarri seems quite serene about keeping his star. The first restaurant he opened in 2002 obtained one after only a few years of business. It only took six months for the current establishment he runs in the small Ligurian town of Imperia to be recognized by the Michelin inspectors.

It seems this serenity may come from the long hours spent on his bike in the hills and valleys of Liguria. Our chef has as much passion for cycling as the culinary arts, inseparable from each other, according to him.

Pedalling is not just an escape; he is accustomed to riding throughout the year with professional cycling friends based on the Côte d'Azur. And Sarri annually records more than 25,000 km on the clock. Andrea should have become a professional cyclist, but life decided otherwise.

During three years of study in computer programming, he dreamt of something else. He told his father, himself a restaurant owner in Imperia, “I want to become a cook”. Andrea left his studies behind, and trained to become a chef. A lot of work followed, learning the trade.

And in 2002 the dream became a reality. The small 30-seat restaurant is always full, its young team working in the kitchen and in the dining room with the same passion as Chef Sarri. At the table, the dishes follow one another like so many works of art in a gallery, like a firework display of colours, scents and flavours.

When asked about the process of creating culinary works and the role that cycling plays in this process, Andréa makes an astonishing comparison to the world of digital information he left behind to become a chef: He explains to us that over time, his brain – like a database – has stored thousands of smells, tastes and flavours with astonishing precision.

He assures us that for him it is not necessary to smell or taste to imagine a dish, he is able to mentally associate ingredients. His outings in the mountains, on the Mediterranean coast, turn out to be favourite moments to create a new dish. Sensory research, at speed.

The tempo of a bike ride is the perfect opportunity to awaken feelings. A sudden smell from a kitchen in the hills, a thought, a sight or a sensation can generate an idea, and spark a new firework display. Back in the kitchen, he will programme this idea using his personal database.

The Sarri restaurant offers local cuisine, rooted in the purest Mediterranean tradition. Seafood, fresh vegetables and herbs are at the heart of Andrea's cuisine. These elements that form the basis of his cuisine are present everywhere just metres from his restaurant; in a market square, around a bend, in the fields of a neighbouring farmer... At the heart of refinement, the Sarri restaurant offers a family experience. His wife, Alessandra, reserves the best welcome in the dining room with attention and delicacy, a peaceful

atmosphere reigns in the small team which makes the success of a starred restaurant.And then eating at Sarri also means belonging to the great family of cyclists. So, if the chef comes to your table, don't just talk to him about his cooking, also talk about his cycling, you'll see in his eyes those other stars, not the ones that hang outside the restaurant, the ones out there in the hills and valleys of Liguria.

Anne Pesce

For over 15 years, Artist Anne Pesce has been repeating the same ritual every day. Just before 6am, when day is barely breaking or is still completely dark, she leaves her apartment on her bike to climb the Col de Vence.

IZU ANI

Izu Ani is a well-known chef on the Côte d'Azur, he has a habit of appearing at the Café du Cycliste in the port of Nice like magic. When he enters the place, he completely inhabits it with his energy and charisma, changing the atmosphere in an instant.

PIERRE LEOPOLD

Pierre is a specialist in Drosophila, the fruit fly that is used to understand genetics. Outside the laboratory, cycling is for Pierre essential, and he explains to us that riding and research form a complementary whole.

RÉMI CLERMONT

Rémi Clermont is creative director of Café du Cycliste. Here he speaks about creativity, and the vital role his own cycling plays in the process.