The new Olivina restaurant
Hotel Castelfalfi, the hospitality heart of the eponymous ancient village, reopens for the season with many new features, including its new showcase restaurant Olivina, a gem designed by internationally renowned designer Henry Chebaane.
The Paris-born British artist took up the challenge of rethinking the form and function of the hotel main restaurant, creating a spectacular environment for all the senses. Chebaane conceived the space as a panoramic promenade, inviting guests to taste the flavours, aromas, sounds, colors and textures of the Tuscan landscape.
“The idea of the entire concept came to me, one early morning, after I took a long walk through the entire Castelfalfi estate, listening to the birds, smelling the dew over the olive trees, and absorbing the soulful elements of the 800 years-old agricultural heritage steeped into the land.”
Thus, was born Olivina, a dramatic stage for the 21st century, dressed in a rich and elegant palette of regional materials, in soft tones of terracotta, copper, oak, bronze, cereals, grapes and olives.
A tribute to this legendary Etruscan land of vines and olive trees and inspired by the green translucent stone that its ancient inhabitants called the "gem of the sun", Olivina aims to be a uniquely immersive Tuscan culinary experience: a dynamic combination of modern bistro and artisan ateliers with wine room, delicatessen, bar, bakery and cooking show. The restaurant will also welcome external visitors to its gastronomic destination, under the direction of Kitchen Manager, Davide De Simone. His menu proposes an intriguing dialogue between the culinary traditions of the province and his modern cosmopolitan experience acquired during a life of travels. “Our cuisine is straightforward and elegant, free from useless elaborations. We firmly believe that ingredients should always prevail over any creative excess. Our vision, therefore, leaves no room for the misunderstanding according to which dishes in top-level restaurants must always be complex. Today, in fact, it is often easy to assume that "refined and gourmet cuisine" means a dish with too many overlapping ingredients, even when not necessary” says De Simone. According to Chef Davide De Simone, the most elegant dishes are precisely those that enhance simple flavours: carefully sourced, local and seasonal ingredients, preferably from organic farming but always exquisitely prepared and presented to enhance their flavour. They are quality products with a slow vocation, for their lightness and above all for the joy of being at the table together.
