L’Imbuto

L’Imbuto (literally, “The Funnel”) is an internationally renowned gourmet destination, which has been awarded a Michelin star.

Yet it is not the usual restaurant: it has no street view, no sign to draw the attention of passers-by, and no menu either.

Just a few steps away from the famous Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, L’Imbuto sits in the lemon house of the historical Pfanner Palace: a “compendium” of austere Tuscan history, explosive contemporary art and amazingly inventive cuisine.

Cristiano Tomei uses every technique in the kitchen: from marinating the yolk in the water of peeled tomatoes to hanging the pigeon over a hot plate for hours; from cooking the roots in salt to the cold infusion of earth and water to make the “foundation” for a soup.

Yet he is a self-taught cook: a graduate at the Nautical Institute, he started training by helping with family lunches – based on Viareggio’s sand arselle and wild asparagus from the hills between Lucca and the sea – and travelling with surfing friends to then leave them in the waves to explore the markets, taverns and gourmet restaurants of the Basque Country, Cuba, Peru, Madagascar, and India.

As a chef, he uses all the possible techniques in the world but only locally-sourced ingredients: fish from the Tyrrhenian sea; meat, dairy products, fruit and vegetables from Garfagnana; herbs, berries, shoots and wild flowers that he collects every day in the pine forest and in the meadows he has known since he was a child.

He loves introducing his own dishes in person to L’Imbuto’s guests: flavours, textures, combinations, wine and conversation become one, stimulating curiosity and turning on the fun for those sitting at the tables but also for those standing and serving.