The hospitality of Valle dell’Erica in prime time on the famous German television format, in a challenge that was anything but simple: recreating the dishes of hostess Chicca Ortu.
Kitchen Impossible is one of the most followed and appreciated cooking shows in Germany. Broadcast on Sunday evenings in prime time, it combines cuisine, travel and the discovery of the most authentic gastronomic traditions.
The episode, aired at the end of April on the German channel VOX and available for streaming on RTL+, brought the cameras to Northern Sardinia, into the kitchens of Ristorante Li Ciusoni, inside the Valle dell’Erica Resort.
The star of the format is German chef Tim Mälzer, who in each episode challenges another chef, sent to an unknown destination to face a complex test: reproducing a typical local dish without knowing either the recipe or the ingredients.
During filming at the Valle dell’Erica Resort, chef Alexander Herrmann, holder of two Michelin stars, accepted with great humility and enthusiasm a challenge that was anything but simple: reproducing some traditional dishes, the raviolo and the Gallurese soup prepared by Chicca, hostess of Ristorante Li Ciusoni.
The challenge revolves around the famous “box”, a black box containing the original dish. The chef can taste it and observe it, but must then recreate it relying exclusively on personal experience. The result is judged by regular customers and local people, called on to assess how faithful it is to the original dish. The final score determines the winner of the challenge.
C Endemolshine | Kitchen Impossible © Photos of: RTL / Endemol Shine / Henning Kretschmer / Alina Hildebrandt
The hostess is Chicca Ortu, who at Ristorante Li Ciusoni guides guests in discovering the most authentic flavours of Gallura, through recipes that enhance simple ingredients, traditional preparations and dishes linked to the culture of northern Sardinia.
Preparing specialities such as Gallurese soup or raviolone is much more than following a recipe: it requires an eye for detail, manual skill, knowledge of the ingredients and a balance that is built over time. Chicca Ortu’s presence told a precious part of Gallura’s gastronomic identity: a cuisine born of tradition, home flavours and precise gestures passed down over time.
Gallurese soup is one of Gallura’s most representative dishes: a rich and hearty preparation in which a few ingredients are transformed with patience into a dish with an intense and recognisable flavour. Raviolone too, with its filling, the sealing of the pasta and the right balance between texture and taste, requires experience, precision and a deep knowledge of local tradition.
For this very reason, the challenge took on a special value: even for a Michelin-starred chef, reproducing these dishes without knowing the recipe proved anything but simple.
A special thank you goes to Chicca Ortu, who with her professionalism, her experience and her deep connection with Gallurese tradition was able to tell, through her dishes, an authentic part of the soul of Valle dell’Erica.
