How did Dario Cecchini become the world’s greatest butcher? Birthright, respect for animals, and working every day except Christmas. Yes, as we found out in an exclusive interview with T+L Southeast Asia, soul is the secret ingredient at his new restaurant, Bottega di Carna in the Mondrian Singapore Duxton. Watch the video, and find out what makes this legend of carnivorous cuisine cry.
AGED 19 WHEN HIS FATHER DIED, Dario Cecchini had no choice but to give up studying veterinary medicine at university, and instead take over the Tuscan butcher business that had been in his family for seven generations. From gentle beast-healer to visceral flesh-monger may seem a rather drastic switch, but Cecchini sees compatibilities between the vocation he first pursued, and the one thrust upon him.
“There will be no future for carnivores unless it is an ethical future,” he tells T+L SEA in an exclusive interview, leaning on the kitchen counter at his new Singapore restaurant, Bottega di Carna (a mellifluous moniker which translates into English as the far less lyrical ‘meat shop’). “If we do not work hard to guarantee the animals a good life, and as dignified a death as possible, and if we don’t take care to use every part of the animal in the best way possible, there’s no future for meat.”
The man known as the world’s greatest butcher, who became famous preparing and devouring glistening morsels of beef on Netflix show Chef’s Table and Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, Cecchini says we need to approach meat-eating with due reverence. “In ancient times, killing an animal represented a sacrifice — the task was often left to priests. This is true for many cultures still today, that religious leaders are the ones to oversee the killing of the animal, and I feel that we need to honour this sacrifice because it is the death of the animal that nourishes our lives.”
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Bottega di Carna Interior
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FROM LEFT: Bar Interior; aperitivo
Whether they happen to visit his restaurants in Chianti’s Panzano or Singapore’s Chinatown, Cecchini hopes to provide “not just a good dining experience but a good sustainability experience for our clients.” In his opinion, “Food in general but meat in particular needs to not only be delicious and look good, but it also needs to have an honest story behind it.” The diner must know, says Cecchini, “We are doing just work here.”
READ OUR REVIEW OF THE NEW MONDRIAN SINGAPORE DUXTON HERE
Conducting the interview in Italian, interpreted by his American wife, Cecchini frequently uses the word anima: soul. “I’ve always thought to find positive energy in everything that I do,” he says. “I’m not doing this to become rich. I have never done anything that my soul doesn’t feel is correct. I think I have passion, but also great good luck.” Tears come to his eyes. “Even if, even if I think that my greatest good luck is my love for my wife.”
It was in his grandmother’s kitchen that Cecchini’s fell in love with the ‘scrappy’ pieces of meat and offal that were once reviled by food snobs, but are now revered by nose-to-tail aficionados for both their flavour and sustainability bona fides. Cecchini says it’s the family dining experience that is the root of the world’s abiding affection for Italian cuisine. “In Italy, we use food not only to nourish our families but to carry forward a sentiment of unification,” he says. “Food for us is a gift that we give to those we love. The more food we can share, the more people we have around us that we love.”
WATCH OUR INTERVIEW WITH DARIO CECCHINI, THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS BUTCHER, HERE:
Meat up with your nearest and dearest at Bottega di Carna at Mondrian Singapore Duxton hotel, open daily for lunch and dinner. For reservations go to book.ennismore.com/hotels/mondrian/singapore-duxton/dining
BOOK YOUR STAY AT MONDRIAN DUXTON SINGAPORE VIA BOOKING.COM
Images courtesy of Bottega di Carna.
