The Casa Brusada lives again twice with Marco and Nicola

A revisited and curious tradition in the restaurant and in the wine shop: “The homely atmosphere immediately spreads among the customers”

CROCETTA DEL MONTELLO. “Even though I have been working in the kitchen for 30 years, it is always as if it were the first day, because I continue not only to have fun but also to discover, to experiment, to want to improve”, he says Marco Pincin, chef and owner of Casa Brusada in Crocetta del Montello. For him, born in what was the family restaurant, cooking was a choice he made when he had almost finished his university studies (Economics and Commerce) and decided to attend the Maffioli hotel school in Castelfranco at the same time, to then continue his training. in important French, Spanish and Italian restaurants. «Then, in 1998, I joined mamma Nives in the kitchen of which she was queen since 1978 after having learned all the secrets from her Mama Eugenia and having been able to give great impetus to this restaurant », he recalls. «I began by making his very traditional dishes, but I pawed to give shape to my vision, based on tradition but also enriched by what I had learned during my travels and in my work experiences. There was no lack of clashes, but I managed to win her trust first, and then to impose my ideas after 2006, when she retired from work. But even if she disappeared in 2020, her recipes and indications are still very present: every day we make pasta at home according to her recipe, her famous apple tart will always remain on our menu, as well as her recipe for roast rabbit. which, as she did, we continue to offer every Tuesday ».

But Marco’s cuisine “is made above all of curiosity”, as he points out: “It always starts with the products of our magnificent and rich territory, but I try to combine them with all my experiences and the international products that I like, without preclusions: they are born so dishes that reflect my personal culture, which is obviously above all local but also influenced by much more, such as my particular attention to spices and oriental flavors ». They have been there for years to assist him permanently in the kitchen Lola and Alessandrocapable young people who learn the lesson of the volcanic master with great seriousness: “I wanted to establish with them a relationship of great familiarity and collaboration of which I am proud”, explains Pincin “as well as with Nezha who has overseen the room for several years and with Nicola that deals with wines and the wine shop ».

Because Casa Brusada is actually two rooms in one. And above all, it is a place that has a relevant history. In August 1944 a German military convoy fell into a partisan ambush near the tavern of Andrea’s grandparents, and the Nazis reacted by setting the entire building on fire. “Grandma Eugenia and grandfather Umberto did not lose heart”, says Marco, “and shortly after they rebuilt it and called it Casa Brusada: grandmother Eugenia went back to the kitchen and taught her secrets to my mother, who already modernized it in the nineties the local. Then I arrived, who in 2000 transformed the old shop with stone walls into a wine shop, and Brusada Wines was born ».

He deals with the latter Nicola Colbertaldo, who also manages the restaurant’s wine list with a deep passion that explains: “When I was 22 I went to London for a job in a completely different sector, but an Italian chef suggested that I help him in the kitchen and I changed my life, entering a world that thrilled me so much and from which I have never strayed ”. Marco and Nicola look for new wines together and experiment with new combinations with the restaurant’s more elaborate dishes and the snacks or simpler dishes that can be enjoyed in the adjacent wine cellar: “Marco and I together select wines and local products and also share the passion for spirits, of which we offer a wide choice. One of the pluses of the restaurant is the great variety of wines in the glass to satisfy both the needs of tourists who want to taste above all Prosecco, both from Asolo and Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, and regular customers who prefer to discover our most recent and unique acquisitions. , Italian and international. But what is truly unique is the atmosphere of Brusada Wines: many customers are regulars and the homely atmosphere of our evenings also spreads to the tables of those arriving for the first time ». «It is a dynamic place, frequented by many ‘historical’ customers but also by many young people», concludes Pincin.