MATTER FROM A TRIP AROUND SICILY
Discovering a place is refined at the dining table. That is why we imagined a journey that starts from the island's recipes and reinterprets them using top-quality ingredients under the guidance of Bianca Celano.
THE CONCEPT
The idea of Materia | Spazio Cucina is one of a journey that stops off at small artisanal productions, fuels up on tradition and the farmersâ arms, the fishermenâs hands and the artisansâ tenacity, until it reaches our kitchen, the landing point for our curious, keen guests.
Materia is the completion of the Habitat experience as imagined by the architects Marianna Nociforo and Antonio Spera: its clean lines, the renovation of a historical building and the story of a contemporary Sicily allow you to get a taste of a generous island, interpreted by a passionate crew.
Bianca Celano
Bianca Celano is the Head Chef at Materia | Spazio Cucina.
In 2020, Bianca was given the task of selecting the Sicilian delicacies to cook to offer guests at the Habitat Hotel the best of local production. Her dishes conjure up the dinner table from long ago, where her family gathered, and contain those contaminations that come from tasting food around the world. The raw ingredient is at the centre of her cooking, no compromise: respect for each ingredient, the desire to optimise them while eliminating waste, the constant influence of seasonality, all in line with Habitat's ethical and sustainable values. A young, keen crew are by her side to liven up Materia from the early hours of the morning until the evening.
AREA AND ARTISANSHIP
Habitat's gastronomic laboratory is based on a circular philosophy in which every single ingredient - in whichever season it appears in - is used to the utmost of its potential. This is a choice made to reduce waste, to stimulate imagination and to interpret the ingredient in every facet, to âpreserveâ fruit and vegetables by making jams, preserves and jellies that can be used at other times of the year and sold in the Habitat Bottega shop.
From the Nebrodi to Etna, through the Catania Plain countryside as far as the Agrigento area, from the district markets and the Fish market: Materia | Spazio Cucina is born of a careful selection of raw ingredients. The pantry is filled with honey from Etnaâs black bees, Sicilian Perciasacchi and Russello organic flours, Roman almonds from the Val di Noto, candied orange and lemon from the Sicilian master confectioners, Nebrodi black pork cold meats, a selection of local cheeses and yogurts, ricotta from Vizzini and many other Sicilian delicacies, as well as herbs from Habitat's Orto degli Aromi, the hotel's vertical herb garden in the courtyard.
A long way from stereotypes, close to nature and artisanship: it is a question of Matter.
