Published date: April 12, 2023
For those from Catania or for those arriving in the delightful side street of Via Montesano, almost close to the Quattro Canti, stopping at Ratzmataz means taking shelter, in two senses: finding shelter and adjusting. Because in the shade of the large tree in the square, this happens: you find shelter from a sultry summer day and you adjust after a frenetic day, between a glass of wine, some excellent jazz music and the warm and familiar wood that covers the walls.
And it is precisely among the tables under the tree, at the end of a plate of gnocchi with purple cabbage cream, that we meet Massimo Villardita, the mind and heart that built this small section located in Paris, in the heart of Catania.
“First there was the Fioraio Bianchi Caffè in Milan, with the idea of combining food and flowers: an immense difficulty at the time to get a license, like all innovations. The logic was to recreate a bit of Parisianness. It works. And it is still active today”.
This is how Massimo's journey into the world of cooking and sharing begins.
“I was born in the kitchen in Viagrande in 1988. With my law degree I couldn’t do anything, I wanted to become a notary. Then I moved to Milan with my wife and worked there for a long time with her. But I had cooking in my heart, at a time when no one wanted to be a chef. And it was wonderful because there I brought pasta alla norma, but with fresh tomato sauce. Really, something that isn’t even made at home anymore. And lavender crème brulée, I had a lot of variety”.
At the Fioraio he indulges in a thousand roles, making money, cooking, fighting with the administrations because serving food and flowers was not so conceivable. But he returns to Catania.
It was necessary to return to the land of the Sicilians and Sicani, to offer people a place that evokes a time never lived, a nostalgic reinterpretation. “For me, Milan is home, like Catania, ex aequo. I support Inter, so for me it is further proof of how much I feel it is home. Then I broke up with my wife, I came here, I met with the woman who is now my wife and I brought with me everything I had, from paintings to chests”.
And so Ratzmataz was born. “I have the book with the drawings of Paolo Conte, who was a great painter. And I was struck by Razmataz. And little by little I built everything. I don’t know if it’s a good or bad place, I made it my own place. I didn’t care.”
You are struck by the hand-written menu on the blackboard that changes every day: the dishes are a play of aromas, creams and combinations that manage to bring out two adjectives most of the time: "good" and "tasty".
Pumpkin soup with melted cheese, dusted with cocoa and croutons. Gnocchi with creamed purple cabbage. Poached cauliflower.
There is always a wonderful lightheartedness among the tables, everyone feels that magic that is born in front of the excellent food, the staff that calls you by name, the munching of the schiacciatine placed in the basket, to while away the wait.
“People love to drink, share simple and revisited dishes, there is no longer just food”.
We are about to end our journey through time, we say goodbye to Massimo with a reflection that we share, which is in line with our projects. “The business must not be a profit for the entrepreneur. The business must be a profit for the neighborhood. For the city. The business must have social value. We must work for this”.
And we will continue to do so Massimo.
To focus on the idea that food, when done well, generates value.
