- Country: Italy
- Recipe:Linguini, shrimps and almonds
- Fish: Deep-water rose shrimp (Mediterranean)
I’m mindful that every fish we take out of the sea is one less resource for the future. Not just using local and seasonal fish, but also making a choice about the way fish are caught, is very important. Choosing fishermen and organisations that make every effort to catch adult fish of the correct size in limited amounts and using selective techniques.
About the chef
It wasn’t until halfway through her law degree that Antonia Klugmann fell in love with cooking. Her first 4 years in the business were spent interning wherever she could. Unfortunately, her apprenticeship was cut short after a bad car accident which meant she had to stay home for almost 1 year.
During her time recovering, Antonia started her own vegetable garden acquiring a newfound respect for the ingredients. She understood that the part she loved most was the creative process. In 2006, she opened her first restaurant and her dream of becoming a chef became reality.
After a 5 year experience that confirmed her strong desire to present a creative style of cuisine and that placed her on the national scene, she started searching for a new location to develop a project that could truly represent her.
She discovered a wonderful place in the countryside of the Collio region: a mill from the 17th century surrounded by vineyards and a river – Judrio – located just 1 mile from the Slovenian border. A multicultural territory where different people have continued to communicate with one another and work together for centuries, despite politics and wars.
It took 4 years to build L’Argine a Vencò; a modern structure - contiguous to the ancient mill - with large windows that overlook the garden and the vineyards. The restaurant opened its doors in 2014 and a few months later it received its first Michelin star.
The cuisine celebrates the surrounding territory; not renovating traditions but using local ingredients and the best techniques to respect their essence. The English translation of ‘L’Argine a Vencò’ is ‘The riverbank (or the river border) of Vencò’. It also alludes to the border between Italy and Slovenia, less the 1 mile from the restaurant. In Vencò, as everywhere, a border is not only the end of something but also the beginning of something else.