Pietro Catalano has made a name for himself in Valais, Switzerland with over 12 Gault Millau points. Now he runs his own restaurant in Lucerne where he offers his guests experiences that appeal to several senses. For the set-up of the kitchen he relied on the services of Electrolux Professional, who demonstrated once again the expertise in fine dining.
In 2018, Pietro took over “Heidis Hütte” on the Fiescheralp in Valais. Within a short time, he earned 12 Gault Millau points there, before later achieving 14 points with the Riederfurka restaurant. After five years in the mountains, Pietro returned to Central Switzerland last year to open his own fine dining restaurant, the CAAA.
All the equipment is visible to guests at the CAAA, even those used by the chefs. During installation, he was able to rely on support from Electrolux Professional. Andreas Schmid not only took care of the planning and of all the kitchen equipment, but also of the legal aspects in consultation with the owner of the building. For Pietro it was ideal to have one contact person for all matters. For him it was clear from the beginning that he wanted to prepare his dishes on a stove from the traditional French manufacturer Molteni. He had his “Rolls Royce of stoves” made in black, with gold-colored frames and fittings.
“The Molteni fits perfectly into the sustainable concept of the CAAA, which sources almost all of its food from the region”, Pietro says and adds “The kitchen installation was subject to a tight schedule – thanks to the cooperation with Electrolux Professional, it was a perfect success”.
Optimally configured kitchen.
The Molteni kitchen includes four full-surface induction hobs, a pasta stove with a capacity of 40 liters and a grill plate. “Relatively simple – but the configuration is ideal for what the kitchen is used for,” says Andreas. The whole kitchen is ideally coordinated with the other appliances: these include two six-burner combi steamers from the SkyLine premium line, a “Salamander” grill, a nine-liter deep fryer from the HP line and a vacuum sealer. Another challenge was the washing-up area, which was initially planned for the bar at the back of the restaurant but was then moved to the front of the kitchen.
“That’s not really how you do things in an open kitchen,” explains Pietro. “This also raised the question: how do we solve this in terms of noise so that the guests are not disturbed? But the Electrolux Professional team found a solution for this too, in the form of a hood-type dishwasher that can complete up to 80 wash cycles per hour with minimal noise. The machine is already well insulated. We also had a partition wall made in front of the washing-up area,” explains Andreas. An undercounter dishwasher is also included in the bar.
The team of Pietro Catalano also includes his wife Chef Elena and his sister Stefania, managing director of CAAA.
“Why Electrolux Professional?”
“The Molteni fits perfectly into the sustainable concept of the CAAA, which sources almost all of its food from the region”, Pietro Catalano, gourmet chef and restaurant owner of CAAA
List of installed equipment:
Molteni stove
Salamander
SkyLine Premium S oven
Hood Type Dishwasher
Undercounter Dishwasher
Vacuum Packer
Fryer