Ep. 1686 Giulia Stocchetti Interviews Gilles Coffi Degboe | The Next Generation

The Italian wine podcast is the community driven platform for Italian winegeeks around the world. Support the show by donating at Italian wine podcast dot com. Donate five or more Euros, and we'll send you a copy of our latest book. My Italian Grape journal. Absolutely free. To get your free copy of my Italian GreatGeek journal, click support us at italian wine podcast dot com or wherever you get your pods. Ben Venuti, welcome to the next generation with me, your host, Julia Topketti. Join me as I take you on a journey to discover young stars of Italian food and wine world, Bronte andiamo. Welcome everybody to this episode of the next generation with me, Julia Stochetti. And today, I'm taking you to Emilia Romania, more precisely in Nova FilTria that is located in the province of rimini. We're gonna talk about teaching, restaurant, bartending, and formulary management, placentology. In this special place in the province of rimini, there are a lot of special things to eat, like tortellini and the famous torta Barazzi. That's a kind of cake made with almonds and coffee, but you must know that the secret the receipt is secret only the grandmas from Vignola actually know how to prepare this delicious cake. The fitter dish today will be the piadina romagnola. One who doesn't know Pia Dina. We're gonna discover all the secrets about this. And, the interview of today is mister Jill Coffee Dickbo. He was born in Benin, a tiny strip of land located in the western part of Africa between Nigeria and togo. In nineteen ninety four, he moved to Bologna with his family. Gill had his first sip of wine when he was a teenager working at a restaurant, Alberto de marino in Rufina in the area of Masseto. That's an establishment run by people his father already knew before their arrival in Italy. Coolator become great friends. During his experience, Jill had his first glass of San Giovanni that arose in him the curiosity about the sense of wine its anecdotes and stories curiosity that then led him to begin a real journey into the world of wine. His studies began at the Plegrino Artuzzi High School where he also had the opportunity to attend the first level of the so many a course organized by Islam Romania. His first work experience abroad was in China, Beijing, a city where during the two thousand eight Olympics, He worked at Casa Italian for Decone Italian National Olympic Committee. After his experience in China, Jill moved to Colchester England where he worked as a bartender for about a year. After England, it was Sweden's turn where he worked for six months as an assistant, so many and waiter at a wine house. This experience made him realize how wine culture truly touches the entire globe. When he got back to Italy, he continued his summary studies completing the second ice level working in the meantime as a chef Durang and stock manager in Milan at and Vista Mara restaurant. In two thousand and ten, he spent the whole summer season working at the five star luxury premier hotel suite, a place where he met Ahmed who believed in Jill enough to allow him to get an interview to go to work at Cracos Michelin Star Restaurant to Stars, actually, in Milan, a venue to which he had long expired. Gill then began his journey working alongside Luca Gardini who in the same year crowned his dream of becoming the best so many in the world. After his experience at Cracos, Jill worked as a Metro at la Parolina, one Michelin star. In two thousand and twelve, Jill decided to return to Emilia Romania and to complete his sommelier studies. Shortly thereafter, their Tuesday high school where he graduated, offered him to work as a lecturer in restaurant service, bartending, cafeteria, and inologies. He still give lectures today alongside his work as a wine consultant. Jill was until twenty twenty three, the first one and only ambassador of the Negramaro grape variety in Italy. Europe and in the whole world. He also has the title of ambassador of Alvana, a white grape variety native to Emilia Romania. Today, Jill has two very lovely children, many commitments and dreams, including becoming Italy's best, so many. Wow. What a life experience? Jill, coffee, Venardie. Good morning. Good morning, everyone. It's nice to be here. Thanks a lot, Julia. You're most welcome. It's my pleasure. So, just tell me something about you. Who are you? Well, I'm Jill. As you talked before, coffee. Coffee is my first name, name, but since I came here, most of the people had problem with, with with the name, you know, because it's actually cafe in Italian. So that's why most of the people call me Gil But I love your name. I mean, it means Friday, when it be. Yeah. Yeah. Just when the weekend starts. So, I mean, I love coffee. I I I'm gonna call you coffees for you. It's okay. It's wonderful. It's wonderful. It's kind of funny, you know, Friday just when the weekend start as we just told. Yeah. So how old are you? Coffee? I'm thirty four years old. And what's your position Well, actually, I do teach a school. I am a professional family in restaurants as a consultant, and, I teach in high school or tellery school. So it's, about everything. It came in the restaurant room, bartending, cafeteria, and similar service. That's great. So that means that, you're really into the wine world and also so that you deal with young generations, that's awesome. Yeah. You've just say that. Exactly. It's awesome. Sometimes horrible, sometimes awesome, but funny. I like that. So, where are we? Actually, we are in Emilia Romania, the the center of of Italy, you know, when you go, outside there and you talk about Emilia Romania, no one no one knows Emilia Romania. But when you say just say close to Tuscany, bologna, and stuff like that, they say, oh, okay. Tortellini, pasta, mortadella. Yeah. We are in this, region, and I'm here since nineteen ninety four. Okay. So you've always been based in Emilia Romania, one of the best places in the world to eat delicious food and drink really good wines. Exactly. That's awesome. You'll be lucky. Yeah. Actually, yes. And so what what's the vibe? Well, here, I can say that's, there are many, many, many. The vibe are really young. Young vibes, young people, and, a lot of curiosity about everything, it's alcohol, and everything you have to drink and eat. So I consider myself very, very, very lucky about that because, around me, everything speak, brief, and, talk about wine, drink, and food. That's really wonderful. That's really wonderful. Wow. That's dreamland, basically, the place where every one of us would like to be and to live and to experience. So you're a teacher by day, a professional song by night, a full time dad of two beautiful kids. Right? Yes. Exactly. And you're so young with such lots of experience. I mean, that's amazing. Michelin starred restaurants, olympic games, ambassador of two, native grape varieties. That that's awesome. And you're a writer. Right? Yeah. I've I wrote a a book for my for my first child, Noah, Well, actually, it it starts like, you know, when you don't sleep well, you just woke up and write something. After month, I discover, I almost wrote a book, about, my wine experience, what wine is for me and how to grow up, in a nice way, you know, like, I wrote this book, like teaching my son the nice way, the properly way to drink wine and the a nice way to grow up, believe in yourself, like, a small variety of wine does when, he has to express himself in the in the glass. You know, you know what I mean? Most of, stories like that of people I've met in my, in my life, who teach me about the wine, who teach me about the way to to discuss, to talk about wine. And, this is why I I wrote this book called, Lamita, spigata am yuffilio. So it's like, my life explained to my to my son using all those, wine and adults to explain him how life goes. That's amazing, really. I can't wait to read your book. Where can I find it? Where can we actually find it? Well, it's available on Amazon and, every, mandatory, lveria in, in Italy. Italy. Wow. I'm gonna read that for sure. So you already answered one of my questions. Like, do you ever find the time to get some sleep? Actually, feels like you don't have so much time to relax and to and to actually sleep. Well, I think, when someone has a dream, needs to work hard for his dream. And, just because, I have six brothers, you know, I don't believe I told you, I told you that. I don't I don't use to drink alone. I have six brother. So the first come on Monday, the second, Thursday, the first day from Wednesday, Friday, and then I get for myself the Sunday. But, you know, as you as we talked before, my name is Jill and Coffee. So the Sunday used to drink with Jill or coffee. That's cool. That's amazing. So one sibling for every day of of the week, and then Sunday is just for yourself. For zeal or for coffee. Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. Jobara, I don't sleep that much because, I used to take part of, of the night to study So often I come home at about half past nine, let's say ten in the evening, and then I start studying until midnight, then I go to sleep, and they used to wake up every single day. Even the Sunday, at about half past three or four in the morning because I start studying, and I start doing the thing I can't the during my day because, you know, I go to school. I finish school. I have to see my my child. So go and play with them, go back to work, to the restaurant. So it's not I don't have that much time. I I don't don't want to stole my the the time for my child. This is why I've choose to to to study during the night. I mean, I admire you so much so much stuff going on and so much passion. I feel so much passion in it, so that's amazing. I was wondering, you deal with young generations and you teach them also how to approach wine. What do you think is the best way to get them involved and love the wine world? That's a wonderful question. Thanks a lot because, when I start studying wine, drinking wine, the most hard thing that's I I don't have someone who took my hand, let's say, follow me and suggest me things to do, book to read, a place to go, where to go. And this is, I I think, God's give me the the chance to to follow the youngest in this way. Because what I I used to to see be between them, it's they just drink whatever you put in front of in front of them without ask themself how it's made, wow, why this flavor, the origins, and stuff like that. So In this way, I have the the chance, the possibility to teach them the right way to drink and to manage alcohol, which is, not so often in, not too much and never alone. Nice. So you're linking wine basically to culture, how is it made, and also to the pleasure of sharing so having it all together to connect people. Right? Exactly. Yeah. Because, you know, if I don't know if you remember the first time we meet. I do. Yeah. It's it was just about talk talking about the variety of the grapes, the flavor, and, teaching to someone else who who was curious. Everything you, you still discover about that grape, about about the the land about the the the the soil, you know, and, that was amazing to me. And, right now, I am actually trying to do the thing with many young guys with which actually maybe, in a three hundred young people, I see every day, maybe just ten of them or twenty twenty of them. Would really, appreciate or understand the meaning of my, of my focus on them, but still you have to do that. You have to try to do that because it's a kind of investment in, in our future. Right. That's awesome. I mean, we must catch up again anyway. Yeah. I'd love to share some mind with you. Yeah. We have to actually definitely So talking about the way you actually teach wine and you involve in this beautiful word, the young generations, you were talking about, linking it also to the land, to the place where it comes from. We must remember that in Italy, every single small town has its own special dish and special things to pair with wine, right, at the table. Exactly. So what's the the dish you you'd like to talk about today? Well, obviously, I I would like to talk to you about Piedina. That's flat bread, used to cook here because it's a very simple thing and easy, even even even really, really easy to make, just with flour, salt, pork, lard, and, and a lot of love as well. So someone, yeah, an old grandma. Once I remember the first time I I ate Cadena, I say, wow. What's an incredible bread? How it's made. The only ingredients, it's love. This is what the that's what she gave me. It's love. Yeah. We love everything. Very easy. Beautiful. Because you you not just the way you prepare it because you mix all the ingredients, and you cook, in a pan. So it's very easy. You can you can eat by himself just like a normal bread, but it's flat and very, fluffy, soft, like a foam, you know. You can, you can just wrap in with some vegetables, some cheeses, or some ham, everything. It's very, very funny because, when I come here, it was just bread. In nineteen ninety four. Right now, we have kind of place, a restaurant called Guadinerie, which is not just a, a typical place who makes Pirdina. It's a place like, hamburg area where they may hamburger, but with just tiadina. So tiadina in a thousand way, thousand different way. So spicy, not spicy, vegetables, meat, fish. Whatever you want, you can choose your, you know, the ingredients and fill your Cadena, the way you prefer. It's wonderful. And the the nice way of making Cadena, it's, like, here in, Chazena, which is close where I live, we do it in a way. If you go to rimini, it's more flat. If you go, go up to Emilia Romania and you reach to Imola, it's thinner and it's thicker. Sorry. It's thicker. So it's more bread instead of everything else. So it's it's it's different and the there's a thousand way even to make this easy and simple threat. Correct? Sounds delicious. Yeah. It is. Well, most of most of the time, simple things are the best. Yep. So we can expect a lot of emotions eating this Piedina, but What wine would you pair with piadina? Well, actually, just because we got, a salty, salty bread with some pork lard as well. Or sometimes we can use, instead of the pork lard, the olive oil, I would match, our typical white steel wine. Called albana, then it depends how you feel the patina, or if you if you want to just eat the patina. If you feel with the pork meat, I would add, albana with a nice acidity, maybe who has, a bit of maturation, which is really, really, really nice because after you eat your PDina and you drank the wine, your mouth, comes completely clean. Like you've never had some nothing. I think, talking about Emilia Romania and talking about Cadina, I think this must be the the nice and, more round match. So, piadina and albana, dry still white wine from the area. Okay. We will definitely try it. I mean, I will. So I recommend it also to our, listeners. So, what are the under thirties eating and drinking? So what are young people eating and drinking? Well, actually, you know, I think in all over the world, especially here in Italy, we got the the boom of gin, gin and tonic. It's the most popular drink here. Not just wine, not just beer. Also, super alcoholic stuff like gin, gin, Veramut. So we are talking about the co the coke artillery. And, the different way to, to pairing, food, and other stuff, like cocktails. The most common we got here is the gin tonic with nice botanicals came from our land, like, a gin made by the flower of Albana before he become grape. Oh, interesting. That's very nice because, it's very curious. With even the flavor and the taste. So I think, the nice and the wonderful way of making cocktails and match everything with it's not just a match, a glass of wine or a nice beer or a different kind of water with something you drink. I think the future must be the way the different way to match, food with everything, actually, everything. Oh, that's nice. Jean is really, really popular, and talking about wines. What wines do young people, go for? Well, act actually, sparkling wines or red strong wine. So sparkling wine, most of the common are from North Italy. So let's say prosecco, you should know that one. Oh, really? I guess so. Prosecco, Openacorta, most in the few day in in the few. Ears. We got even train to dock, based on Sharpony, pinot noir, and, you know, a little touch of pinot mini, because it has, more how do you say vertical and, and thick, way to be drunk. And then, talking about strongest wine, the most popular and common in the in the ages, I heard it. We know all about Bruno de Montalcino or Barolo. So strong red wine red wines. Interesting. That's really interesting because I thought that also some whites would have find a a place in it, but young people are going for sparklings and strong runs. Yeah. This this is the, you know, this is strange because even here, that's we got the one of the first DOCZ in Italy, the alvania, the alvania, the alvania, they prefer, wine from other reason, reason, and, in the sparkling way and the the rats, the rats. And this is why, just because of that, more of the winemaker here starting make Alvana because of his acidity in the sparkling way. Wow. That's super interesting. Yeah. That's very interesting because it has all the characteristic to be, a nice and wonderful sparkling wine. And it's more made as a sharma or champagne wine? No. It's What method? Both method, but the the most use, it's the the classic method like champagne. Okay. Cool. I'm gonna, try to find a bottle of sparkling albana because you made me so curious about that. I really wanna try it. Yeah. Okay. But that said, what do you drink coffee? What I do not drink, I would say? Okay. What you do not drink? Let's make it the other way. Yeah. That's really funny because, I'm very interested and curious of everything. It's, drinkable. You know, so it's not just wine. It's not just, super alcoholic stuff. It's all about vermouth, water, different types of teas, wine, mixologist, because I think in in our job, you have to know a little bit of everything. And that's made me really happy because I don't, my job is not, if it does, it does not finish while you drink something but when you understand the way the thing you are, you are drinking, it's made and how you can even made it in a different way. So this is why sometimes I collaborate with some wineries, and I've I've made, a beer based on, based on, albana grapes. I've made a vermouth based on sangroveza grapes. I've made a bitter based on black tea and, centesimino seeds. Chentesimino, it's another, black variety of red wine we got here. Because That's amazing. Yeah. Well, it actually it's actually really, really curious to me, how those things could match together in a cocktail or just in aperitif with a nice sugar and chocolate at the end of the of your meal. What's a great experience you have? I mean, it's unbelievable. Okay. So, thank you very much for sharing with us your experience and your thoughts about the the food and wine world. Now let's wrap up the episode in just five things in five minutes. Yep. Okay. So coffee, where are we? We are in Amelia, which is one of the best, beautiful country in the middle of Italy. What's the vibe in the cuisine? We love here. People loves, experiment and the heat soak, so sorry stuff, and different kind of wine. So not just sparkling wine, not, sorry, not just white wine, not just red wine, especially sparkling wine and red strong wines. And what's the feature dish? The future this, well, The Adina, I guess. Yeah. Piedina is my, dish of the, it's in my car. So let's say I will share with you this, the the Piedina echo, and the different ways like Piedina. And share the wine pairing with the piadina. Well, I love Yadina with our white, steel wine called albana. And we got also the d o DOTG. So I think it's It's going to be the best pairing you you will have if you come here, Alvana, and Piedina. We will try it. Yeah. For sure. One third on Italy, wine and culinary future. Well, the, you know, the culinary future. It's, all about curiosity, I think. And, the Italy, we got the most beautiful place with the, I think, probably the many grip variety in all over the world. So the future will be probably match the small, let's say small, variety with, wonderful typical plates from our from every region. I love it. I share with you the the the start. So coffee, thank you so very much for being with us today. Was my pleasure to interview you, and hopefully we'll see you soon enjoying some good stuff to eat and to drink. Thanks a lot. It has been a really, really pleasure to me. Thanks once again. You're most welcome. Bye. Gracie for being with me today and listening to the next generation on the Italian wine podcast. A la prosima chinch in.