Sea, Sail & Soil: A Tale of Taste and Tides in the Lagoon of Venice
In a sea of gondolas and fast motor boats, the Eolo — a fully restored Venetian bragozzo, or flat-bottom fishing boat, painted with the classic black and white decorations — proudly unfurls its trapezoidal rust-red sails to the winds: quite a proclamation, visually and conceptually, even from afar. Irreverent, you might think, yet very much bound to tradition. Just like its owner, Mauro: part sailor, part farmer, part chef, part forager, a true savant of the lagoon, a custodian of forgotten recipes and a gatekeeper of the essence of Venice.
Mauro’s approach to food is spiritual and philosophical. Almost religious. It stems from a deep knowledge and respect of the history of Venice, its traditions, and its flavours. His take on food is a labour of love, and requires time and dedication. He’s a firm believer in the holy trinity: local, seasonal, fresh. So his friends are often fishermen who pull up to his boat with the catch of the day; he knows the best stalls at the Rialto market and the producers scattered in the lagoon, and his menu changes daily, depending on what’s available. A modern Epicurean with time in his hands, he often bakes his own bread too, to have full control over the quality of the flour that is worked into the dough.
Gutting, sautéing, frying, searing, boiling, simmering, roasting, poaching, braising, stewing, browning, blanching: it seems impossible that in the confined space of this larder, Mauro manages to do it all — and more — to dish out preparations of such refinement, one after the other, as the boat gently sails from island to island, through mazes and marshes. There is no rockfish he can’t fillet, no wild herb he won’t chop up, and no duck who can fly fast enough. The lagoon, above and below water, is his playground, and just as important an ingredient as anything else that ends up in your plate or glass. Having a meal aboard the Eolo is a full-immersion experience: every element, including the landscape and its smell, contributes to creating such a magical setting and a wholesome time capsule.
As Aeolus, the ancient Greek God of wind after whom the boat is named, propels you deeper into the lagoon, a perfectly balanced concoction of silence and salt envelop you, as the aromas from Mauro’s tiny kitchen bring you back to a familiar place where you’ve yet to go. Such is the bewitchment of Eolo and his captain Mauro: to make the unusual and unexpected feel natural and native.
Luisa often refers to Mauro’s Eolo and its crew as Peter Pan’s Neverland, the epitome of escapism and a place of wonder and happiness, fully equipped with not just one, but two tinker bells, Olivia and Isotta, his Jack Russell’s. Email her if you’re looking for directions to the second star on the right.
