At Da Vittorio's massive gate, you have to ring the bell. Then it opens, imposing and unhurried, revealing a gastronomic paradise: a villa on the hillside, flanked by rows of vines climbing the slope in the evening sun. Brusaporto, a village of barely 5,000 inhabitants east of Bergamo, at the foot of the Colle Tomenone. In the gourmet world, this address has a ring of its own – one that rhymes beautifully with fine dining and a great deal of Italianità.

The welcome is a matter for the chef himself. Enrico Cerea – executive chef of Da Vittorio with his brother Roberto, known as «Bobo» – and head of a kitchen that has held three Michelin stars since 2010, introduces himself simply as «Chicco». Behind him, a good dozen waiters, each individually dressed in dark tones – you could illustrate a fashion magazine with this crew. A glass of 2011 Franciacorta sparkles by way of greeting, and the menu is settled without further ado: twelve courses, at the chef's discretion.

Ring the bell first: the path to Da Vittorio on the family's Cantalupa estate in Brusaporto. (Image: Da Vittorio)

Aperitivo with a view

The first act, however, is not performed in the dining room. A golf cart chauffeurs us straight through the vines – which, incidentally, are no mere scenery: the Cereas actually farm them and press their own red called «Faber», a few thousand bottles a year. At the top, a sweeping forest clearing opens up, helipad included. Here, the aperitivo is prepared at a fire bowl. For this institution of Italian hospitality, the house has devised something of its own: small appetizers from the charcoal grill.

Pickled eggplant meets tomato and ricotta; a Wagyu lollipop, set saltimbocca-style with speck and sage, strikes a wonderfully judged note. The king prawn from Santa Margherita Ligure comes off the grill glazed with honey; in the glass now, Louis Roederer from the Collection 246. Meanwhile, dusk settles over the plain, and the chirping of the crickets swells into a concert.

«Uovo all'uovo», invented by Vittorio Cerea. (Image: Da Vittorio)

Founded in 1966, three stars since 2010

That three stars would one day shine up here was far from foreseeable in 1966. That year, Vittorio Cerea and his wife Bruna opened a restaurant in the center of Bergamo – and, in a hinterland raised on meat, bet on fish and seafood of all things. The first guests, so the family tells it, ate the scampi shell and all: they had simply never seen one before. The gamble became an institution. The first star in 1978, the second in 1996, the move after almost four decades from the city to the family's own Cantalupa estate, and finally, in 2010, the third star. The founder did not live to see it; Vittorio Cerea died in 2005.

Today four of his five children run the house – a family holding in the best sense of the word. Chicco and Bobo work the kitchen and the dining room, Francesco watches over the wine cellar and the catering arm and Rossella over service and the guest house. And over them all, still, Mamma Bruna.

Among the strongest moments of the evening: scampetti with almond cream. (Image: Brambilla Serrani)

A dinner in twelve acts

Back at the villa, in the airy dining room, the festival proper begins: twelve acts, opened by a bruschetta that isn't one – candied tomato and strawberry in a cold broth of fruit and bread, with roasted parmesan bread on the side. Assembly takes place in the mouth. Soon comes the first classic of the house, the «Uovo all'uovo»: layered in a martini glass are apple compote, scrambled egg, poached quail eggs, salmon roe and potato foam, crowned by caviar. It is eaten with the spoon from bottom to top, without stirring; such are the instructions of the service team. Company founder Vittorio Cerea invented the dish; it has never left the menu.

The panella, Palermo's deep-fried chickpea classic, here with eggplant tempura and apricot cream, delivers a burst of fresh acidity. Among the strongest moments of the evening are the scampetti beneath an almond cream. The lobster arrives perfectly cooked, with a hint of sweetness and smoke; the quiet star, though, is its companion: a salad of lightly dehydrated cucumber, a little onion, assorted tomatoes and a zucchini flower, with herbs from the house's own hydroponic farm. The stuffed, gratinéed lobster head, the service advises, should be eaten last – the strongest part at the end. A risotto with mackerel, lemon and garden herbs grounds the whole affair.

Chef Chicco. (Image: Da Vittorio)

Gastronomic acrobatics, Italian style

That over twelve courses not every one reaches the same altitude, and not every creation lands equally with every palate, lies in the nature of things. Taken as a whole, a visit to Da Vittorio amounts to an astonishing piece of gastronomic acrobatics, one that thrives on its at times brutal contrasts.

We are particularly taken with the frittatina: deep-fried spaghetti with the bulb-shaped cheese provola, salami from Bergamo and zucchini flower, a snack in the Neapolitan manner. It is eaten, naturally, with the hands. With almost impudent artistic license, such pièces de résistance of the popular kitchen stand here alongside technically highly demanding creations. The message: in Da Vittorio's understanding of starred cuisine, «cucina povera» has its own firm right to exist alongside caviar and highly complex masterpieces.

Street food at a three-star address: the frittatina is eaten by hand. (Image: Brambilla Serrani)

«Oggi sono goloso»

This attitude reaches its peak in the pasta course. The service ties a bib around the guest's neck, embroidered with three words: «Oggi sono goloso» – today I am gluttonous. Then the paccheri are finished at the table: a sauce of three varieties of tomato, butter, parmesan and – importantly – a pinch of heat. The idea goes back to the founder, who at a restaurant in Orlando had watched pasta being finished in front of the guests, and who translated the ritual into red back home. Thus the simplest of all dishes became the most famous course of a three-star house. The excellent bread served alongside is meant for the scarpetta. We dunk greedily.

Sommelier Sartorato's realm: more than 30,000 bottles beneath the brick vaults. (Image: Da Vittorio)

Da Vittorio is famous, moreover, for the «Orecchia d'elefante», a breaded veal cutlet of plate-bursting proportions. We are spared it this time. Twelve courses are twelve courses.

Outposts in St. Moritz and Shanghai

The evening is accompanied by head sommelier Fabrizio Sartorato, who takes his craft seriously and himself rather less so. After dinner he leads us into the cellar, where more than 30,000 bottles lie in wait. Sartorato and Chicco prove to be what carries this evening: humorous, warm-hearted performers on the great stage of world gastronomy. A certain twinkle of the eye is part of the concept.

The Cerea family. (Image: Da Vittorio)

The empire behind it all has long shone far beyond Brusaporto: seven Michelin stars. Three at Da Vittorio in Brusaporto, two at Da Vittorio St. Moritz at the Carlton – led by Chef Paolo Rota, and two at Da Vittorio Shanghai.

Switzerland has very good kitchens, great ones even. An experience like this it does not have. In winter, at least, Da Vittorio comes to the Engadine. Regardless: the drive to Bergamo is worth it. The heart of the Cerea family beats here.