Casa Mazzucchelli in Bologna - Pizza and Contemporary Cuisine on One Plate

Posted by Rowena Dumlao - Giardina 11/02/2021

Casa Mazzucchelli in Bologna - Pizza and Contemporary Cuisine on One Plate

There's a change of look and a change of format for the Mazzucchelli family in Sasso Marconi, a small town that's around 15 km from Bologna. After the pandemic, a reshuffling of ideas with focus have come about in the family's interest. Casa Mazzucchelli is born, an audacious concept that combines two distinct realities: Marconi Restaurant and Il Mollica, both owned and run by the Mazzucchelli family. Marconi is a restaurant that opened in 1983, a place close to the hearts of siblings Aurora and Massimo Mazzucchelli, where they grew up surrounded by the green hills of Bologna and the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. It grew and evolved over the years establishing itself as an award-winning food and wine reference point in the Bolognese area and eventually a Michelin star in 2008, thanks to the experience, creativity and professionalism of Aurora, the chef and Massimo, who takes care of the dining area. On the other hand, Il Mollica is a laboratory dedicated to baking that they opened in 2016 where Aurora's passion for breadmaking takes the limelight.

Then in mid-2021, the new project of the Mazzucchelli family was unveiled. Casa Mazzucchelli is about creative cuisine, bread and pizza. But it's not just any of these three categories because the proposals of Aurora are expressed through avant-garde techniques and her individualistic innovative ideas of cooking. The kitchen proposes her distinctive creations on top of pizza slices. Together with her brother Massimo who is a sommelier and a big wine enthusiast, they create a different kind of restaurant - a place where her interpretations of pizza are paired with the wide selection of wine labels that Massimo enthusiastically propose. The restaurant is a minimally-decorated refined modern space surrounded by large glass windows that gazes outdoors towards the vegetable garden and the external dining space covered in trees and shrubs. It accommodates 30 inside plus a few tables outside.

At Casa Mazzucchelli, you get to have a journey through a unique path of exploring pizza and modern cuisine in one plate in the creative mind of a Michelin-starred chef. The proposals are characterized with unexpectedness yet familiar in some sense, extremely expressive and harmonious in the palate. “We bring the kitchen to pizza,” says Aurora, “an adventure that has our character, which unites professionalism, research, care and passion, channeling our experience into a new path, without neglecting any detail or anything that has always distinguished us." Pizza and bread are not assuming supporting roles in the composition of plates, rather, they are essential elements in the creation of each single dish. “In my dishes I relay the link between the Emilian and Sicilian traditions that blends with the influences of the many trips, where I truly experienced cooking as a means of communication and point of meeting,” expresses Aurora. The ingredients, sometimes unusually put together do match perfectly and the tasting itinerary offers the possibility to taste more combinations that vary slice after slice of pizza.

At the menu, you can only find entries of pizza, bread and desserts. There are two proposals of tasting menus: Slice by Slice (Spicchio Dopo Spicchio), 6 slices of pizza in various preparations of your choice at €45; and the Pizza and Bread (Pizza e Pane), 8 slices of pizza in various preparations chosen by the chef at €55. The entries in the menu are priced between €10 to €14 for 2 slices and €28 to €36 for 6 slices. There are also the Traditional Pizza variations at €8 to €10 for 2 slices and €20 to €28 for 6 slices. Desserts are between €10 to €12.

The Mazzucchelli Family and Marconi Restaurant

The philosophy that has always distinguished the family follows a few simple rules: ethics, simplicity, warmth, affection, courage and a pinch of madness. The family is composed of Mario Mazzucchelli and Maria Benedetto, the parents and Aurora, Massimo and Mascia, the children. In 1983, they opened Marconi Restaurant in Sasso Marconi, near the Marconi Museum then seven years later, they moved to where it currently is now, at via Porrettana 291. Being younger than Massimo, Aurora was helping in the dining room along with her brother at the beginning at their family's restaurant, Marconi. Massimo became a sommelier while Aurora attended hotel and culinary school. In the year 2000, Aurora took over the kitchen and with the a lot of research and hardwork, the siblings brought forth their best in their gastronomic journey. In 2006, Aurora was nominated as the Best Emerging Chef then in 2008, a Michelin star arrived. In 2009, the restaurant was included in the Le Soste Guide and in the JRE (Jeunes Restaurateurs)Association. In 2012 Aurora was proclaimed the Best Female Chef at Identità Golose. What awards and recognitions the Marconi restaurant have received over the years is a united effort and hardwork on the part of each family member.

Il Mollica

Il Mollica was born in 2016 right next to the restaurant and today it becomes an integral part of the new project. Il Mollica is a bakery and also a bar that changes its proposals throughout the course of the day, from breakfast to lunch. Here they offer naturally leavened bread, focaccia, pastries, biscuits and simple light dishes cooked by Aurora that focuses on a gastronomy of tradition and territory.