Renowned Italian chef Italo Bassi has specified Neolith Calacatta Gold for the wall cladding, countertop and flooring of his new ‘ConFusion’ restaurant in Sardinia. Italo’s aim was to create a luxurious yet simple design which was representative of the glamorous location at Porto Cervo, Costa Smeralda, and the restaurant’s high-quality dishes.
Neolith Calacatta Gold was specified because of the material’s look and feel of marble from Carrara, while offering the inherent high-tech properties of Sintered Stone. Using a ground-breaking digital decoration technique, Neolith Digital Design (NDD), Calacatta Gold offers a rigorous marble-like decor with bold dramatic veining that resembles nature at its closest, with a hint of gold for a sophisticated design.
Italo Bassi explains: “We were looking for a material which would exude an air of decadence. Since Calacatta marble is one of the most luxurious marbles in the world, we knew straight away that Neolith’s Calacatta Gold was the one for us. It’s not only stunning, it is also an all-round material that can be easily applied to most surfaces and cover all practical requirements. It also guarantees a great performance in terms of durability and hygiene. Especially important when preparing food, we needed a surface that is easy to clean, and helps to maintain safety standards.”
Neolith’s Calacatta Gold provides the restaurant surfaces with the authentic look of deluxe marble, all without the maintenance, availability and cost issues associated with the real deal. Genuine marble by its very nature can be an impractical material for architects and designers to work with when it comes to renovation projects as the colouring and veining are unpredictable, making it difficult to plan the design. Furthermore, Neolith’s offering is lightweight, easy to handle and can also be conveniently placed onto already existing surfaces.
The Porto Cervo restaurant is the second one that Italo Bassi and his wife Tatiana Rozenfeld have opened; the first being located in Verona. The couple wanted to pay homage to the new location by reflecting the coastal surroundings in the interior colour scheme. Sandy colours ranging from white, beige, to champagne, are seen all throughout the restaurant. Polished stainless steel and brass objects set off the colour scheme and give the space a charming, elegant atmosphere, which is then reflected in the dishes. Italo Bassi and his team, consisting of Japanese sous chef Masaki Inogouchi and Ivan Bombieri, successfully combine Italian haute cuisine with Japanese culinary art, creating and luxurious culinary delights without pretence.
The restaurant’s kitchen cabinetry was designed by Spanish manufacturer DOCA, with whom TheSize has collaborated for this year’s EuroCucina in Milan. During the show, Italo Bassi hosted a surprise cooking show, where he prepared and presented his food on the kitchen countertop featuring Neolith Pierre Bleue.
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