Osteria del Centro: A Culinary Journey with the Swiss Vegetable Wizard

Piero Roncoroni's career path initially mirrors that of many of his culinary colleagues. Until a position that evokes both astonishment and admiration.

New horizons on the farm

Top Chef Returns Home: From Michelin-Starred Restaurants to Farm Life

Back to the Tessin Homeland

Finding the perfect restaurant in the Ticino region, he eventually found it in the heart of Comano, near Lugano, where, upon his return in 2021, he opened "Osteria del Centro" with his Catalan wife, Mercedes, and quickly established himself with his unique culinary concept.

Piero und Mercedes verwöhnen ihre Gäste mit exzellenter Kulinarik und ausgezeichnetem Service — Piero and Mercedes pamper their guests with excellent cuisine and excellent service.

From Center Stage to Side Dish: The Rise of Plant-Based Cuisine at Osteria Piero

Clear Profile: "We Cook Vegetables!"

A shift towards a vegetarian gourmet paradise. However, the chef doesn't overtly promote this, as the delicious plant-based dishes already served in the small restaurant or at the seven tables are well-known. And this is not just for vegetarians, but also for people who otherwise appreciate meat or fish dishes.

Der Gemüsekoch in seinem Element — The vegetable cook in his element

Italian Specialties Meet Vegetarian Cuisine: A Surprising Combination

“Vegetables are the consequence of my path. They offer me the opportunity to respect and interpret them in the best way. The taste of an ingredient, often humble like an onion or a turnip, should touch the heart of the guest and evoke emotions and memories.”

Piero Roncoroni

Delicious menus with countless varieties of vegetables

A unique, five- or seven-course menu, changing daily, is central to the restaurant's clear focus. The dishes are prepared using fresh, locally sourced produce, harvested daily and tailored to the weather, season, and the chef's inspiration. This approach ensures maximum freshness and minimizes waste, promoting sustainability.

Countless varieties and cultivars are exclusively sourced from organic farms during the summer months, and the proportion of garden fruits grown using organic methods remains high even during the winter months.

Piero Roncoroni elevates every vegetable into a work of art: Not only our palates were delighted during our visit to the Osteria, but the presentation of the dishes is also a visual treat.

Guests learn about the evening's menu from the friendly staff and a handout listing all available dishes, from Agave to Onion, under the heading "What we're eating tonight." On the evening of our visit, there were 49 different options.

Piero Roncoroni's "secret" of cooking healthy and flavorful vegetables is actually quite simple: cook slowly at temperatures between 160 and 180 degrees, never at 200 degrees or higher. This allows the full potential of the ingredients to be realized.

Also can a vegetable dish look like this

A refined wine list featuring primarily small-scale producers from Switzerland. These handcrafted wines express the terroir, i.e., the influence of the soil, climate, and location from which they originate. Consequently, they possess distinct characteristics, each perfectly suited to a specific course, and together, they offer a wide range of flavors.

Guests who prefer non-alcoholic meals also found plenty to enjoy.

Piero Roncoroni shares his famous onion cream recipe with Touremo readers.

Ingredients for 4 people:

4 small, beautifully shaped onions
1 kg onions
approx. 500 ml olive oil
Salt to taste
1 small handful of cooked and dried red lentils

Some guests travel solely to Osteria del Centro to experience its famous onion cream.

Preparation:

4 small onions to be hollowed out using a Parisienne cutter, leaving the skin and outermost layer intact.
The remaining onions to be peeled, diced and placed in a saucepan. The hollowed-out onions to be placed on top, covered with olive oil, salted and simmered over low heat for at least 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally.
Excess oil to be drained, the cooked onions to be finely pureed into a cream. The hollowed-out onions to be filled with the cream.
Lentils to be briefly fried until crispy and sprinkled on top.

Piero recommends a small bowl filled with coarse salt for serving.