What is really Incö?

Incö is akin to returning home after having travelled the world for 20 years. Travelling is a byword for living. Not only because when travelling, we experience new things – indeed, sometimes we also get to live in new places – like I did when I lived in France and Japan, for example. But also because the purpose of travelling is to always return to our home sweet home. Travelling changes us and our worldview because our home may not have changed, but we certainly have. ‘Home’ to me is not solely about finding our Italian roots – after all, in this day and age, what does it mean to be Italian, or any nationality for that matter? – but it is more about speaking with small producers, getting to know them one by one, and then deciding what we – me and them – can serve to our guests. I fondly remember what my grandmother used to do: go out in the morning to the market and cook something delicious in the evening with what she had bought. When we say something is fresh, or that you have never tasted mountain butter as creamy as this – we mean it. And we can say that with conviction because we know our producers, but also the dairy cattle and the meadows on which they graze. The same applies to the cuts of meat, fish, wheat, vegetables and fruit we use. We know our producers, we speak and brainstorm with them and this creates lasting bonds. Bonds we want to give life to by sharing them with you. “We have caught some fresh greater amberjack today. Think you can use it?” “Of course, greater amberjack coming right up!” Everything takes shape throughout the day, from starters, mains, to desserts. Coming back home means you have plenty of stories to tell: how George left architecture to become a farmer, or Marlene who left her Vienna for the mountains of Val di Funes to raise geese. Coming back home means preparing dinner for your loved ones, every evening, letting our whims and fresh ingredients guide us. We take a step back from the over-the-top presentations and focus on what matters. Good food exchanged over a glass of good wine and interesting conversations. Coming back home means setting the table with Stefan’s crockery he found while exploring the antiquity shops and markets. Coming back home is ridding ourselves of the stale concept of gourmet cuisine, and focus on sharing food good. Incö is this and much, much more: a special table in the weinstube allowing guests to feel right at home. A timber home, surrounded by valuable bottles of wine, where the Dolomites truly come to life.

Simone Cantafio