Walter Ferretto

The Path

The work at Il Cascinalenuovo is rooted in place, and Walter Ferretto describes that ground with the certainty of someone cooking within a defined territory rather than above it. As owner and executive chef and chef proprietario of Il Cascinalenuovo, he keeps the restaurant in Isola d'Asti close to hand. Set, as he says, “about halfway, almost between Asti and Alba,” the house sits in a corridor where cooking is shaped by proximity, season, and the practical weight of local expectation.

The Work Today

The present kitchen is direct and proprietorial: Ferretto runs the room and owns the house, so the pace of the restaurant follows his own. His language for the food is plain and useful. “We are more on lightness of flavors, on simplicity; its peak is with a classic egg or with the unavoidable tajarin with butter and truffle, which I invite everyone to come to Alba to taste.” That line sets out the method. The cooking is built on lightness, simplicity, and the discipline to let a small number of elements carry the plate. An egg, tajarin, butter, truffle: the point is not accumulation, but control. In Ferretto’s hands, the regional register is kept clean and legible, with the finished dish shaped by restraint rather than display.

Signature

Walter's signature dishes include Non fare il galletto, Agnello e verdurine, Piccione e fichi, Veal sweetbreads, Leaves and Figs, Asparagus, Black Truffle, and Parmigiano. The list points to a kitchen working in season and in measured contrast: richness beside freshness, meat beside produce, truffle handled as part of the structure rather than as a flourish. Ferretto’s repertoire reads as composed, controlled, and attentive to the balance of each plate.

In Their Words “I am Walter Ferretto from Il Cascinalenuovo in Isola d'Asti, a restaurant about halfway, almost between Asti and Alba, and I am very happy to be here invited to present dishes from my cuisine.” “We are more on lightness of flavors, on simplicity; its peak is with a classic egg or with the unavoidable tajarin with butter and truffle, which I invite everyone to come to Alba to taste.”

Acclaim

Walter's honors include Michelin star.