The group celebrates UNESCO’s recognition with its essence: cooking like “nonna and mamma” in its restaurants Dolcevita (Boqueria and Les Corts), Número Diez (Neapolitan cuisine) and the brand new Bedda Madre (Sicilian cuisine).
Last December, UNESCO officially declared Italian cuisine to be Intangible Cultural Heritage. This news is being celebrated in Lazio with a delicious carbonara, in Lombardy with a risotto alla milanese, in Naples with a Neapolitan pizza, in Sicily with arancini… and in the restaurants of the Dolcevita Gusto Italiano Group, with the firm conviction that they have been serving this heritage for years, dish by dish, region by region.
Because if there is one thing that Emmanuele Stevanato, founder of the group, is clear about, it is that ‘the real Italy cannot be explained: it must be cooked’. And that is exactly what happens every day in his restaurants: Dolcevita in Les Corts and La Boqueria (Barcelona), with their more generic Italian cuisine; the now famous Número Diez in Barcelona’s Sarrià neighbourhood, specialising in Neapolitan cuisine; and the newly opened Bedda Madre in Castelldefels, dedicated to the rich cuisine of Sicily. Four concepts, four journeys, four different accents… but the same DNA: 100% Italian.
The UNESCO distinction celebrates the universal value, ancient tradition and deep social connection of Italian cuisine, elevating it to the highest cultural recognition. This is news that the Dolcevita Gusto Italiano Group welcomes with pride and with the conviction that the distinction consolidates its philosophy: to offer the most authentic and regional Italian experience in Spain through its restaurants with soul and character, each one dedicated to a different regional cuisine of Italy.
‘Our proposal has always been a tribute to Italian cuisine enjoyed at home and on the street, without clichés or shortcuts, with absolute respect for tradition and the product,’ emphasises Emmanuele Stevanato. Founded four years ago with the opening of Dolcevita in Les Corts, the Dolcevita Gusto Italiano Group is a gastronomic project that invites you to travel through Italy via restaurants with a regional character. Like an amusement park where each attraction is an emotion, at Grupo Dolcevita each restaurant is an experience.
Number Ten: Naples with emotional DO
Número Diez (C. Capitán Arenas, 62) pays vibrant tribute to Maradona’s Naples of the 1980s. A place that stands as a true temple of authentic Neapolitan cuisine and the star king, making pizza the ‘absolute queen of “the pitch”’.
Here, authentic Neapolitan pizza is expertly crafted by the restaurant’s own pizza chefs. With a long-fermented, high-hydration sourdough base, it is slowly baked in a wood-fired oven, offering both the conventional option and its more street-style variants: fried pizza and traditional calzoncellata pizza.
But Número Diez is also a genuine trattoria, a restaurant where you can savour homemade, traditional Neapolitan dishes – albeit with a modern twist. To achieve this, it offers an extensive menu with specialities ‘to share or die for’, such as Figliata Napoletana, aubergine rolls with pancetta, or delicious Neapolitan-style meatballs, as well as other homemade specialities such as aubergine parmigiana, Sorrento gnocchi, or fettuccine in anchovy sauce.
Because, although pizza reigns supreme at Número Diez, the Neapolitan cuisine of mamma and nonna finds its way into genuine, authentic dishes and desserts, masterfully prepared by chef Luigi Marcato. Recipes prepared with products and raw materials that Emmanuele himself brings directly, to maintain quality and authenticity. Because for Emmanuele it is important that diners can enjoy a 360° experience in his restaurants, always managed by managers who go beyond the management of a dining room, as in the case of Armando Camerlingo at Número Diez.
Bedda Madre: Sicily as an exclamation
And if Número Diez echoes with Neapolitan roars, at Bedda Madre (Av. de la Constitució, 89, Castelldefels) you hear ‘Bedda Màtri!’. The Sicilian exclamation that gives the restaurant its name… and sums up its philosophy. Because Bedda Madre is pure Sicily: the emphatic, the exaggerated, the mixed, the luminous, the one that has been merging cultures for centuries. An essence that Sicilian chef Gaspare Citarrella transforms into dishes of lust, always drawing inspiration from that rich, ancient recipe book that moves between Arabic, Greek, Spanish and Italian influences.
Diners should be aware that ‘their diet will suffer’ (as the menu ironically states). There are some absolutely crazy starters, such as ‘Mangia e Bevi’ (spring onions wrapped in pancetta), sourced from the markets of Palermo and linking Sicilian tradition with the Catalan calçot. Also noteworthy are the hand-stuffed arancini; or the Sicilian bravas, the ‘cazzilli palermitani’, a huge fried potato with garlic sauce and pistachio pesto.
Things get serious with the star dish of Sicilian cuisine, a true reflection of its cultural mix: royal fish couscous. You can also savour homemade dishes such as baked anelletti stuffed with meat ragout, mozzarella, peas and caciocavallo cheese; or cannelloni with broccoli cream, caciocavallo cheese and sautéed breadcrumbs; or spaghetti al fuoco, with that spiciness that gives it so much character (enough to make you cry with happiness).
More than a dozen pizzas aspire to be the ‘queens’ of the table, preceding the gates of sweet paradise. Because Sicily is a true Eden for those with a sweet tooth, and Bedda Madre is a very good branch… (or not). Although rather than entering paradise, the aim is to indulge in desserts such as Biancomangiare, Sicily’s most traditional sweet treat; or the iconic Sicilian cannolo filled with sweet fresh ricotta; or the delicate Sicilian cassata in a glass.
And, of course, the motto that illuminates one of its walls: ‘A Sicilian doesn’t say “I love you”, he cooks for you.’ Today, with UNESCO celebrating, it rings truer than ever.
In 2025, following the success of Número Diez —a journey to Naples in the 1980s— and the opening of Bedda Madre, the Dolcevita Group will continue its culinary journey with offerings that faithfully reproduce the essence of each Italian region. Next stop…? Andorra.
Source: ACEVEDO COM