Nicola Batavia

Can food become the ambassador of the spirit of a town, a region or a country?  «Are you kidding? I’m not  a  fanatic  of  Made  in  Italy,  I would  even  go  as  far  as  killing somebody to defend it (figuratively speaking  obviously)!  When  I  took care of the catering in 2008 at the Pechino Olympic games, I wore a jacket    which    had,    “Birichin Piemonte  Italia,”  embroidered  on it». We   know   you   work   in   three restaurants  located  in  two  different   countries:   the   Birichin   in Turin,  as  well  as  The  Egg  and Casa  Batavia  in London,  What are the pros and cons of this international   commuting?  «I   don’t have much time for myself, I also don’t get time to see my customers when  I  go  to  my  restaurants,  so unfortunately I don’t always have chance  to  meet  them.  A  positive factor  is  that  sometimes  I  meet them  and  I  can  get  to  know  new kinds of customers». What are 3 strengths and 3 weaknesses   that   you   find   you   have when  cooking?  «I  see  myself  as ambitious,  determined  and  ‘hungry’  to  learn.  As  for  my  faults  I confess that my diplomacy is non-existent. I am also boisterous and also a bit rebellious».  Turin,  London  …  Are  there  any other places where you would like to   open   a   restaurant?  «Rome, Moscow,   Manhattan,   Mumbai, Hong  Kong  would  be  perfect.  Of course   I’d   probably   be   hard pushed   to   pronounce   my name because  of  the  jet lag,  but  that’s another story».