Rencontre rafraîchissante avec le restaurateur Luca Pronzato

THE MOOD OF

LUCA PRONZATO

With a sommelier father and a mother who loved cooking, Luca Pronzato was immersed in oenology and gastronomy as a child. His parents owned an Italian delicatessen in Paris and educated Luca in the art of good food. A few years of wine training later, a world wine tour and an experience at Noma, voted best restaurant in the world six times, Luca started his own business: We are ONA.

The concept behind this chef’s collective? To create ephemeral restaurants around the world, in hidden or unique places. The menus, each more succulent and innovative than the last, are created by young chefs and inspired by the culture of the country. Always fond of adventure, the restaurateur and culinary designer launched with his partner, whom he likes to describe as his « wine muse », a brand of canned wine called Canetta. A refreshing encounter.

WE ARE ONA, Pop-up in Kaplankaya, Turquie © Ilya Kagan

WE ARE ONA © Ilya Kagan

Your first culinary memory?

« My mother’s homemade vegetarian lasagna. »

How did you start in the sommelier and restaurant business?

« I was immersed in the world of food and wine at a very early age. My parents owned a small Italian grocery store called Le Mille Patte in the first arrondissement of Paris. It was there, with my mother in the kitchen and my father specialized in wine, that I started to get interested in the sommelier profession.

When I was 18, I started my first experience in a restaurant-bar in Richelieu, Chez Alfred, which is now called Verjus. I learned a lot from his sommelier at the time. Then, I had the chance to work with Anselme and Guillaume Selosse of the Jacques Selosse champagne house.

Then I went on a world wine tour with the International Wine Organization with which I visited 30 countries in 11 months. Then I landed at Noma in Denmark, where I learned about customer relations and experience by working in service. »

Noma, restaurant in Copenhagen

ONA project

What made you decide to launch Ona?

« I really wanted to find another way to express myself creatively in the restaurant business. The classic model of a fixed restaurant was not challenging me enough, even though I love it. I found that traveling through different cultures and tastes was a really great concept. »

WE ARE ONA, Pop-up La Maison, Paris © Ilya Kagan

WE ARE ONA, Pop-up in Arles © Ilya Kagan

WE ARE ONA, Pop-up in Milan in partnership with FLOS © Ilya Kagan

Ona’s philosophy?

« Community, the community of our guests, and creating unique experiences. »

WE ARE ONA, Chef Residences in Mexico City © Tanya Chavez

Why this name?

« It means wave in Catalan. It symbolizes the renewal of places and young talents in gastronomy. »

WE ARE ONA, Pop-up in Kaplankaya, Turquie © Ilya Kagan

Your latest project ?

« Our pop-up in the center of Paris that took place October 18-23, in Nadar’s late 19th century studio. It was an incredible experience accompanied by chef Thomas Graham. »

WE ARE ONA, Pop-up in Paris © Ilya Kagan

The city where you put your suitcases?

« Mexico City, in the Condesa hotel, where we launched a pop-up for three months. »

WE ARE ONA, Chef Residences in Mexico City © Tanya Chavez

WE ARE ONA, Chef Residences in Mexico City © Ilya Kagan

Your new project Canetta in a few words?

CANETTA © Odds Studio

« It is a brand of natural wine vinified by young winemakers and put in cans that I created with my partner. The idea came to me to find a practical and friendly container for small consumption, especially to avoid waste. »