We’re honored to be featured in Four Seasons Magazine’s recent article by Jeff Gordinier on the evolving meaning of culinary luxury (alongside truffles, foie gras, and caviar) with a spotlight on one of our favorite unsung heroes: mullet bottarga.
“What If Luxury Is Not What You Think It Is?” opens the piece, which explores five ingredients that represent a new kind of opulence. Bottarga, salted and sun-dried mullet roe, naturally made the list and is celebrated as a luxurious ingredient that is not flashy or expected, but deeply rooted, artisanal, and full of layered flavor.
As the article describes:
“Bottarga doesn’t necessarily sound inviting—it’s basically a lobe of mullet roe that has been compressed and desiccated in the sun—but at first taste, all doubts evaporate.”
The story showcases how this ancient umami delicacy is finding its way onto fine dining menus across the globe—from the Maldives to Sydney to Hong Kong. But one quote, in particular, made our hearts sing:
“I love it,” adds Nicholas Stefanelli, the chef at Masseria in D.C., who sources his bottarga from Gustiamo, a way station in New York’s South Bronx for all good things from Italy. “I eat it just cut up with a little olive oil on it. Caviar has its place, but bottarga has so much more complexity, for me. It’s one of those ingredients that’s still a little cultish.”
Chef Nicholas is a longtime Gusti friend and a true champion of real Italian food. We’re honored to be his go-to source for bottarga (and not only!) and we couldn’t agree more with his assessment. Bottarga is nuanced, rich, and truly unique.
This is exactly the kind of ingredient Gustiamo is proud to support: not just a luxury item, but a thoughtful, flavorful expression of Italian culinary tradition, capable of transforming even a simple baked potato into an unforgettable experience.
As Chef Nicholas puts it:
“It tastes like the sea and the sun, and bottarga aficionados know that there is only one sensible response when you spy it on a menu: Order it.”
Couldn’t have said it better ourselves.