“Disanapianta”: the Braglia girls hit the kitchen (part II)

2017-05-26 At cultural association “Disanapianta”, which plays a key role in primary prevention by promoting natural nutrition, each of the Braglia sisters brings along her own ideas and complements her siblings. Francesca is the driving force and a source of inspiration, Lorella is the creative one who brings ideas to life, while Silvia keeps them firmly grounded and decides just how feasible those oh-so-creative plans really are.
American Daniel Pink, one of the most interesting thinkers around today, believes that there will be six senses in the Conceptual Age. The first is Design, which goes beyond mere function. What design do you have, Francesca, Silvia and Lorella?
“Increasing awareness of nutrition and improving our lives and other people’s. Inspiring others to follow new pathways to widen their knowledge and understanding of food. And coherence is the ideal we try to pursue most closely, as we strive to improve our own lives and set an example for one another. Working with other people has enabled us to look at our own image. It’s taught us to break down our egos, which can take over sometimes. “Disanapianta” is like a gym where we can learn to be truer to ourselves.”
The second sense of the future is the Story, but not in the sense of a written essay. What do your recipes tell us?
“Different stories, together. For Lorella they tell stories of creating a recipe, of travel, experiences and the look of a dish; for Silvia they’re all about practical matters, family concerns and nutrition; for Francesca they focus on the scientific aspect of food, nutritional values linked to physical and mental wellbeing, sensory values which go beyond sight to include taste, touch, hearing and smell. Our recipes (we’ve written more than a thousand over the years) have plenty of stories to tell, but, a bit like music, they’re hushed rather than loud. They’re pared-back. To start with we were more generous with seasoning, aromas and spices, perhaps because we thought the food would turn out bland and people would l’equate “natural food with dreary food”. Now we’re confident that people will like our cooking. It’s delicious and sustainable in nutritional terms, so we’re happy leaving it as it is.”
The third sense of the conceptual age is the Symphony, as opposed to an individual philosophy. How many food philosophies do you blend into one symphony?
“Definitely macrobiotics, our original inspiration, as well as Ayurveda and ethnic cuisine in general. Food from around the Mediterranean and as far away as Japan, China and Indonesia. We’ve taken a scientific approach to integrating food, making us more serious and trustworthy. In our profession we try to bring in ideas with a scientific basis. We create a symphony of cuisines because we believe food can heal people. Meeting the epidemiologist Franco Berrino when he was at Milan’s National Cancer Institute gave us even more momentum. We try and put our message across, and we don’t hold back: we share everything we know! We don’t design diets but we do encourage a certain lifestyle. We provide people with the tools they need to look after themselves and take responsibility for their lives.”

Mariagrazia Villa