Fashion designer – he first launched his brand of pop couture after a stint at the Costume National maison -, journalist and stylist – among his collaborations are included Elle, Marie Claire, Vogue -, influencer followed by around 80 thousand followers, project leader of many events, and a trendsetter by nature, Alessandro Enriquez organizes initiatives for young designers, is creative, generous and inventive and has an irrepressible passion for food and its taste and presentation – his is a beautifully conceived book on the tables set by stylists. Now, he is also the inventor and author of a series of recipes, Taste Amore, all strictly made from quality Italian products selected from among Taste’s exhibitors, recipe-posts that are published every week on Pitti Immagine’s Instagram account. A passion, that for food, which first began in his childhood, when in Palermo his favorite room was the kitchen where he would sink his hands into dough under the expert eyes of his grandmother and mother. His fixed point is Italy, the essence of being Italian and Made in Italy in its every form and authentic expression. An ever-present cultural and geographic reference like the passion for high fashion, cinema, and Fifties stardom - the music that he interprets with a spirit that is always visionary, always enthusiastic, and completely personal.
 
How was the idea of Taste Amore first conceived?
During the extremely long lockdown, and after having wrapped up the sales campaign and reordered what was possible, I invented a new format that allowed me to be in the kitchen, do something I enjoy, while also putting a smile on other peoples’ faces. I developed a series of video clips dedicated to famous celebrities, who would ask me for a recipe, which I would then make and dedicate to them. It was almost natural to think of Taste, an event I adore, where I spend entire days discovering secret excellences, but also stories of incredible people and incredible passions. I like the ‘human side’, food is a splendid vehicle of interaction, relations, and connections. Taste’s exhibitors are all highly motivated, passionate, and the quality of the products is excellent. It is an unbelievable starting point. I then created in my own language ‘a recipe book’: preparing something good while having fun with a touch of irony and light heartedness. I also hope those who listen to me and cook, following my advice, will have fun.
 
What did you discover about these companies during the scouting and selection process?
In contacting these companies (I was unable to involve them all but I am already thinking of a sequel…), I discovered that behind products par excellence are always extraordinary people, stories, quality, and skills that it is worth learning more about in detail. A human factor that kept me company during this period!
 
Can you provide a few examples?
There was Masseria Dauna, an all-woman team that cultivates tomatoes and produces preserves, I Segreti di Carla that produces different flavored butters (anchovies, truffles), the cold cuts of Antica Macelleria Falorni, the Sicilian liquors of Aetnae like Etna Bitter, with its almond flavor. So many products, so many special ingredients connected to the territory, tradition, and research, which we risk losing by standardizing everything. Accordingly, the idea of promoting them is the message and the heart of Taste Amore.
 
For the project’s songs you collaborated with a young singer-songwriter, Andrea De Pascalis…

Andrea has an incredible voice and knows how to interpret my musical ideas, so I immediately involved him. We were inspired by Dean Martin’s That’s Amore, which everyone is familiar with, in creating a unique musical score and then continuing with other proposals connected to the kitchen, the heart, and the connection between mother-son-kitchen. 

 

'Love and traditions' is the message of Andrea De Pascalis, the young singer-songwriter who composed the musical score of Alessandro Enriquez’s social project 

 
Young singer-songwriter of Apulian origins and Milanese by adoption, with one album to his name - Madreperla, dedicated to his mother -, and also the protagonist of the musical Vagamondi della Musicalmoodcompany with Roberto Ciufoli and Claudio Insegno, Andrea De Pascalis oversaw the musical score of the That’s Amore project.
 
How did the collaboration for the That’s Amore project come about?
I like to create emotions with my voice and with the colorful shades of my songs and lyrics. It was exactly this that led Alessandro to call me and offer me the possibility to collaborate in this project: his call gave life to a series of ideas that took flight in my head, since my feeling of happiness exceeded any expectations.
 
What inspired the lyrics of this new format connected to food?
For the song That’s amore, I wanted to combine the energy of Alessandro with the heritage of the song itself to create ‘re-formable’ refrains that even now my friends continue to sing along to, and I am very happy about this! Instead, in the second song In padella, I combined colors, tastes, the desires, and the habits of Alessandro and the result was very effective: a message of love between mother and son in the kitchen, accompanied by the tradition of family recipes. I wanted to create a musical score that could be recalled through an upbeat song with sweet notes.