Lunch on the Lagoon

Aman Venice launches a new Cook in the Lagoon dining experience inspired by Michelin-starred chef Norbert Niederkofler. 

Set within Palazzo Papadopoli, one of the city’s eight monumental palazzos, the Aman Venice embodies all that is sumptuous and sensuous about La Serenissima, and this summer its new ‘Cook the Lagoon’ dining concept takes to the water, providing guests with a culinary experience aboard the famed, historic sailing boat, Edipo Re.

Launching this month, Aman Venice’s Cook the Lagoon: Edipo Re Edition encompass all that the hotel’s celebrated ‘Cook the Lagoon’ concept has to offer, with locally sourced yet elegant fare cooked as guests float along the Laguna di Venezia. The rich elegance of multiculturalism, cultivated by the flavours of Aman’s cuisine across the globe, will reopen the ancient doors of the East in the heart of the Venice Lagoon aboard the Edipo Re.

With a carefully crafted menu from the Aman Venice culinary team and consultant chef Norbert Niederkofler, dishes will incorporate the longstanding Venetian tradition of cooking with spices and seasonings from the Far East. Enhanced with familiar flavours including cinnamon, pepper and cloves, each taste will transport guests to the far-flung corners of the earth where Aman’s hotels and resorts offer peace and sanctuary.

Beginning mid-morning, take a relaxing boat ride from the hotel to Edipo Re’s mooring to be met by Aman Venice’s chef, Matteo Panfilio, Sybille Righetti, the boat’s owner and host, and Enrico, the Edipo Re’s dedicated Captain. Chef Matteo will prepare a selection of cicchetti (Venetian tapas) and four ‘free-style’ courses for up to eight guests. The menu is created using the seasonal produce available at the market on the day, from fresh fish from the lagoon to vegetables from the surrounding islands. No one dish is the same, with all to be enjoyed on the historic boat’s central dining table. After lunch, the Edipo Re glides through the lagoon, navigating its many islands and giving discreet access to the abundance of nature hidden throughout the floating city.

Aman Venice launches a new Cook in the Lagoon dining experience inspired by Michelin-starred chef Norbert Niederkofler. 

To ensure the experience is distinctly Aman in style, Rivolta Carmignani, a family-owned atelier that has been producing fine linens in its historic Macherio headquarters for 150 years, has created custom-made linens – from beach towels and cushions to a bespoke tablecloth – that transform the boat’s classic interior in Aman’s muted colour palette.

A boat with a long history, Edipo Re has sailed for decades from coast to coast, becoming the scene of extraordinary crossings for Italian film director Pier Paolo Pasolini and for the neorealist painter Giuseppe Zigaina, who transformed the boat in the late 1950s into a meeting place for visionaries. Giving life to new encounters and new adventures, the launch of this new experience celebrates what would have been Pasolini’s one-hundredth birthday.

Engaged for several years in projects aimed at the growth and protection of the territorial heritage of the Venice Lagoon, Edipo Re is a cultural, social and entrepreneurial reality, guided by values such as sustainability and arts. It has worked towards a practical idea of sustainable tourism, linked to the lagoon, its produce and the quality of life of the people who work there, and it is in this that a natural collaboration between Edipo Re and Aman Venice formed.

Aman Venice launches a new Cook in the Lagoon dining experience inspired by Michelin-starred chef Norbert Niederkofler. 

Inspired by Aman Venice’s consultant chef Norbert Niederkofler and his ‘Cook the Mountain’ philosophy, Cook the Lagoon at Aman Venice focuses on sustainable cultivation and farming, with the utmost consideration for the local ecosystem. Chef Norbert Niederkofler has earned international recognition for his three Michelin-starred cuisine at St. Hubertus, set within Aman partner hotel Rosa Alpina, which has recently been awarded the newly introduced Green star for sustainability. His Cook the Mountain menu uses ingredients sourced within the restaurant’s vicinity – a sustainable practice that supports local farmers and food producers. A homage to this method, Aman Venice’s Cook the Lagoon experience, served in the Palazzo’s opulent Blue Room, comprises a six or eight-course tasting menu, incorporating the highest-quality local ingredients from Italy’s Veneto region to create inventive, flavourful dishes.

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About Author

Nick Walton

Nick Walton is a leading travel and lifestyle journalist, magazine editor, publisher, photographer, travel commentator, and media trainer, based in Hong Kong. He is also managing editor of Artemis Communications, the titles of which include Ultimate Encounters, Alpha Men Asia, and The Art of Business Travel.

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