September 27, 2022: From the rooftop of the new The Medelan building complex, the restaurant Horto opens its doors in Milan. From the cuisine to the interiors, the outdoor landscape and the choice of its partners, Horto follows a direction of experimentation and sustainability, guided by a new philosophy that enhances the local, innovation and ethical balance.
Leading the strategic and organisational leadership of the kitchen is the three-Michelin starred and Green Starred for Sustainability chef Norbert Niederkofler. In contrast, the daily management of the kitchen is entrusted to the Executive Chef and Head of Menu Development, Alberto Toè.
Horto’s co-founders, Osvaldo Bosetti and Diego Panizza, have formulated the concept of the ethical hour where Horto works exclusively with close-by territories, inviting its guests to rediscover the culinary richness offered by the local surroundings. Horto’s extended list of small suppliers involves partners with a long history of providing pure and excellent materials in tune with nature. Chef Toè has conceived dishes that reveal the taste of singular and uncommon ingredients, creating sophisticated yet comforting combinations.
Chef Niederkofler has, for many years, been the pioneer of a sustainable philosophy regarding raw materials, the relationship with suppliers, the sourcing of ingredients and the rediscovery of authentic and innovative cuisine. Chef Toè, in turn, is a skilful interpreter of Chef Niederkofler’s kitchen philosophy. Offering a la carte as well as set course menus, each dish is a visual celebration while being a delicious play of ingredients.
Horto’s environment features a contemporary style in harmony with the tradition of the modern Milanese, resting on the terrace of The Medelan. The restaurant's interiors present Horto as an ethereal, organic and enveloping environment, focusing on a dreamlike vision suggested by this location of elevated pleasure. The other cornerstone of the design choices was the search for materials that followed the principle of "zero waste" to reflect the restaurant's philosophy in the design. The walls are covered with a rice plaster obtained by reusing the waste derived from such grains’ agricultural and industrial processing. Every element of the parquet, a typical Milanese finish, is made of recycled wood from old vinegar factories.
The terrace features a landscape project aimed at raising awareness of minute environments, biodiversity and fragility through an immersive and unconventional experience. Horto’s plant world moves away from the desire to amaze and approaches the idea of making a dynamic and changing scenery accessible in the heart of Milan. The project is characterised by a strongly geometric and rigorous design contrasted by an inhomogeneous plant world, left free in its vegetative development.
Horto has partnered with personalities that are as diverse as transversal, with an integrated and unusual approach. Alperia, a green energy supplier based in Alto Adige, provides Horto’s staff with a sustainable electrical car; BWT, suppliers of water treatment systems with a careful eye towards sustainable development are partnered with Horto; and so are Broggi, the historical Italian brand of tableware.
