Ettore Bocchia, the chef at the Mistral and the Terrazza Serbelloni restaurants, blends a love of traditional cuisine with passion and creativity in the search for new recipes. Thus the Mistral has been the 'innovation lab' of Italian molecular cuisine, which Ettore Bocchia founded in collaboration with Davide Cassi, Professor of Physics of Matter at the Parma University. By scientifically studying the things that "happen in the pot" during cooking, cooling and mixing, Ettore Bocchia has managed to put science to use in the finest of kitchens. He has discovered how to perfect existing recipes, but also how to create totally new combinations, and concoct new cooking methods which produce innovative, balanced, delicious dishes.
Thus he created ice-creams cooled by liquid nitrogen, turbot cooked in melted sugars, sugar-free meringues and all the other delicacies to be found on the "à la carte" menu and on the tasting molecular menu of the Mistral.

Ettore Bocchia has also written a book, published by Sperling & Kupfer: "Il gelato estemporaneo" in which he describes his experience and presents numerous recipes.