Irresistible experiences (of taste)

Authentic, genuine, fascinating flavours. I love this combination of Northern and Southern Italy.

Genuine, heartfelt, passionate: without any doubt, that’s what the hosts of Hotel Pradat are all about – I can tell this each time they greet me at my table and pamper me with their delicious specialities. Ladin delicacies like "bales" (a variety of dumplings), "cajincí" (spinach ravioli), or "panicia" (barley soup) already melt my heart... but adding Sicilian flavours to the menu, with chef Salvatore serving up tasty caponata, arancini and cannoli, it definitely makes my day – mamma mia, what a treat!

It's precisely this unique fusion of Mediterranean cuisine (yes, Salvatore was born in Sicily!) and Mamma Rita's Ladin homemade meals that never ceases to enchant me. And the secret ingredient of every dish? It is of course a whole lot of amore and passione, just as you are used to in Italy!

Whether for the "Gustè" (breakfast) or the "Cëna" (dinner), I have a reserved seat in the bright dining room where Paulina and Christina, two of the owners, serve the delicious dishes in person and reveal to me their preparation and the ingredients used. After all, the way to the heart is (also) through the stomach!

The Ladin cuisine, for bon vivants

I learned that the Ladin cuisine is simple, made from genuine ingredients and, as our grandparents used to say: in simplicity lies strength. The regional cuisine of Alta Badia stands for tradition, down-to-earthness and authenticity, and today, thanks to the young chefs working in this area, it also open to innovation and more cosmopolitan flavours. I would call it that: Rural charm meets the big wide world.

In the past, the local housewives could rely on few ingredients, but they would still manage to create delicious dishes.This traditional rural cuisine still exists today (which I find quite remarkable), but sometimes it is reinterpreted in a more contemporary way.

Anyway, I can never resist "tutres" (fried savoury doughnuts with a spinach and ricotta filling), “spaetzle” (home made pasta) "bales" (dumplings) - they're just too delicious!