The astute chef, I wrote a month ago, scrutinizes a new dish as a practiced traveller would his packed suitcase: He finds the least necessary item and removes it.

Last week Giorgio Locatelli made or unmade, as it were, the same case for simplicity, only without the valise. Rather he cited these words of wisdom from his grandmother as fundamental to his cooking philosphy:

È meglio saper togliere un ingrediente che aggiungerlo.

“It’s better”, cautioned nonna Locatelli, “to know how to subtract an ingredient than to add it”.