For those looking beyond a slice of pizza on the slip, a slice of real Italy is arriving on our shores… at least temporarily. Picture this: You’ve just tucked into your seat at this year’s Nantucket Wine and Food Festival Ceretto wine dinner with Piazza Duomo—Alba, Italy’s three-star Michelin restaurant. Each course is accompanied by wine pairings from the legendary Ceretto Winery. Chef Jacopo Campobasso of Piazza Duomo and Federico Ceretto, a third-generation family member of Ceretto, lead the evening.

The first course of pickled zucchini tacos with guacamole sauce and garlic mayo over salanova salad and flowers sets the tone before a second course of raw red prawns seasoned in red shiso powder follows. Dishes of sea bass and caponata sauce, rooibos risotto, lamb and chamomile, and profiteroles for dessert complete the rest of the menu for the evening. “We were thinking about the highlight of the season here in Italy,” explains Campobasso, who works hand in hand with head chef Enrico Crippa. This is only one example of the many experiences and notable chefs on the island during the 2024 festival. Other names include Chef Iván Azar of Michelin-starred restaurant Casa Vigil in Mendoza, Argentina; acclaimed restaurateur Lisa Dahl of Sedona, Arizona’s Mariposa Restaurant; Stefano Cinelli Colombini, the 20th-generation heir to Fattoria de Barbi;  Boston’s own Lydia Shire; New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov; and so many more.

But it’s perhaps the international flavors being brought to the table this year that are the most impressive—giving Nantucket a taste beyond the United States by venturing into places attendees may not have been before.

The private dinner with Ceretto and Piazza Duomo is a prime example of this. For a bit of background, the Ceretto family partnered with Crippa in the early 2000s to open two restaurants, Piazza Duomo and La Piola, within the Piazza Risorgimento building in the heart of Alba. Both restaurants promote the local area from a gastronomic point of view. By 2006, Piazza Duomo had earned its first Michelin star, followed by a second in 2009 and a third in 2012. In 2022, it earned a Green Star in recognition of its sustainability efforts.

Piazza Duomo sources ingredients directly from its garden on the Monsordo Bernardina Estate, part of the Ceretto Winery. “All the inspiration that Enrico has is due to what he can grow and find in that garden,” explains Roberta Ceretto, director of communications and marketing at Ceretto Winery. “During the year, you can probably find around 400 different species and varieties.”

It’s for this reason that no Piazza Duomo menu is ever the same—changing daily depending on what is at peak freshness in the garden. Produce is typically picked two hours prior to serving. Campobasso adds, “To work in one of the best restaurants in the world is amazing. When I entered this restaurant, I was a boy knowing nothing about this work. I learned everything about cuisine the strictness, the discipline and the philosophy behind this kind of restaurant.”

Even being so far from home, the Piazza Duomo team plans on bringing a similar experience to Nantucket. Campobasso will also be at the Harbor Gala, where he will serve a mezze maniche cacio and whiskey, Crippa’s personal version of the classic cacio e pepe. For the restaurant’s presence at La Fête, a riso e zafferano—a traditional Milanese saffron risotto flavored with rosemary, sage and lemon zest—will delight guests. Campobasso concludes, “I want to discover the island, discover the people that are joining the festival, discover the people working at the festival. I am very excited about everything.”