Learn Italian: Per quanto il ristorante sia caro, è lo chef che esalta i sapori. - Even though the restaurant is expensive, it is the chef who enhances the flavors.

Per quanto il ristorante sia caro, è lo chef che esalta i sapori.

Even though the restaurant is expensive, it is the chef who enhances the flavors.

Breakdown of Per quanto il ristorante sia caro, è lo chef che esalta i sapori.

who, that (relative pronoun)

Questions & Answers about Per quanto il ristorante sia caro, è lo chef che esalta i sapori.

How does the cleft sentence structure work here with è lo chef che?

This is a classic cleft sentence (frase scissa). By saying è lo chef che esalta i sapori instead of simply lo chef esalta i sapori, the speaker places heavy emphasis on the chef. It translates perfectly to 'it is the chef who...' in English, highlighting that the chef—not the expensive restaurant itself—is responsible for the great flavors.

Why is sia in the subjunctive mood after per quanto?

The conjunction per quanto (meaning 'even though' or 'however much') introduces a concessive clause and always requires the subjunctive mood. Since we are talking about a current state (the restaurant being expensive now), we use the present subjunctive sia.

Could I use anche se instead of per quanto here?

Yes, but the grammar would change. Anche se usually takes the indicative mood for factual statements, so you would say anche se il ristorante è caro. Per quanto adds a slightly different flavor, emphasizing the degree ('no matter how expensive it is'), and strictly requires the subjunctive.

Does esalta just mean 'exalts' or 'exaggerates' here?

Not in a culinary context! While esaltare can mean to praise or exalt, when talking about food and i sapori (the flavors), it means to 'enhance' or 'bring out.' The chef is bringing out the best in the ingredients.