Italian cuisine has always been considered among the world’s most appetising and enjoyable, so it’s no surprise that people get very excited when they hear about events featuring the culinary delights of that country. Something I have learned over the years, however, is that there is really no such thing as “Italian cuisine” and that we should, perhaps, be talking about “the many, many cuisine styles of Italy.”
This past week I attended a delightful tasting of an Italian-themed offering at Harare’s Cresta Lodge, where a group of a dozen media folk gathered to be treated to a sampling of some of the taste delights being offered in this coming week’s Feast of Italy in the hotel’s Chatters Restaurant. This event is open to the public and takes place over two nights, Tuesday and Wednesday, and more information about this appears later in this review.
The event is the brainchild of Italy’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Enrico D’Agostini, who has served here for several years and in that time has brought an energetic force to promotion of Italian culture and cuisine. In the past couple of years he has undertaken a number of culinary events at Meikles Hotel, but this year is moving over to Chatters at Cresta Lodge, recently re-opened after a major refurbishment and making a name for itself as a bright new star on the local dining scene. Under Ambassador D’Agostini’s supervision, the kitchen team led by executive chef Brian Ndlovu is creating a series of dishes that will please and delight, if our tasting is anything to go by. The ambassador took us through the selection and talked about the varying styles of Italian food, as well as giving an insight into what makes Italy such a respected culinary and cultural nation. This week’s event focuses on food styles from the Piedmont region, a departure from styles in his previous culinary feasts.
We started with a simple but tasty cold serving: vitel tonne, which is served in Italy with veal but for which here in Zimbabwe he has chosen standard beef; this beef came as thin slices topped with an extremely flavoursome sauce made from anchovies, tuna and capers. After that we sampled a risotto, inclusive of asparagus and peas, and the general consensus of the tasting group was that this was excellent and exceptionally very “more-ish” — in fact, we all had a little extra and enjoyed the second helping even more.
Following this was a tasting of two spaghetti dishes: one with pork meat and the other a vegetarian offering using aubergines as the key ingredient. The meat dish featured chopped bacon and a tomato flavouring, while the aubergine dish also featured tomatoes and rosemary. The ambassador said the sauce was generally known as Amatriciana, being associated with this Italian town, about which we now know so much, as Amatrice was the feature area in the recent devastating earthquake in central Italy. The choice of this sauce was something of a tribute to the people of this area in their current heartache and devastation. Accompanying the risotto and pasta dishes was a side sauce, called bagna caude and made of anchovies and garlic in olive oil, with crudités — carrots, green peppers and onion strips. We also topped with the dishes with genuine Parmesan cheese, although Enrico said he thought a pecorino cheese would have been even more enjoyable as an accompaniment.
Another plate followed, this time bearing a trio of treats: chicken cooked in red wine and served on a fried polenta base, complemented by beef, also stewed in red wine, and served on a base of mashed potatoes, as well as a really tasty accompaniment of sliced cabbage cooked in a sauce of walnuts and almonds and stock from the vitel tonne.
Dessert was equally delightful: salami di chocolatto (chocolate, biscuits and walnuts) and also pears stewed in red wine, with sugar, lemon and cinnamon. Being a lunchtime gathering, our group had only a glass or two of red wine with our meal, but I know the wine will be flowing at the dinners on Tuesday and Wednesday, appropriately so.
Diners at the Italian feast this week are in for a real treat with this meal and Ambassador D’Agostini will be on hand to take guests through the food on offer and give of his rich knowledge of Italian culture and cuisine. He’s a ball of fire and has brought a large measure of charm and energy to the infusion of all things Italian into our lives here in Zimbabwe. He’s also working on this year’s Musica festival, which runs in Harare in the first week of October, with the huge final concert taking place in the grounds of Cresta Lodge on Saturday October 8.
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The Feast of Italy is open to public booking and people who would like to attend this highly recommended culinary treat can book by calling Wellington or Tafadzwa at Cresta Lodge on (04) 486211 or 08644 115964-71. An e-mail for bookings is [email protected]. The cost is $28 per person and guests are asked to arrive between 7pm and 7:30pm.
The event, with the active participation of Ambassador D’Agostini, provides the chefs’ team at the lodge with a chance to learn new things and to perfect their approach to preparing Italian foods, including pasta and rice. Brian Ndlovu, as executive chef, was excited about working with the ambassador, and we guests last week had a glimpse of Enrico chatting in the kitchen to chefs, among them recent Battle of the Chefs winner Leandrah Makaya.
Chatters is looking really good after its refurb, with a large indoor seating area and an equally large series of tables on the adjoining outdoor terrace and garden. It’s a popular venue for diners from neighbouring Greendale, Highlands and Msasa, and one of the most popular features of the restaurant is the Sunday roast, being sold for a very competitive $8 per person! It’s a good setting for the Feast of Italy.
l Feedback from readers is welcome on all culinary and food issues, e-mail: [email protected]
