La Dolce Vita 2010 welcomed thousands of London residents and visitors with many stands offering Italian food and wines as well as a wealth of information about Italian tourism and real estate. Representatives of the Italian business community in the UK, from the president of the Italian Chamber of Commerce to the General Managers of ICE and ENIT, were handy to answer the questions of trade and press.
Highlights of the fair were the many wine tastings and cooking demos. Many Italian wines from several regions were featured; there were tastings of Prosecco, show cases of wines from Campania, Tuscany, Veneto ,Umbria and Cinqueterre, and even a seldom seen vertical Tasting of Brunello (2004 – 1986).
People crowded the Giovanni Rana restaurant to enjoy an authentic Italian meal with many pasta dishes like tortellini, ravioli, gnocchetti and other Italian specialties. People stopped to watch a video of Mr. Rana cooking and there was a little bit of commotion when the jovial Mr. Rana himself showed up.
The Rana Restaurant was run by the Rana Kitchen Team, shipped directly from Verona for the occasion, in partnership with Chef Maurizio Morelli. Morelli, the acclaimed owner of Latium, one of the best restaurant in London, created for the occasion three different recipes, all of which use fresh ingredients and can be cooked in less than 10 minutes. The aim was to inspire consumers to get out and try something different rather than rely on the same ready meal week after week.
In addition to Morelli, the Cooking Demo Kitchen, named appropriately Teatro del Gusto, hosted a handful of Celebrity London Chefs.
Andy Needham, head chef of Michelin-starred Zafferano, the well known Italian restaurant in Knightsbridge, demonstrated “Baked onion filled with cheese fondue”. Enzo Olivieri, owner of several Italian restaurants in the London area, demonstrated Risotto ai Fiori di Zucca (risotto with zucchini flowers) and cooked with children a scrumptious Torta al Cioccolato.
Award winning Chef Theo Randall of Theo Randall at the Intercontinental, made a delicious Zuppa di Pesce, while Riccardo De’ Pra of Dorada, in Mayfair proposed the very popular Italian dessert, Tiramisu'.
I liked very much the Caldesis’ demonstration that was very lively and humorous. Tuscan-born Giancarlo Caldesi and his English wife Katie own a well-known London restaurant, Caffe’ Caldesi with adjoined cooking school and gourmet store, and a second restaurant in the country, Caldesi in Campagna . Caldesi is a frequent guest at various UK events and has appeared several times on UK radio and TV shows including some BBC programs.
The dynamic duo is really entertaining when they gently banter and tease each other. Everyone was laughing at the Dolce Vita demo when an onion ended up in the wrong pot and Caldesi jokingly scolded his wife and advised the audience “never to cook with wives, children or animals”.
The Caldesis demonstrated the
Beer Pancakes with Crab in a Spinach Sauce, an interesting take on the classical Florentine Crespelle as they substituted the milk with beer (Birra Moretti was one of the sponsor of La Dolce Vita). The result is a lighter version of the traditional crespelle.
Irene de Gasparis
