An italian supperclub for a good cause

 
For the moment has been just one off dinner at @federilli's place, but we all hope there will be some events following it.

Italian and passionate about food, Federica was the creator and the great chef of this dinner, made to raise some money for the Abbruzzo cause, horribly devastated by the earthquake some years ago.

She offered us some of the best dishes from the region, and the chance to know more about this territory, its history and culinary side.

I was amazed by the dishes, recipes that I have never tried before, also being Italian, but I was even more surprised by how much calm and confident she was also having 12 guests at her table.

All the night went smoothly, thanks also to a sous chef and another friend helping her with the service, and the dinner was really great.
 
It's just weird that this event has been organized just in the day that another big earthquake has destroyed another city in Italy, but I can imagine there will be another dinner soon for that cause too.

The found from this dinner will be entirely donated to the FAI, Fondo per l’ambiente Italiano, that has started different projects to recover some of the oldest pieces of art of the region like the Fontana delle 99 Cannelle.
 
But let's see some of the fantastic dishes we had:

Cazzarielli e Fagioli - homemade pasta with beans, a comforting dish

Meat Cac'e Ova - a traditional, rustic lamb meat (from Ginger Pig) cooked with egg and cheese

Parrozzo - traditional chocolate cake with some Torrone Nunzia icecream gently made by La Gelatiera in London, like the sorbet served with some Centerbe chocolates from Abbruzzo.

I loved the idea to help an Italian region and its art, letting people discover some of the truly Italian culinary traditions and tastes. I think the dinner was really a great and clever event, and still, all my congratulations to the excellent host.

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For a delicious weekend!

If you are passionate about good wine and some organic and healty food, you can’t miss this fair that will take place in London this weekend, 20^th and 21^st of May.

While Pastificio dei Campi will be in Italy at “Taste of Milan”  and in France, at the Cannes Festival , thanks to the La Palm D’Or menu’, in London you won’t be disappointed by this new event, ROW, held at The Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane.

Ok, it won’t probably be glamorous like Cannes festival or famous like taste, but I’m sure that with the years it will register more and more visitors and people passionate about food.

The festival in fact has been created by  Isabelle Legeron MW also called “the crazy French girl” to promote small, artisan wine producers who make fine wine using natural farming techniques (including organic and biodynamic practices) and low-intervention vinification processes. 

But it’s not all: on top of featuring over 200 growers from all around the globe and being one of the most exciting collections of fine, natural wine artisans ever to come together in the capital, ROW will also have some other interesting names as guest and food supplier: between this Signe Johansen who is teaming up with Ole Hansen, the Norwegian salmon man from Stoke Newington, to offer a Scandivanian platter of deliciousness; the famous Neal’s Yard Dairy, the Elliot's Cafe that is hosting a wild, English oyster shucking stall at RAW, Violet the cupcake store and many more.

So are you a food lover? Do you like Italian wine too or just organic food?

 See you there then. All the information about prizes and hours are on the website.

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Our pasta between design and food festivals

It’s the 15^th of May and has been already a really busy month for Pastificio dei Campi.

Milan can’t stay without the southern vibe of this pasta and any excuse is good to bring back the brand in the city and to place it under the spotlight.

At the beginning of the month in fact Pastificio dei Campi has been the protagonist of an interesting show: I “Campotti” one of the latest interesting shape created by the brand, has been chosen by ADI (association for the industrial design) to be part of an exhibition about 30 design objects connected with food: Dal cucchiaio al cucchiaio. The shape designed by Mauro Olivieri is in fact pretty innovative, beautiful and functional to highlight all the quality of this pasta.

And it’s not all: from the 17^th of May Pastificio dei Campi will be also present at Taste of Milan the first of the international taste food festivals that will take place in the main cities all around the world.

Between demonstrations from famous chefs, cooking classes and lots of good recipes to try, you will find our pasta too and if it’s not enough come to "taste" it in one of the shows of the Saturday night.

Are you planning a little foodie break? Maybe now you know where to go.

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Ready for the show and the winners of 2012?

Do you think Noma will still remain at the first place in the World's 50 Best Restaurants or a new restaurant will be selected as the best worldwide? In few hours we will know it... and this year will be possible to follow the event directly from the first row, thanks to the facebook technology.

Click here and reserve your place to don't miss anything from this great show and to be the first one to know who will be the winner this year.

But do you know why these nominees are so famous and recognized all over? Because this is one of the few awards where there isn’t a list of names to select from and any restaurant in the word is eligible.

“There are no criteria that a restaurant has to meet. They certainly do not have to sell a certain product. They do not need to have been open a certain number of years and they do not need to have won any other culinary accolades.”

It’s The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy, an influential group of over 800 international leaders in the restaurant industry, to choose the best. The Academy comprises 27 separate regions around the world. Each region has its own panel of 31 members, food critics, chefs, restaurateurs and highly regarded ‘gastronomes’ each of whom has seven votes. Of the seven votes, at least three must be used for restaurants outside of their region.

These criteria are designed to allow them to vote far and wide. They could vote for a small, unknown restaurant in a secluded region, or select the best-known restaurants in the world.

At this point let's the countdown start! 

I hope you will enjoy the event and I wish good luck to all the participants while I will keep my fingers crossed for our best Italian one, Massimo Bottura and his “ Osteria Francescana”.

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A quite, peculiar and truly good market

It’s more than a year that everyone is speaking about this awarded market, basically created by the farmers as an alternative to the busy and overcrowded Borough Market.

This street characterized by the arches of the railway is now the new foodies destination for a special Saturday market experience. Packed with farmers and little producers this truly great place give you the time and all the fun you can have in discovering niche and unique products. From amazing sweets, to spanish ham, from smoked salmon to fresh oysters and flowers, you can really comeback in time.

In Italy for example every area has its weekly market, something very common and never, never, so full like the few very famous ones here in London. To go to one of this you really need to be motivaded and ready to spend the day between lots of people. In Maltby street instead is more the market that guides you in the exploration and you can only let it drives you, like when I was a child and i was going to the market with my mum.

The smell, the  beauty of the products, the peace under the arches can only make your Saturday morning better and even the past Saturday when all London was gray and miserable, there it was sunny and warm.

After a nice stoll, a little shopping and a beautiful coffee in Monmouth I then camback to the center passing by London bridge, but when I saw the amount of people, I just rememberd. For me the tranquillity of this place and the good vibe of the shops and the people was a really nice discovery.

Do you want to know what I bought? You will need to wait my next recipe… soon on the blog.

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Massimo’s is one year old: come to enjoy a special dinner

On the 27^th of April a new pasta tasting event will be held at Massimo’s Restaurant and Oyster bar in the Corinthia Hotel.

Have you ever been here before? Are you also a big pasta lover?Then you don’t have excuses: Pastificio dei Campi pasta will be served all the night with lots of recipes to taste from the classic Italian traditions. Massimo’s won’t be there but all his amazing chefs, ingredients and truly Italian recipes will be waiting for you with a glass of prosecco too, all for 25£.

You can read here and here about the previous successful pasta events, but if you have never eaten at this restaurant before, have a look at the amazing dishes you can find on their menu’.

Here is my little way to celebrate the first anniversary of Massimo's...

To start: Crab and ricotta ravioli with arancini or  Seafood salad

Pan fried Prawns with asparagus and bergamot sauce 

For Main: Linguine Pastificio dei Campi with squid and truffle or Amatriciana

To finish: Chocolate pudding with vanilla icecream or Pannacotta with poached rhubarb

Mouthwatering? I’ll see you next Friday at this event. Please leave a comment if you want to participate and i will add you in the list.

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When furniture and the right design can really create a special dining experience

Also this year the Salone del Mobile has started in Milan and everyone is speaking again about design, new furniture, space solutions and great inventions.
I normally tend to focus my attentions on the new kitchen products presented there, the little tools that make your cooking easier or nicer, funnier or just great. This year instead I'm thinking about furniture and interior design and how much the environment of a dining room is important for a special dining experience. I had the true prove of it, when I went this winter to the event 'Too much is never enough'.

More than a supperclub, more than a shop and more than a unique experience: Disappearing Dining Club with 123 Bethnal Green have organized this original dinner format really entertaining and delicious!
For just 50pounds they were offering a 3 course meal + drinks and a vintage shopping night, all in one shot and in a unique environment.
123 Bethnal green is a really nice and old building in a corner of an East London street with a weird past (they said these premises harboured London’s most notorious illegal gun supply – selling hundreds of lethal weapons to villains all across Britain at the rate of one a day). The house has really old pieces of furniture all over the three floor and they organized the night in a way that everyone could go around the place in freedom.

The aperitif was served in the first floor and in the vintage cloths part. Up at the third floor there was the starter: chicken liver and a great salmon pate’ served with a spiced punch! This was the boys room full of weird objects and old arms of course!
In the second floor was served the main: a delicious veal stew cooked with mushroom and potatoes and accompanied by lots of rice salads “Ottolenghi style” and wine. The cosy room was showing women outfits and a big cupboard was offering in sale beautiful vintage plates and cups.

Finally in the basement between discs and old book was served the dessert and the final cocktail. Everything was really tasty because cooked by a proper chef and served by weathers and nothing was left unthoughtful. The place was so peculiar but cosy at the same time that was impossible to don't fell in love with the concept :)

In Italy we are starting now with the first supperclubs, but having a building like this one, it could be really interesting to start a format of this kind. Maybe something similar is Casa Clementina in Rome.  And I could see Pastificio dei Campi just as the cherry on the cake for an event like this!

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