Chef Giuliano Tassinari is going hi-tech at Delhi’s Olive Beach restaurant. The 48-year-old chef has just taken over and is about to launch a new concept called the Chef’s Table with a touchscreen that can be used for placing orders. “People can also see what the food looks like,” he says, proudly displaying the new device. Tassinari, who oversees all the group’s restaurants, had feared he wouldn’t get the right ingredients here to whip up his Italian delicacies but has been pleasantly surprised. “I can even get fresh Italian tomatoes,” he says with amazement.The second surprise was the realisation that Indians love good food and will travel a long way for a great meal. The 120-cover swanky, upmarket restaurant is fully booked for nights on end. And that’s not all. It’s also doing roaring business catering to high-end diners. On average, he organises four parties a night. “Every client wants to know details of the dishes and what kind of cheese I’ll serve.” He admits he never expected all this when he took up this assignment last October and only now is getting into the thick of things. His innovations include fresh cheese. “The taste of fresh cheese is different from packed ones,” he says. So new supplies of ricotta, Mascarpone and mozzarella are prepared daily from 8 litres of buffalo milk. But the quantities can rise steeply on busy days. Tassinari has been in the culinary game for 32 years but he’s amazed by India. “There’s so much scope for high profile food. It’s not been explored,” says the chef, who’s also planning an Indian chapter of Alma, a school for culinary professionals who want to specialise in Italian cuisine. The chef ran his own restaurant in Italy and now runs a 120-room hotel with a partner. He did a three-year chef’s diploma course at the Palace Hotel in Rimini, Italy. In 1976 he became a sous-chef at Da Pindo Hotel in Cesenatico, a town on the Adriatic coast. From there he moved to Bologna and Switzerland.

But the most challenging task had been managing restaurants for Ralph Lauren when the designer rented The Savarona, the world’s largest private cruise ship.

Tomato terrine with rocket salad

INGREDIENTS
50gm red tomato 50gm goat cheese 50gm rocket salad 1 piece grissini (bread stick) 1 piece of bread 2 basil leaves 1 clove of garlic Salt, pepper and olive oil (extra virgin)

Method
Remove the tomato skin, slice into thin rounds. Place in a bowl with extra virgin olive oil and basil leaves to marinate for a few hours. Then put into a round mould and press the goat cheese on top of the tomato. Remove from mould onto a plate and place the rocket salad with salt, pepper and olive oil (extra virgin) next to the tomato terrine. Garnish with grissini and bread, some sun dried tomato and basil leaves drizzled with olive oil.

Spinach and mushroom Lasagna with cream cheese sauce

INGREDIENTS
100gm mushrooms 100gm fresh spinach 30gm Parmigiano cheese 30gm fresh buffalo mozzarella 50gm fennel 50gm béchamel (a sauce) 30gm fresh cream 30gm Taleggio cheese / Fontina cheese / Emmenthal 1 clove of garlic 1 egg white Salt, pepper and olive oil (extra virgin) to taste

Method
Clean the mushrooms and cut them into small cubes. Pan fry them with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Blend the washed spinach leaves in the mixer with one egg white. Put this spinach cream in a non-stick pan and bake in the oven for a few minutes. Remove and cut into squares (you need at least three). Put three layers of spinach sheets, mushrooms and Parmigiano cheese in a pan. Top with mozzarella and bake till brown. Cut fennel into eight pieces and steam for five minutes. Add béchamel and gratinate for five minutes. Mix fresh cream with the cheese (whatever is available) and boil till thick. Place the lasagna on a plate, add the gratinated fennel and serve with cheese sauce.

Lemon Mascarpone with warm wild berry sauce

INGREDIENTS
150gm fresh mascarpone 70gm lemon juice 70gm icing sugar 60gm mixed wild berries 1tbs brandy

Method
Blend the mascarpone in a mixer, slowly adding lemon juice. Gently beat in the icing sugar by hand. Refrigerate for an hour.Heat the berries and brandy in a pan. Flambé the alcohol and when the flame has stopped, put the sauce on top of the lemon mascarpone. Garnish with a lady finger cookie or a brownie.