Mythh, Hotel Hindusthan International

When: Till November 26, noon to 3pm and 7pm to 11pm
Meal for two: Rs 1,999-plus

“I love Italian food but it’s just a little too rich for me. Of course it can be made healthily too. My son loves pizza and pasta. When I went to Italy, I loved the spaghetti they have,” said Prosenjit.

MARIALUISA LOVARI, the executive chef of Cucina Donnaluisa in Il Verreno Resort, situated in Ambra, Tuscany, is at the HHI for a week to whip up some authentic Tuscan dishes as part of the World Week of Italian Cuisine in Calcutta. t2 talked about all things food on her birthday as she turned 50.

What kind of food do you enjoy cooking?

I love cooking with products from the territory. So whether it is meat or vegetables, fruits or eggs, I like to cook with the ingredients of the area because they are fresh and local. I do not like imported ingredients.

Describe Italian cuisine in three words...

Italian food is all about flavour, colour and territory.

Apart from tiramisu, what is your favourite Italian dessert?

Tiramisu aside, we often have this dessert called Torta Della Nonna (grandma’s tart), which is very popular in Tuscany. It is a tart which is topped with pine nuts. There is a region in Tuscany called San Rossore where high-quality pine nuts are produced.

What is your first food memory?

When I was little, I liked to see my mom cooking in the kitchen and I would love the scents that were in the house when she cooked.

What is your favourite Italian ingredient?

Extra virgin olive oil and fresh pasta. The Tuscan region is very famous for their freshly handmade pasta.

What is your comfort food?

I like eating lasagna and tortellini. I love pasta.

Text: Deborima Ganguly
Pictures: B. Halder

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The Square, Novotel Hotel & Residences Kolkata

When: Till November 26, 7pm to 11pm
Meal for two: Rs 2,100-plus

The chef-cum-owner of two of the busiest restaurants in Rome — Dilla and Buvette — Andrea Misseri is in town to curate an Italian menu for Novotel, as part of the World Week of Italian Cuisine in Calcutta. t2 caught up with the 48-year-old chef who loves “serious Indian movies” and has original posters of Bombay to Goa and Mother India in his house in Rome before digging into a sumptuous spread.

What kind of food do you enjoy cooking?

I am a fish lover. I love fresh raw fish like sea bass. You can dress it with olive oil, lemon, apples, cherries, chopped vegetables and whatever you like and stir up a fabulous dish.

Italian cuisine in three words: Balanced, good flavours, fresh.

First food memory: My grandma was from Naples. Her meat stews and falafel (she picked it up from the Jewish community in Italy) are the first flavours of my life.

Favourite Italian ingredient other than olive oil: Parmesan for sure. And bacon made from pork cheek. It’s like pancetta, typical of Roman cuisine — soft and non-chewy… it’s crunchy.

Favourite Italian dessert, barring tiramisu:

Apple strudel. It’s a north Italian pastry stuffed with apples, slowly cooked. It’s like an apple pie but slightly above the apple pie.

Favourite pasta shape: Tonnarelli. It’s like a square spaghetti and not fluffy.

Bust a myth about Italian cuisine: Italians don’t use cream for cooking. There are only a few Italian dishes that allow cream in them. We use butter or burrata and stock to make a creamy texture.

Fave Italian food: Pizza! As a kid, I was not allowed to have enough pizza. So now I always crave for it.

One of your kitchen secrets: I use suji (semolina) in my pasta dough! That’s my Indian influence, as I had spent eight years in India because my dad was into the business of antique here.

Text: Sibendu Das
Pictures: Rashbehari Das