On November 10, the Consulate General of Italy in Kolkata celebrated the legacy of Kolkata’s once-iconic restaurant Firpo’s as Angelo Firpo’s great-nephew Enrico De Barbieri, flew down from Genova, Italy. The Consulate hosted a gala dinner at The Oberoi Grand curated by Gormei with Western classical music and an exhibition. My Kolkata joined the celebrations
Images by Italian Consulate in Kolkata and Jaismita Alexander
The five-course menu featured Continental dishes from the grand era, paired with elegant wines from Italy. The non-vegetarian course began with a warm bowl of chicken consommé with a garnish of asparagus spears and chicken quenelle followed by a soft and juicy rolled bekti fillet served with chardonnay lemon sauce and white grapes. The vegetarian options for these two courses included a potato and leeks soup and roasted butternut squash crepes, comte’ cheese emulsion
Serving a dash of freshness and greens was a rocket leaf salad with candied walnuts, olives and lemon olive oil dressing. Then came a sumptuous platter of confit leg and breast of duck, roasted baby potatoes, pumpkin polonaise and haricot vert. The vegetarian alternative was soft polenta, ceps, porcini, king mushroom and truffle oil. The dessert came in as a piece of artwork where vermouth macerated strawberries were served with strawberry mousse
The course was paired with three wines — Jermann Chardonnay, Domini Veneti Valpolicella Ripasso DOC and Peliti’s Vermouth di Torino Superiore. The Peliti’s Vermouth was special because it honoured another great Italian restauranteur from Kolkata in the 1870s – Federico Peliti, who was the owner of Peliti’s, which started out as a confectionery outlet on Bentinck Street and thereafter turned into a fine dining restaurant-cum-confectioner’s on Esplanade Row. Firpo collaborated with Peliti in his initial years in India before opening his own place. Still in production, the vermouth was created in 1877 at the request of Prince Edward VII of Wales. It is a fine blend of Indian spices, Piedmontese flowers, absinthe, and Monferrato passito muscat.
![Speaking about the gala night, the consul general of Italy in Kolkata, Riccardo Dalla Costa, said: ‘This event has a significant value for us, since we are paying tribute not only to an Italian [Angelo Firpo] who once lived in Kolkata, but also to the history of the beautiful city we are all living in. A symbol of extraordinary Italian excellence which can still be a source of inspiration for all of us’. In picture, (L-R) consul, Consulate of Italy in Kolkata Daniele Panfilo, sommelier Giulia Biscontin, artist Giovanna Caruso, consul general of Italy in Kolkata Riccardo Dalla Costa and Enrico De Barbieri raising a toast](https://assets.telegraphindia.com/telegraph/2024/Nov/1731828603_5-3.jpg)
Speaking about the gala night, the consul general of Italy in Kolkata, Riccardo Dalla Costa, said: ‘This event has a significant value for us, since we are paying tribute not only to an Italian [Angelo Firpo] who once lived in Kolkata, but also to the history of the beautiful city we are all living in. A symbol of extraordinary Italian excellence which can still be a source of inspiration for all of us’. In picture, (L-R) consul, Consulate of Italy in Kolkata Daniele Panfilo, sommelier Giulia Biscontin, artist Giovanna Caruso, consul general of Italy in Kolkata Riccardo Dalla Costa and Enrico De Barbieri raising a toast
The event partner for the evening was Gormei. Expressing his thoughts on Angelo Firpo and Kolkata, Argha Sen, founder of Gormei, said: ‘The Firpo's name stands as the gold standard for what a great evening should taste, sound and feel like. Gormei is honoured to be the culinary and event management partner of the Consulate General of Italy in Kolkata in recreating the magic of Firpo's, and the joy that can only be brought into the world when two great cultures meet and work together.’ In picture, (L-R) chef Katherine Lim, Argha Sen and Daniele Panfilo, consul, Consulate of Italy in Kolkata
The evening commenced with an art exhibition by Giovanna Caruso and sailed through the melodies of Western classical music by violinists from the Calcutta School of Music (CSM). Jyotishka Das, who is also the president of CSM, said: ‘The Calcutta School of Music, which started its operations in 1915, has been the largest torchbearer in the country for Western classical music presented some pieces by Italian composers specially curated for this grand evening in memory of Angelo Firpo’
