A new chef at AQUA

It is Executive Italian Chef Gianfranco Pirrone’s turn to manage the AQUA restaurant at the Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort & Spa. Each time a new Chef is appointed, his culinary skills are shown to select members of Cebu’s media.

Chef Pirrone hails from Sicily and his origins reveal exactly who he is and we all know by now that each region of the 20 regions of Italy has 20 different cooking methods shaped by its geography, culture and conquerors.

Imagine that you come from an island that has endured 6000 years of domination by foreign powers, with invaders after invaders coming in from the sea. You had the Greeks, then the Carthaginians, followed by the Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, French and finally the Spanish to invade Sicily. And when you mix everything up, “you end up with Sicilian cuisine, very simple, very humble but good nonetheless”.

We were invited to indulge in a complete Italian meal and it started with Antipasti and three were served during our lunch: Sicilian Sea Food Salad, Carpaccio di Manzo and Buffalo Mozzarella with Tomato. Just like Sicily, Cebu is an island and we harvest daily some of these sea offerings and this influence the kinds of ingredients that goes into the salad mixture. It is said that Carpaccio di Manzo has its origins from Venice and it is a simple dish, made with raw thinly sliced beef with a dressing of extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.

This was followed by a soup, the Zuppa di Porri e Patate or Leek and Potato Soup and then the First Course or Primi Piatti was served. It was a Trilogy of Pastas:  Ravioli all’aragosta (Ravioli filled with Lobster), Lasagna di verdure (Green Vegetable Lasagna) and the Linguine al Nero con Polpa di Granchio (Black Linguine with Creamy Crab Meat Sauce). You can easily imagine the smell and taste of ravioli pasta stuffed with lobster meat or black pasta with crab meat made into a sauce, but I never could imagine that a plain and simple vegetable lasagna would taste better that the two seafood pastas.

Its taste has been described by my dinner mate, Katrina Avila, as “so rich yet so delicate...very delicious” and we, the rest of the media were in complete agreement with her opinion. Perhaps, it was not really plain and simple vegetables in it after all!

Secondo (Second Course) was Bisteca di Salmone con Salsa alla Mustarda e Miele or Salmon Steak with Mustard and Honey Sauce served with Potato Chips and Sautéed Parmesan-Spinach. The portions served were very generous and it did taste good but my memory cells were still very busy encoding the symphony of textures and flavours of the Lasagna di verdure.

Desserts were the Cassata Siciliana and Aqua Tiramisu. The Cassata is most iconic Sicilian cake, consisting of a sponge cake with ricotta cheese, candied fruits and other goodies. My beloved readers know that sweets are not really my forte and I am most willing to try just about anything when it comes to desserts.

But your favorite food columnist has his secret desires, to taste some foodstuff from all over the world like Palermo’s original fast food popular since the 1800s, the pani ‘ca meusa preferably at the Porta Carbone Restaurant but if Chef Gianfranco Pirrone has the extra time, he can cook for us this cow spleen sandwich and I will bring the bottle of wine. [email protected]