The Man From Ferrara

It is Wednesday night and the bright and cheery Mi Piace is bustling with diners. In the open kitchen, a toque’d chef and his assistant are shuffling pans and plating dishes with ordered and efficient haste. Every once in a while, the chef looks up from his stove to acknowledge a passing diner or a signalled request from a guest or waiter. Our host, a persistent man who insisted we just had to try out this new chef, walks over after every dish to find out what’s next. "You’ll like this one," he promises each time.

And indeed we do. Chef Michele (it rhymes with ukulele, minus the last syllable) Mingozzi has prepared a repertoire that is as interesting as it is delicious. Our sumptuous sampling that Wednesday evening fully justified a "Mi piace!" ("I like it!") at the end of the meal.

Any chef who can make me like peas in any form is a master; Chef Michele’s cream of peas soup with sauteed squid made me realize those round green things may have some saving grace after all. The open ravioli with scallops and asparagus was smooth to the palate, encouraging me to tackle the salmon with saffron and chive sauce with confident delight.

We could have ended the meal right there, and happily so, but Chef Michele sends word that there is coming a nugget–just a little nugget–of an angus beef that we must try. Even without lunch, waistlines can only take so much. "You can’t disappoint the chef!" our host warns; he is persistent indeed. The nugget comes–it’s not as small as promised–and it is succulent and tender, with a port wine sauce that is subtle with flavor. We truly want to give up but the dessert plate comes and one can only surrender to the medley presented before us: coffee gelato, tiramisu (try the attached recipe), chocolate cannelloni....

Later Chef Michele joins us for the verdict; we need no words. The amiable man from Ferrara has put his training at Michelin-rated institutions in Europe to good use, introducing fine Italian tastes tempered with Filipino preferences ("a little sweeter and a little lighter on the liquor" for example). A new menu, weekly specials and a readiness to discover and experiment with locally available ingredients augur well for Chef Michele and Mi Piace.

Trust me, you’ll like it too.

Tiramisu

Ingredients:
5 pcs. egg whites
5 pcs. egg yolks
250 g. mascarpone
2 pcs. gelatine
Kahlua as needed
75 g. sugar
Biscuits moistened with kahlua, coffee, sugar and rum
Cocoa powder as needed

Procedure:

Whisk egg yolk and sugar until ribbon stage. Soften gelatine in water and dissolve in warm kahlua. Fold in mascarpone and the rest of kahlua. Whip egg whites with sugar until soft peaks are created and fold into mascarpone mass.

In appropriate container, layer mascarpone cream and moistened biscuits alternately, ending with cream on top. Dust with cocoa powder. Serves four.