1 2 Pune: Food should do more than just satisfy the stomach — it should captivate the eyes — especially in an era where people take snaps of their meals before taking a bite, believes Neapolitan chef Davide Domenico, who is presenting an ongoing 10-day food festival titled 'A Touch of Italy ' at Asilo in The Westin, Koregaon Park to end on August 28. “The key to good food is good ingredients—fresh zucchini, tomato, basil, mozzarella, and a lot of olive oil are essential to my cooking style, which has strong Italian roots with a contemporary twist,” said Domenico. The food festival is aimed at introducing guests to traditional comfort food honed and perfected within the walls of his family kitchen back in Italy over the years in an ‘Instagrammable’ format.
He wants to go beyond ‘pink pasta’ and change the perception of Italian food bringing forth his personal favourite recipes , each dish a testament to his family's culinary legacy. “I was quite lucky to be born on a little farm in Napoli ( Naples ) where my grandparents grew their own produce — some of it went to the kitchen and the rest they used to sell,” he reminisced. “Indian guests have loved my take on eggplant parmigiano with tangy tomato sauce, basil sauce, parmesan fondue served with a side of a delicate puff pastry stuffed with smooth basil mashed potatoes.
While the plating looks very fancy, I follow my grandmother's recipe but use modern techniques. About 12 years ago, my brother combined.