‘The North Italian Food Festival’ at Alto Vino , Marriott Whitefield, Bangalore

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For most of us ,Pizzas and Pastas are synonymous with Italian food. The reality is however different.The peninsular Italy is kitchen to array of culinary ingredients and techniques. But broadly, Italian cuisine can be diversified into two, the North and South.

The Northern region is more influenced by its immediate neighbors, Austria & France unlike the southern cuisine , that has been widely influenced with Mediterranean and Arab culture. Northern Italy has always been more affluent than the South, and that reflects in its cuisine too.

Bengaluru Marriott Hotel, Whitefield recently hosted ‘The North Italian Food Festival’ with Chef Maraou at the specialty Italian restaurant, Alto Vino. I was invited to the tasting of the Festival menu that included some of authentic and unique preparations from the region.

“The beautiful thing about Italian cuisine is the regional variety it possesses. North Italian cuisine incorporates plenty of butter, herbs and garlic in its preparations, while ‘veal’ is a widely popular dish amongst Northerners, especially in the spring. The diversity and richness of Italy’s culinary culture is reflected in India as well and we wanted to celebrate that by offering a North Italian spread to our guests. We sincerely hope that our diners will enjoy this experience.”

– Chef Marou, Italian Chef at Alto Vino, Bengaluru Marriott , while speaking about the festival.

Photo Courtesy: Vidya’s Cooking by Vidya Lakshmi

The specially curated menu by Chef Marou has dishes from the 5 regions of Piedmont , Lombardia, Velle d’Aosta. Liguria , Emillia Romagna of northern Italy that give guests a glimpse into the country’s best kept culinary secrets.

The Zuppa section has some interesting offerings like the typical Seafood soup from Liguria coast with mushroom and seafood “Ciupin di pesce” to the Piedmont style Chickpeas and winter vegetable soup La cisra , that was offered to visitors who used to arrive to the holy feast after a long journey.

Some of the traditional and popular inclusions in the experience were the ‘Insalata di Verdure di Prato’ – a combination of raw and marinated grill vegetable basil cream cheese from Lombardia , ‘Lingua di vitello in salsa verde’-veal tongue delicacy from Piedmont ,served with green citrusy sauce, and unmissable ‘Vitello tonnato’ – slow cooked veal ,served with tuna and cappers sauce,Pollo Alla Valdostana , the marinated Breaded Chicken Breast, melted Fontina cheese, tagliolini pasta and black truffle from the Valle d’Aosta region and the ‘Pizzoccheri di Teglio’ prepared with Pizzoccheri , a type of short tagliatelle, a flat ribbon pasta, made with 80% buckwheat flour buckwheat fresh pasta.

The festival also takes us into the heritage past with an epic dish from Milan, ‘Cotolettaalla Milanese’ ,which is often claimed by Austrians as their own too. A breaded marinated veal rack served with sautéed potato, it is one of the most popular dish in the northern side of Italy.

north italy food

During the festival , the expert sommelier Viraj Sawant will be pairing the finely crafted wines with the delectable Italian menu. The paired Italian wines included Villa Antinori Bianco from Tuscany, Ricossa Gavi from Piedmont and the Marchesi Antinori from Santa Cristina , Tuscany.

Viraj Sawant is the Brand ambassador/ Sommelier for Berkmann wine cellars India.Prior to this he has held a Head sommelier position in London at one of the #1 Michelin star restaurants, La Trompette, managing a wine list of over 600 bins. He practiced the art of wine pairing in London for 4 years & was earlier instrumental in the selection pairing of Wines & Food at Michelin 2 Stars Veraswamy & Coworth Park at Ascot. He is India’s only Advance Master Sommelier in the country and is aspiring to be India first Master Sommelier.

“In a cosmopolitan city like Bengaluru, people are always looking for authentic and real experiences that open up the heart of a different culture to them. Italian cuisine is gaining popularity in the city and we are excited to cater to this growing demand by holding a unique Food Fest at our property.”

– said Jatin Khanna, General Manager, Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield, when asked about this initiative.

I invite you to indulge in the variety and richness of North Italian cuisine with Chef Marou and his team at Alto Vino, Bengaluru Marriott Hotel Whitefield.