Buon Appetito!

(12/18/2010)

Three Italian chefs, each working from their respective kitchens in Bali, will participate in the 4th Annual International Day of Italian Cuisine to take place on Monday, January 17, 2011.

The trio of Bali-based chefs will join a global group of 1,000 fellow Italian chefs all preparing a deceptively single dish - Pesto alla Genovese on that date.

Pesto alla Genovese

A dish that any Italian grandmother knows the secret to success rests in the pesto sauce - combining quality olive oil, garlic cloves, salt, pine nuts, cheese and basil leaves that are added one-by-one into a mortar when they are hand-rendered to a silken consistency.

One of the three chefs joining the culinary campaign is Giordano Fagioli of the AYANA Resort and Spa Bali, who told balidiscovery.com: "We are proud to represent our national cuisine in this worldwide celebration of authentic, quality Italian food. Pesto alla Genovese is a well-known dish often reproduced in household kitchens, but not according to traditional methods. Guests at our restaurants on 17 January will taste the difference!"

He continued: "This is a delicious landmark of Italian cuisine that originated in Genova, a region of Liguria. It is one of the most reproduced, for better or for worse, dishes of our cooking traditions. Many variations are offered these days, but the only way to really enjoy this dish is still by the traditional method, whereby the sauce is tossed - off the fire, as pesto sauce should never be heated - with trenette or trofie, a type of elongated and twisted gnocchi. The ingredients in this sauce are the most common and ancient in Italian cuisine: olive oil, basil, garlic, Parmesan cheese, walnuts, pine nuts, potatoes and green beans."

Those desiring to celebrate this annual day of Italian cuisine have three chefs at three Bali locations waiting to present their individual versions of Pesto alla Genovese. They are:

• Chef Giorano Faggioli – Executive Chef, AYANA Resort and Spa Bali at Jimbaran.

• Massimo Sacco – Owner-chef, Da Massimo Restaurant in Sanur,

• Michele Greggio – Executive Chef, Puri Jimbaran Resort, Jimbaran.

While each of these establishments will proudly feature the de riguer - Pesto alla Genovese on January 27, 2011, a number of other Italian specialties will also be on offer on a day designated around the world to honor cucina italiana.

Buon Appetito!