From: Arshad Ali

Flavour of Rome   

Posted On Friday, April 01, 2011

For Kolkatans, Italian food is more than leaning on the towering pizza. It is a mix of freshness, simplicity and health...

At a time when life is getting busier by the day with meetings and deadlines, more often than not, the first thing that gets affected in an executive’s life is working out. Thus to keep healthy, professionals are taking the next best thing – healthy food. Inevitable is then the rising demand for Italian food for their healthy ingredients and method of preparation.

“Italian food is one of the most popular cuisines in Kolkata. The reason is that compared to seven years ago, more people are travelling out of India. Kolkata has invested more time and money into Italian food in terms of bringing chefs from Italy, importing various products from Italy which allow chefs to reproduce authentic Italian food,” says Davide Cananzi, executive chef, HHI, and adds that most Italian dishes are easy to prepare so whoever needs to grab a quick lunch with the need to have enough carbohydrate and proteins will definitely opt for a quick and tasty plate of pasta.

Restaurants are trying every strategy to cash in on the growing demand. “Officials of the upper and top management frequent us. Our USP has been the authentic taste. We import ingredients and don’t Indianise the dishes. The food is light, easily digestable and tastes great. A repeat clientele of 91 per cent stands verdict to the popularity of Italian food,” says Rajiv Singh, GM (east and south), Spaghetti Kitchen. He says the restaurant has opened about two months ago and it is already a hot favourite among CEOs and MDs.

According to people like Tanmoy Pandit, manager, Little Italy, Indian and Chinese cuisines are cooked in a lot of spice. “That is harmful in the long run. Corporate clients visit this place regularly on weekdays. They are health conscious, and the ingredients used in Italian delicacies are fresh and healthy,” he says.

Simplicity, fineness and lightness are the essence of Italian food. Even after having a full meal complete with dessert, you don’t feel stuffy. “For example, in French cuisine, the grills are heavy-based sauce but in case of Italian food, the normal dressing is the sauce. The dishes are cooked straight from the heart, which is why they are so popular. The ingredients speak for themselves. The top restaurants of the world are attracting people who want Italian food. It is very trendy,” says Chiranjib Chatterjee, chef, Afraa.