" Festa Della Sensa "- Italian Food Festival @Bene, Sheraton

" Festa Della Sensa " the name itself is a festival which celebrates the relationship between Venice and the Sea. A Special Crafted menu which broke the stereotypes of Italian food only finishing and ending with Pizza n Pasta's.

I am lover of Italian food from any kinda pasta to any kinda sauce prepared to go with it. Experimenting at home with the same ingredients to make something different. So this festival was at my top most priority and couldn't miss even a bit of it. Menu which was set by the most amazing chef and a foodie by himself I have met - Chef Giuseppe Lioce

Chef Giuseppe Lioce,  all the way from Bari is now with Westin, Pune as their Italian Chef.  He believes in simplicity and keeping few of the dishes authentic with their taste and presentation.  Giuseppe took us through a journey with food from the dishes that he enjoyed from his childhood to the ones he loved creating and presenting them on plates with a twist. 

So I started of with my all time favourite Long Island Ice Tea and few others on the table had a choice of Red\White Wine. First on the table was this amazing " Pettole Pugliese " which is something you wouldn't guess it also.. its made up of Pizza dough which is deep fried and served along with red bell pepper sauce. Coming to the presentation part the best was the bell pepper sauce in the syringe and having it from that was super fun. The Fried Pizza balls were flavoured with rosemary, olives and sun dried tomatoes.

" Carpaccio di Funghi " Its the thinly sliced wild mushrooms which is marinated with Lavender Vinaigrette and mint which is garnished with green pea leaves and shave of Parmesan cheese. the distinct flavour of lavender mixed with the tangy lemon would just take you through a different level.

Another Appetizer was " Frittele di Broccoli Calabresi " Broccoli another favourite vegetable of mine. Giuseppe has served the Broccoli Fritter with Olive Tapenade and Romesco sauce which again took me by surprise. Giuseppe presented this on the table and spoke about his good old days with his friends spending time drinking and munching on these and yeah it does go prefect with a glass of red wine.

The Hero of the night was " Capesante Mare e Monti "  prefect grilled scallops with truffles served on bed of pumpkin purée with sautéed wild mushrooms and truffle honey. I had tasted scallops for the very first time and can say that I totally loved it nicely glazed and cooked perfectly. Just as it was served on the table I couldn't wait and diged in and tasted heaven. 

" Carpaccio di Tonno " Tuna Carpaccio with a light Italian dressing, rock salt infused with orange and a rocket salad. Again this has my very first time of tasting tuna and must say the chef had put in a lot of thoughts and its actually his signature dish.

That's is not all .. we then started off with the soup followed with the main course. 

" Zuppa di Fagioli " Soup made up from Cannelloni Beans and flavoured with some chilli, parmesan cheese and served with a Foccacio Pugliese. I would rather go with the Non-Veg Soup which was " Zuppa di Pesce " which had flavours bursting in your mouth with every sip. With the tomato base was the Calamari and prawns was also the fresh catch of the day. 

" Orecchiette Alla Barese " Not a typical paste but home made pasta with cherry tomato confit with garlic, broccoli and the zesty pecorino cheese. 

" Paccheri Mare e Monti " Something similar to cannelloni, single pasta cooked al-dente and stuffed with calamari and prawns in a white wine sauce sautéed with pistachio pesto.  this goes in the must try list.

" Branzino Livornese " Baked Sea Bass which was served on a bed of fried polenta with olives, anchovies, capers in a tomato sauce and spinach. 

As the chef noticed that me being a vegetarian didn't enjoy the non-veg main course he quickly made me amazing Aubergine with cheese in tomato sauce. Man that was a total hit for me. Tasted so good that I could leave qa single bite in the plate and cleaned it all. Trust me when I say you would have also done the same. This was out of the menu and was specially prepared for me and that brought a big smile on my face.

" Millefoglie  " Ahh mind blowing dessert with crisp layers filled with custard and topped off with berry compote served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. This also add to the must try list. 

And the last dessert to end the night was " Pasticciotto " shortbread pastry filled with custard, nutella and served with a side of vanilla ice cream.

The festival is on till the 24th May and must try are the desserts, soup, Orecchiette Alla Barese, Capesante Mare e Monti 

Pricing: Rs 3000 plus taxes.

Address: Bene, Hotel Sheraton, Brigade Gateway