It’s not often you get to enjoy Michelin-star Italian food, directly from the head chef of one of Rio De Janeiro’s best restaurants, in London’s Chelsea. In fact, you may not have even considered such an evening was possible. Well, it is and it’s happening at The Cadogan, A Belmond Hotel, as the established property is welcoming chef Nello Cassese from Ristorante Hotel Cipriani for a short residency.
Chef Nello knows a thing or two about Italian cooking, he has retained a Michelin star at Ristorante Hotel Cipriani at Copacabana Palace, A Belmond Hotel, in Rio de Janeiro since 2019 and is regarded as one of the top 100 chefs in Latin America by World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Having worked in some of the finest restaurants in the world like Maze, Petrus and the three-star Restaurant Gordon Ramsey, it was only a matter of time before chef Nello earned his own star.
This short residency which runs from October 9 through 12 is the first of a series of events that will see some of the world’s top chefs touch down at The Cardogan, A Belmond Hotel. Chef Nello will be serving some of his most popular dishes as part of a tasting menu that is set to take diners on a tour of Italy. While Chef Nello will only be present at The Cardogan until October 12, the special menu will be available to diners until the end of November.
Of course, great Italian food is taken to the next level by this nation’s impressive wine, so the sommelier has designed a special wine list comprised of Italian bottles that pair beautifully with the tasting menu.
Like all great Italian meals, this one opens with an aperitivo, diners should expect negronis and a tartlet that will certainly provide the Italian flavors, alongside stuffed olives with goats cheese, in addition to an interesting combination of Stracchino cheese and truffle.
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As the evening progresses diners will sample a modern twist on the classic vitello tonnato, a Piedmontese dish of veal with tuna-caper sauce. Chef Nello will be filling his raviolini del plin with cacciatora chicken, rosemary oil and pistachio sauce.
Meat lovers will certainly be satisfied – chef Nello was named the best chef in Tuscany when he was only 20 – for the main course its three different textures of wagyu, slow-cooked short rib served as part of a Romagna stew and entraña, a South American cut chef Nello has taken from his time in Brazil.
Dinner is topped off by a traditional bite from the city of Asti, bonet astigiano served two different ways; picture cocoa, amaretti biscuits and caramel. One version will utilize hazelnut for added texture, while the other keeps things classic with a foam.
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While chef Nello will only be in London from October 9 through 12, this exceptional tasting menu will be continuing until the end of November and priced at £115 (approx. $150) per person. The esteemed Italian chef will also be hosting cookery demonstrations at The Cadogan during lunch service on October 10, 11 and 12, this is limited to between six and eight guests and priced at £125 ($164) per person.
Reservations can be made at thecadogan.com or by emailing dining.cad@belmond.com.
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