By Umer Nangiana
Presenting some of the best recipes from the traditional authentic Italian cuisine, Cucina, the Italian restaurant, at Marriott Marquis City Centre Doha is celebrating the Italian National Day in taste and style.
Boasting one of the best ambiances among the town’s fine dining places, the restaurant has been further decorated for the occasion by its team. The restaurant has launched a 7-day celebration starting from June 1 to 7, offering culinary highlights from all regions in Italy to its guests, as well as the Italian community.
The highlight of the celebrations was a buffet on June 2, the Italian National Day, featuring Italian classics as well as live cooking and carving stations.
“We have decorated Cucina with the colours of the Italian flag and we have displayed two motorbikes representing the two largest Italian motorbike brands, Vespa and Ducati. Besides, we have arranged for a different uniform for our hosts to provide a different ambience to our loyal guests,” Daniel Burstein, Director of Restaurants, Marriott Marquis The City Centre, said.
Festa della Repubblica (Republic Day) is the Italian National Day and Republic Day, which is celebrated on June 2 each year. The day commemorates the institutional referendum held by universal suffrage in 1946, in which the Italian people were called to the polls to decide on the form of government, following the Second World War and the fall of Fascism.
With 12,717,923 votes for a republic and 10,719,284 for the monarchy, the male descendants of the House of Savoy were sent into exile. To commemorate it, a grand military parade is held in central Rome, presided over by the President of the Italian Republic in his role as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
The Prime Minister, formally known as the President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic, also attends. There are important celebrations in all the Italian embassies and foreign heads of state are invited. Even though the main parade is in Rome, many Italian cities celebrate the day as well.
Besides traditional Italian fried cod fish with tomato salsa and green sauce, spaghetti pasta with green mussels, cherry tomato, walnuts and pecorino cheese and pizza with ten cheeses, the rich menu arranged specially for the occasion contains Cappelleti or pasta served with chicken broth.
Cappelletti or ‘little hats’ are meat-filled pasta served in rich capon or chicken broth. The best are said to come from Gubbio where it is a tradition, as in many other parts of Italy, to have them on Christmas. They are a delicate beginning to any Sunday dinner or a special occasion.
Another authentic recipe Vitello Tonnato or braised slice of veal with tuna sauce is Italy’s most celebrated contribution to the cold table. It is an ideal meat course for a summer menu, an exceedingly elegant antipasto for an elaborate dinner. It is regarded as the most successful party dish for small or large buffets.
Besides a savoury range of pickles, salads and cheeses, the menu contains features black ink risotto with grilled calamari and shaved parmesan cheese and tomato concasse, the two traditional Italian dishes.
The team at Cucina has carefully created the ambiance of the dining place which would be incomplete without Italian music.
“We have an Italian singer from the sunny island of Capri to provide live entertainment from 7pm to 11pm during the promotion. This is the first time we have worked with live entertainment in Cucina, and the feedback has encouraged us to explore this option further for our regular nights,” said Burstein.
Cucina is known to provide an authentic Italian dining experience by offering traditional Italian dishes in a warm and friendly atmosphere. The courteous and attentive service is an additional key feature that get highlighted by our loyal guests on a regular basis, said the manager of restaurants.
DECORATIONS: Cucina dressed for the occasion. Photo : Umer Nangiana
