I was one of the few lucky foodies who was invited to the event celebrating the partnership of Lavazza and Vivaldi Restaurant & Lounge and Sheraton Dubai Creek Hotel.
My three course meal was made by the Michelin Star Chef; Russo AlFredo! It was an honor for me to not only eat his delicious food but also meet him in person!
To give you a back-stroy of Russo AlFredo; he is an Italian celebrity chef and a consultant chef for Vivaldi by Alfredo Russo Restaurant & Lounge. Since he was young, Russo found his passion for cuisine when he helped out in the kitchens of local restaurants. After completing hotel management school, Chef Russo apprenticed at three Michelin-starred restaurants in Italy’s Piedmont region. He is now one of the top chefs in United Arab Emirates; if not the world! He is now not only a chef, but an author as well (author of Da Idea), and even appeared on the TV show; Krav Sakkinim (translates to Knives Battle). Russo AlFredo has also managed many events and important soirees such as the one given for the International Olympic Committee for Turin’s candidacy as the seat of the Winter Olympic Games in 2006, and the one at the Unesco seat in Paris for the presentation of Turin and Rome as the capital of books. Also, together with top Piedmontese chef colleagues he managed the whole gastronomic offer of P food & wine, the hospitality area of the Piedmont Region during the Winter Olympic Games in Turin in 2006; together with these colleagues in 2007, he was also at the UN Glass Palace to introduce UN ambassadors and delegates to Piedmontese cooking and high cuisine.
Between 2007 and 2008 he was invited as a speaker to “Lo Mejor de la gastronomía” and “Madrid Fusion”, two among the world most important conventions devoted to high cuisine. As I am sure you have already figured out by now, Russo AlFredo is somewhat of a ‘big-shot’ in the culinary world.
And just as you would expect, Russo AlFredo’s food was a good reason as to why he is so successful. At the Lavazza event all the guests were spoiled by delicious food and drinks. The drinks in particular were very interesting as they have used Lavazza coffee one way or another in their cocktails. I liked some more than others, but overall, they were all quite fun to try!
As for the food, we all received the same set menu specially prepared by the incredible chef himself. The three course meal were each paired with a glass of wine, however, you can choose to only have the food (without the wine) for 150dhs less, making it 200dhs for food only.
For starters, we started off with a slow cooked egg with roots, truffle and bagna cauda foam. Paired with Proscco, it was the perfect way to start a 5-star meal. The egg yokes were runny at the touch, however, kept in perfect shape in it’s plate. It was visually beautiful, and tasted light yet fulfilling. I truly enjoyed this dish.
We were then served our second course, which was the pasta. This was definitely my favorite out of all the courses. The pasta was served with Bianca (white) sauce. This extremely delicate layered pasta was a pleasant surprise in more ways than one. First of all, I personally have never seen such thin layers of fresh pasta stacked atop of one another. Usually the pasta is slightly thick, but this pasta was paper thin, having over 12 layers of pasta, but visually it looks more like 5 layers. This dish proved to me Chef Russo’s culinary skills. It’s truly astonishing and deserves a round of applause!
Other than this dish being undeniably stunning, it tasted incredible too! Like I said, it was my favorite dish! It is light yet flavorful. It has just the right amount of cheese and sauce, and the lack of tomato was quite refreshing! If I could order this delicious pasta on (at least) a weekly bases, I certainly would! However, unfortunately, this delicious pasta is not a part of the everyday Vivaldi menu, nevertheless, I truly hope that after they read this review, they will consider adding it!
For our main course, we were served the Bollito Misto Alla Piemontese, which translates to Piedimont (a region in Italy) Mixed Broiled Meats. To be fully honest, I’m neither too much of a meat-loving person, nor am I a broiled-food loving person, so this dish was simply not made for me. Nevertheless, many of the guests around did seem to really enjoy it.
And then came the dessert! We were served Crema Bruciata Al Caffe; Lavazza! Ofcorse, they incorporated Lavazza in their dessert, and thank God they did, because this dessert was truly delicious! The Lavazza coffee was served as a foam of cream brulee. It was delicious, and paring this dessert with a glass of Moscato Passito was simply genius! I enjoyed every bite & sip!
Overall, Vivaldi is a great choice for fine-dining Italian food. You know you’re in good Michelin Star Chef hands, and thus, it guarantees a delicious meal. I could see this place being a perfect date night location; the interiors are beautifully furnished, and lightly lit giving a candle-light effect, the music and general atmosphere is very soothing and relaxing; this is certainly a great spot to impress someone! But regardless if you’ve got a date or not, I strongly suggest you visit Vivaldi and specifically try any of their pasta dishes! You will not be disappointed!
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes