SEDA Hotel Bonifacio Global City takes pride in presenting its Italian Aperi-Dinner at the hotel’s Straight Up roof deck bar beginning today, March 14, until the 30th of the month. It’s the first time that any hotel property in the Philippines is featuring an Aperi-Dinner, which is a fun Italian style buffet of aperitivos (pre-dinner cocktails), complemented by a buffet of antipasti and other international appetizers, as prepared by guest Italian chef Giovan Giuseppe Ferrandino, assisted by Seda BGC’s Filipino-Italian chef Anna Finato Galzignato.
“Seda is the first hotel to introduce this concept in the Philippines, and we are proud that Chef Giovan, who has worked in various Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe, is helping us present the event,” says Seda’s Italian group general manager Andrea Mastellone.
Based in Genova, Italy, Chef Giovan has worked not only in his home country Italy but also in Germany, France, Monaco and Switzerland. As guest chef of Seda BGC this month of March, he showcases an apericena buffet of tapas-style dishes, which include Stuffed Mozzarella, crostinis, pizzas, pastas, open-faced quiches and even Goulash and crepes.
The word apericena, according to Mastellone, combines the Italian word for appetizer, aperitivo, and cena, which means dinner. The concept of apericena started as a prelude to dinner, but, today, more than 16 million Italians flock to Italy’s upscale cafes to indulge in this buffet of light dishes as a substitute for dinner while they at the same time enjoy the company of friends and colleagues. Seda BGC’s version of the Italian apericena will feature some 40 appetizers and will serve these with an excellent array of Italian wines.
During his guest chef stint, Chef Giovan will also be showcasing Italian classic dishes using modern methods of preparation, and these can be enjoyed at Seda BGC’s Misto restaurant. These classic dishes include Ragu, typically a sauce of minced meat cooked with vegetables in a broth, wine or cream. The pork ribs, sausages and beef are slow-cooked for about six hours so they become so tender that they “melt like butter in the mouth.”
In keeping with the Italian tradition of making pasta dishes only from fresh pasta, Chef Giovan will be making his own tagliolini and lasagna pasta from scratch. He shall also be dazzling diners by preparing the well-loved Carbonara using cream of cereal instead of the usual dairy variety. These will be available a la carte for lunch at Misto.
After March 30, Chef Giovan will be moving on to Seda Abreeza in Davao City and then to Seda Centrio in Cagayan de Oro City to run similar Italian food promotions. His guest chef stint in the Philippines culminates with a similar food promotion at Seda Nuvali in mid-May.
(Seda Hotel BGC can be found at the corner of 30th St. and 11th Ave., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, with telephone number 945-8888.)
