East of Lazio, on the Adriatic coast, lies Abruzzo – one of the most mountainous regions in Italy and home to some of its most interesting cuisine. The small mountain town called Pizzoferrato [pictured], where my family comes from, is also in Abruzzo.

Thanks to its mountainous location, much of Abruzzo was relatively cut off from the influence of international commerce and civilization up until the 20th century, and this is why the traditional cuisine still intact.

Along the coast there are beautiful little port towns with incredible seafood, served raw or simply boiled and dressed with oil and lemon, and hot and cool antipasti di mare, all served in simple trattorie and comfortable restaurants, which fill the entire table with food for lunch and dinner, and serve predominately local wines at great prices.

Among the most interesting products found in the region, it is important to mention:

The red chilli pepper, known to the people of Abruzzo as diavolino, or little devil, is a key ingredient in the local cuisine.

The saffron from L’Aquila, is historically the world’s most esteemed (and expensive) spice. It’s so expensive because it takes an unbelievable 80,000 hand-picked crocuses to produce just over a pound of spice.

 The confetti from Sulmona are sugar-coated Jordan almonds, and the best in the country. Confetti are a common sight at weddings, where they are given to guests in elaborate bags festooned with ribbons

Starting from the first weekend of December at Caffé Luna, we will serve these traditional dishes:

Spaghetti alla chitarra or maccheroni alla chitarra, an egg pasta that is made with a rectangular beech-wood frame with fine metal strings, like those on a guitar.

Timballo alla Teramana a crepes millefeuille with meat ragout, artichokes and spinach.

Lamb Arrosticini – short roasted skewers of lamb.

Parrozzo, dark chocolate and almonds, the most famous local dessert, a soft cake made with flour, butter, eggs, sugar, and bitter almonds, covered with chocolate.

Biscotti Pepatelli to take away.

Also the special Abruzzo Pizza will include fresh sausage, ricotta cheese, porcini mushroom, chilli pepper, caciocavallo cheese and roasted onions, with shaved truffle on request.

Concerning the wine, in a nation of myriad appellations, the Abruzzo offers wine drinkers rare and refreshing simplicity. Two-thirds mountains and one-third hills make for highly favourable natural conditions for grapevines. Trebbiano, Cerasuolo Montepulciano and Montepulciano are the most famous grapes.

The last two should not be confused with the Tuscan Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. While the Tuscan wine takes its name from the town where it’s made in the province of Siena, the Abruzzo wine is made with a grape named Montepulciano.

My own favourite wine is the great Villa Gemma Masciarelli, generally regarded as the best Montepulciano d’Abruzzo ever made.

I hope to see all of you soon in Caffé Luna.

Massimo

Dear Members,

Italian cuisine has become the most beloved cuisine in Asia, after the local ones, and Hong Kong is the gateway for quality food and wines coming from Italy. Some of the most talented Italian chefs from Italy, New York, Rio de Janeiro and Moscow have been confirmed Guest Master Chefs at the Italian Cuisine World Summit to be held in Hong Kong next November 2 to 7. They will be joined by dozens of other chefs and restaurateurs from all over the world.

The Master Chefs will be guests of Host Chefs from 16 of the best restaurants in Hong Kong. Among the visitors will be eight Michelin-starred chefs from Milano and Lombardia, including the great Chef Gaetano Simonato, from restaurant Tano passami l’olio who will be here at The Dining Room on November 5 and 6.

The Italian Cuisine World Summit is the only high-level gastronomic congress dedicated to the celebration of the excellence of Italian food, wine and hospitality culture.

Are you curious to see how to make high-quality Italian pizza and learn how to do it in the most entertaining way? Then meet this amazing 36-year-old pizzaiolo, who is among the most skilful and best-known masters of acrobatic pizza-making.

In the last ten years, Pasqualino has travelled around the world offering his stunning performances to enhance the quality and the good taste of Italian pizza made according to the true Italian traditions. He will be at Caffé Luna on November 4, for two sessions from 6.30pm and 8pm.

So don’t miss these great opportunities to celebrate the excellence of Italian cuisine at your Club.

Friendly regards,
Massimo

Dear Members

An autumn breeze is in the air, and it’s time to take a break from the summer heat and get ready to welcome the festive season.

Here at the Club, my Events Team and I are ready to assist Members to arrange a variety of banquets. For corporate parties, we can tailor-make sophisticated banquets on a special theme. It will save you time on brainstorming the theme, venue decoration to table set-up. We bring in well-known event production designers to create exclusive and memorable events just for you.

I’m delighted to also report that we have received lots of great feedback from Members since Executive Chinese Chef – Banquet, Chef Lui Yau-wing rejoined the Club in September, especially regarding his creative culinary excellence in preparing corporate functions and wedding banquets.

Should you require our professional assistance – from a cosy private party to large-scale cocktails or banquets – we are here to take care of all the details to create a great memory for you. Please give me a call on 2814 5414 or email events@aberdeenmarinaclub.com

Best regards

Matthias

White truffles are among the most expensive foods in the world. Famous for their aroma and taste, truffles are the jewels in Italy’s gastronomic crown and autumn sees the peak in the truffle-hunting, cooking and savouring season. This year Club’s Truffle Fair will began in the first week of October, and truffles will be available in two outlets: The Dining Room and also Caffé Luna for a memorable pizza!

Plain Risotto, scrambled eggs, tagliatelle pasta – the simplest, traditional dishes highlight this extremely special and unique ingredient. We will shave the truffles table-side over the dishes, not for showmanship but to provide guests with the intense aroma of the freshly shaved truffle.

Nowhere is the truffle so revered as in the town of Alba, in Italy’s northern Piemonte region. Whereas the region of Piemonte is particularly renowned as the Italian truffle capital, Abruzzo, Tuscany, Umbria and Le Marche also share in the reputation of producing the world’s finest. Travelling in these regions during the autumn months will undoubtedly bring you face to face with truffle mania, with restaurants serving up delicately infused truffle delicacies.

Last year I visited the town of Acqualagna in Le Marche region, home of the famed National Truffle Fair, which is now in its fifth decade. Here you can purchase truffles a-plenty in stores and stands set up in the central square. I also had the opportunity to accompany local hunters as they looked for exclusive white truffles and porcini mushrooms. This special trip is usually available during the middle of November.

I look forward to sharing the scents of Italy’s culinary autumn with you.

Massimo

Dear Members,

An exceptional evening event will take place next month in your Club.

For the first time ever, we will be hosting a fine wine charity auction dinner in the Grand Ballroom. The fact that we will not be using the service of a traditional auction house allows us to waive all buyer premiums (generally about 22 percent). For this unique evening we have partnered with ASC Fine Wines, which owns a very large cellar of premium wines. Many of the lots on auction are coming straight from the different prestigious chateaux in Bordeaux, including Chateau Latour, which will be represented in person by Frederic Engerer, General Manager of Chateau Latour who will be our guest of honour.

At Aberdeen Marina Club, we believe into giving back to the community and we have selected this time our neighbors, the Little Sisters of the Poor from St Mary’s Home. A few months ago we donated some equipment to their house and in order to truly support them in there noble mission we have decided to take a bigger step by selecting them to be the recipient of the part of the revenue generated from the lots sales.

Since 1959, when the home was founded in Aberdeen, they have been a non-subvented community, they therefore count on the generosity of their friends and benefactors to help them cover the cost of caring for the elderly in a manner respectful of their dignity.

We are about to finalise the lots selection and you will soon be receiving a detailed catalogue of all the wines that will be proposed for auction on the night of Saturday, October 30.

I look forward to welcoming many of you for this special evening which will also include a three-course set menu with Chateau Latour wine pairing.

Best wishes,
Matthias