At la Brezza, you will find a rhythmic burst on your taste buds and a tune for your ears. Eram Agha sampled truly Italian flavours with a melody-loving chef
The chef’s table organised at la Brezza, Jaypee Greens Golf and Spa Resort in Greater Noida was profuse with numbers — both musical and edible! Blame the master chef Pronoy Gomes who came, played the guitar and left the guests all set to indulge in a gooey and cheesy affair. Replicating the dexterity with which he handles his wok and spatula, Gomes picked up the guitar to sway the guests to the tune of Dooba Dooba, which was accompanied by an amazing assortment of breads, you name it and you find it — rosemary, sun-dried, pesto, onion and baguette, all of these breads came in a large basket, each diner picked according to his taste preference. I went for pesto and onion offerings, clubbed it with some dose of oil infused with balsamic vinegar. The red chilli and pesto sauce were tantalising dips. The fruity punch of the mocktail sweetened the bread bites. Soon the table got a new colour — pink Himalayan salt, black Cyprus salt and the white sea salt arrived on the table and some more mixing and new combinations happened with each discussing his discovery.
Gomes took a break from the strings and said, “We make our own sun-dried tomatoes.” The next thing was the food connoisseurs topped the breads with tomatoes, some even gulped one or two while talking to co-diners. “This arrangement is ideal for a lazy family lunch where people are not in a rush, but want to enjoy each minute with a new dip or flavour,” he said while music and conversations flowed.
After a few minutes break that gave our palate some rest, the Tuscan soup la Ribollita arrived. As we peered into the bowl for the vegetables and herbs floating in it the chef said, “It is made with bread and cheese and baked in the oven so that the breads absorb the vegetable stock. The soup is made in the oven to make way for absorption as that is the key factor adding to the taste of this broth.”
We have all grown up on pizzas and can tell the taste of margharita with eyes shut but here it would have been a little difficult as the chef made for us the perfect pizza margharita, made with dough mixed with semolina and double zero flour, which is the super fine variety of flour. The origin of this pizza goes back to home gardens growing tomatoes, when people felt hungry they plucked the tomatoes and topped the dough with it. loaded with buffalo mozzarella cheese, a slice of it was equal to a meal. At the restaurant the chef makes vegetarian pasta in different oils — garlic or chilli infused and recommends chicken or meat dishes to be made in oils infused with herbs like rosemary. Being a non-vegetarian I picked Involtini Di Pollo, a chicken dish where the meat was stuffed with mortadella — a sausage mixed with pistachios and chillies. The meat was served on the bed of polenta with asparagus sticks beautifying the platter. “Enjoy it with white wine,” said Gomes and added, “The stuffed chicken dish makes for a fine dining experience.”
For a moment a meat eater might feel deprived for not trying the vegetarian offering Fazzolleti Di Ricotta. It was a spinach stuffed big ravioli designed to look like a handkerchief. The design was quite inviting and the plate of it went on a sharing trip, where everyone seated got the chance to taste the smooth, creamy handkerchief.
The dessert Dolce Al Cioccolato, made of Belgian chocolate and stuffed with nuts packs a generous dose of chocolate. Then it was time to leave… Did the chef sing, “Please don’t go”IJ