On #PizzaiolosFavourites Golden Jubilee Feast!

What?

Tasting of an exclusive #PizzaiolosFavourites menu, curated to celebrate the Golden Jubilee Year of PizzaExpress. 

When? 

Friday, August 28. 

Where? 

PizzaExpress, Ambience Mall, Gurgaon. 

Celebrations are always special. For they commemorate momentous occasions. 

What if I tell you that an exclusive preview invitation had been extended to Yours Truly by the brand that knows casual dining at its finest? 

PizzaExpress wanted me to give them company at the novel Chef's Table which had been curated in the form of a new Menu, #PizzaiolosFavourites - to earmark #50YearsOfPizzaExpress. 

Early Friday evening, I found myself facing the facade of Ambience Mall, Gurgaon. The place was not new at all. I made a beeline for my most favorite Italian Dining Restaurant in the entirety of the complex. 

The said outlet - PizzaExpress - emanated a different glow that day. The excitement of hosting a Milestone Birthday Party, eh Pizzaiolos? ;) 

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Well, be it any restaurant, you take your pick by scanning the menu, right? This time, it was a bit different for me. Since this menu had been specifically curated for the evening, the entire spread was on offer. 

There are some key points to PizzaExpress's popularity and its impressive functioning. 

• Delicious, Fresh Food, Handmade To Order. They take their ingredients seriously, with many of them, especially their signature Tomato Passata, all sourced from Italy. 
• Local Influence. Their restaurants are designed to feel unique and culturally engaged in the community, not being a 'cookie-cutter' chain. 
• Inspired By Italy. They have used the same Passata, sourced from the Greci Family in Italy since 1965 and proudly showcase 'Authentic Italian' in their restaurants. 
• Pizzaiolos Are Their Heroes. Their Pizza Chefs are trained in the art of dough-flaring in their open kitchen, a glimpse of which, Yours Truly was fortunate enough to catch Find it towards the closing of this post, though. :)  

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The evening thus began with a myriad-hued Mocktails Spread, which impressed the teetotaller in me. More so, as those had all fruity and nutritive ingredients. 

Those are Tropical (Watermelon, Mint, Lemon), Zenzero Fresca (Carrot, Orange Juice, Ginger, Lemon Juice) and Ginger Fresca (Fresh Ginger, Mint, Green Lime, Ginger Ale) for you. 

To take the meal forward, I had the Intro Platter, comprising of an assorted mix of salted cashew nuts, smoked almonds and BBQ beans and the Antipasto Starters (Veg/Non-Veg variants). 

All of them had been carefully cooked to perfection. 

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The surprise element for the evening was yet to come in. After all, what's a celebration sans any surprises? 

The Pizzaiolo in action, Pizza Chef Rahul made sure that we were divided into five separate teams and experienced being a Pizzaiolo at PizzaExpress the same evening. 

We were greeted by a hands-on Pizza Making session from the A to the Z. 

Chef Rahul was quick to demonstrate the tricks of the trade. 

And that jar, in the bottom, is the Tomato Passata Sauce being utilized at the outlet. :) 

Would you like to see how Yours Truly and Team made their Romana Pizza at #PizzaiolosFavourites? 

Roll your Dough, Layer the Passata, Top it over generously, 

That's my perfect guide to Pizza Delight, All Heavenly! :) 

Here's presenting to you, All Heaven's Delight, comprising of Chicken chunks, Olives, Mushrooms, Pepperoni, Mozzarella, and Bell Peppers, that earned me the 'Professional' tag at the Chef's Table. I was humbled. :) 

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The only art left to ace, was that of dough-flaring. 

Well, I'd leave that to the Pizzaiolos as that is also one of #PizzaiolosFavourites. ;) 

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Thanks for all the Pizza Love, Team PizzaExpress. 

I had a lot of moments to 'cheese' and to frame in the 'Cheese Your Moment' #PizzaiolosFavourites Photo Magnet. :) 

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Artistic Baking With The Academy Of Pastry Arts...

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What?

A Media Invite to witness best-in-trade chefs exhibiting their prowess in creating awe-inspiring pastries, cakes and confectioneries. 

When? 

Saturday, May 23. 

Where? 

Academy Of Pastry Arts, Gurgaon. 

Last Saturday was a perfect blend of knowledge, skill-testing and fun. I was provided with an experience to cherish by the in-house professionals of the Academy, which has, after establishing their art with the Malaysian and Philippinean audience, forayed into the expanse of welcoming Indians.

I was greeted by this magnificent sugar sculpture, which you can see, to the left, in the snap above.

That beauty-in-the-box told me that I was in that day, for all things, creamy, floury, sugary and nice. :) 

And, I couldn't be happier to witness four of the experts of the trade, acquainting us with the know-how to being a master baker in the comfort of your modular kitchen at home! 

~~~ 

Interactive sessions form the basis of a sound learning experience - be it the classroom or the kitchen. :)

After being introduced to the appliances being professed in their kitchen, we proceeded to the Master Class. 

From L to R: Niklesh Sharma, MD, Amit Sinha, Mukesh Singh Rawat, Executive Pastry Chefs and Dinesh Rawat,  Director of Pastry Studies.

Chef Amit Sinha was to be our 'Guru' for the day. 

And oh! Did I tell you that the floral embellishments on the sides are edible? :D 

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First things first. We must don the Chef's Cap, mustn't we? :) 

Second, we must step onto our stations. 

Third, we must pay attention towards the lesson being taught. 

Attention towards the whiteboard, taking quick notes and listening raptly to emulate the expert afterward. 

Would you want to take notes of our Travel Cakes too? 

Here you go. :) 

Did you know of Madeleines, also known as French Butter Cakes? 

I didn't. 

If you don't too, let me show you their adorable molds - Madeleine Pan, as it is called. I thought of them as Mini Oysters baked to perfection. 

Don't the molds look like oysters to you too? 

One pan gave us nine Madeleine to try. 

We made them in Vanilla and Chocolate variants. :) 

That is Chef Amit Sinha piping the first vanilla Madeleine. 

What resulted after piping and baking, are these... 

Those are the first Chocolate and Vanilla madeleines, made by Yours Truly. 

A dozen of them. :) 

I loved them and made a basketful! :D

The lemon zest gave them a tangy taste. 

How do they look?

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Next, we moved on to the Apricot Crumble Butter Cake. 

The crumble could be made of Oats, Hazelnut, Chocolate, Coconut or even Spice! 

We made it with Coconut and Sugar Icing. 

Have a look. :) 

These are the barters poured into cups, which would then be placed in the oven to bake. 

Vanilla barter at the bottom, an apricot in the middle, layered with crumble, and then again vanilla on the top. 

We garnished it with another layer of crumble and icing after it was done baking. A caramelized apricot slice was crowned atop too! :D 

See... 

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Good things are to be saved for the last. 

We finished off with Orange Chocolate Cake. 

Bar shaped chocolate cake, glazed and topped with caramelized orange peel. 

The two main ingredients of this dessert complement each other really well, I was told. :) 

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That is the entire platter. 

Apricot Crumble Butter Cake, Madeleine, Orange Chocolate Cake. 

Sweet Overload! :D 

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Do give the Academy a visit if you are a Delhi-NCRite. 

You would not want to miss these workshops scheduled, to be held at the Academy during the last week of June and the first week of July! 

It is a unique experience and a would be a cherish-able one at that! :) 

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