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The kitchen at La Pergola at the Gulf Hotel is buzzing with activity as renowned Italian Chef Daniele Bolognesi dashes to satisfy the island's diners' quest to taste authentic Italian cuisine.
As part of its two-week Italian Festival, the hotel is promoting various well-known dishes on two different menus until March 12.
Chef Daniele said: "In the menu you will find dishes from different regions of Italy to give diners a real taste of Italian food all under one roof."
Well known in the hospitality circuit across Europe for his skills in the kitchen, Chef Daniele is making his Middle East debut with this festival.
He said: "I got this opportunity when my friend and director of the BICE in Dubai, Roberto Rella mentioned about the Gulf Hotel's Italian festival.
"I like travelling a lot and have been doing so for most of my career. I prefer to be on the run than be constantly fixed at one place.
"I really like Bahrain, this is a very friendly place. I am hoping to come back soon to the hotel and help with a new menu perhaps."
Chef Daniele, 38, completed a diploma from an academy of culinary art in 1987 before joining the army which was a compulsory practice for young boys at that time.
He said: "My father wanted me to take up mathematics as I was good at it. My grandfather and my mother both wanted me to get into the navy.
"But I stood my ground and said I wanted to be a chef as it would give me a chance to travel and also make money."
Chef Daniele began his career by working for the culinary art team in the army and following it through once he left the service.
He has worked in various hotels and countries including Via Venito in Los Angeles, BICE in Valencia, Four Seasons Hotel in Nice and the Sloane Square Hotel, London.
Chef Daniele currently owns a restaurant called Brasserie in Valencia which he set up three years ago serving French, Spanish and Italian cuisines.
For the festival at La Pergola, there are 15 dishes on the menu for this week including squids jump with shallots tropea or red onions and tender baby carrots, carpaccio of fresh salmon and tuna for starters, seafood soup and green fried tomato with anchovies and goat cheese salad.
Main course items include risotto with scallop, fennel and mascarpone cheese, lamb cutlets with artichokes, onion tatin and sour cream, chicken legs with mozzarella cheese, turkey breast with white sesame mint flavour on pumpkin puree, sea bass in sea water and cod fish gratin with eggs crust in hummus.
Desserts include coconut pudding, currants apple pie with yoghurt and ice cream and pineapple red fruit raviolis in green melon sauce.
For the next week, the menu will include risotto of shrimps, porcini mushroom and pigeon, beetroot dumplings with pear and gorgonzola sauce, Emmer wheat soup with pinto beans, carpaccio of monkfish tail, sprouts of lettuce, crispy duck breast with mango, mustard, almonds and taleggio cheese cream, cuttlefish with spinach chard pie, steamed octopus with saffron creamy peppers and Sicilian capers, chicken meatballs with saffron on Milanese style risotto and mini polenta balls with truffles and wild mushrooms.
