Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
I wonder if eccentric Italian Pasqualino Barbasso woke up one morning and shouted: ‘Mama Mia, when I grow up I’m going to be a world-famous pizza juggler’.
I doubt there’s a school of culinary swirling and twirling to learn the art so his kitchen, or dough-jo, must have been in a right state until he perfected the art.
And perfected it he has, offering guests at the Sofitel Bahrain Zallaq Thalassa Sea & Spa Hotel’s Settimana Italiana celebrations the most brilliant and bizarre of after-dinner entertainment ever dished up.
World champion Pasqualino, 39, is just sensational twisting and turning his flattened and flour-covered large pizza-sized circles of dough high in the air, swinging around his fingers and grooving on the dance floor as he sways into break-dancing mode without a crumb falling out of place.
He even had opera singers Vincenzo Sanso and Carla Mazzarella shrieking with screams of delight throughout his 20-minute one-man show.
Earlier, the renowned Italian soprano and tenor were worthy recipients of applause themselves as they burst into song during their second visit to the island for the annual festival.
The Sofitel team really knows how to put on a show and the management has really excelled this time at the Fiamma Italian Restaurant.
The food is fabulous too and guests can experience a captivating journey to Italy with authentic Venetian dishes prepared by chef de cuisine Stefano complimented by the music and floor show.
He said: “I look forward to presenting your readers with a truly authentic and magnifique selection of Italian cuisine. Myself and my colleague, Lorenzo, await you in Fiamma!”
There are an array of pasta dishes, perfect pizzas oven-baked and succulent sea and surf surprises BBQ-ed to perfection on an outside grill. The steak, in particular, stood out and melted in the mouth.
Also worth mentioning are the Tuna & Salmon Carpaccio with saffron and pistachio dressing at BD6.800 and the fabulous Fettuccine Con Ragout Di Manzo from Tuscany with hand-chopped beef, porcini mushrooms, walnuts and home-made tomato sauce at BD7.500.
On display is a rich array of sweet concoctions too, many featuring lip-smacking chocolate desserts displayed in glass dishes of various sizes, alongside cakes and other naughty goodies.
But the pizza de résistance (pardon my French) undoubtedly is the mighty maestro Pasqualino, the ‘Pizza Acrobatic’, who is an absolutely magnifico entertainer.
He hails from Sicily where he owns a pizzeria called the Falco Azzurro. A pizza maker for 16 years, he said: “I first learned to make good pizza, or so people say, and also learned to play, and thus the beginning of my career in pizza acrobatics took off.”
He entered many pizza competitions winning several accolades along the way, including the 1998 regional championship of pizza acrobatics in Palermo. Success in the national championship followed in 2000 in Pisa and in 2001 and 2002 he won the world championship two years running in teams of acrobatic pizza-making in Salsomaggioree Terme.
Now having left the competitive pizza stage he dedicates his time to training and putting on acrobatic pizza shows in the best restaurants and hotels around the globe.
Guests have been feasting on a tempting variety of fare throughout the week and it’s not too late to join in the fun although it would be wise to book early.
Settimana Italiana runs from 7-11pm until Friday. Call 17636363 for further details.
