Even amid the increasingly diverse range of fine dining experiences, Chef Fabrizio Aceti’s degustation menu is a story of heartfelt hospitality and understated flair.
There is a long-standing industry reputation in the culinary world that every person must have favourite chefs, and among them, at least one would hail from Italy. You see, some of my choicest dinners in life have happened at Italian restaurants. Through my experience, what I’ve also learnt is that, while every chef loves to heartily feed their patrons, those from Italy take their hospitality up by a notch. At Sorrento in The Shangri-La Eros, Chef Fabrizio ‘Superchef’ Aceti has taken the dance of flair to a very warm, fuzzy and heartily Italian level.
‘A lot to eat’
With over a quarter of a century’s experience, Aceti is in the upmarket New Delhi hotel until November 13 – helming his own special menu that first became available here on November 4. A quick check with those familiar with the city’s preferred five-star eateries will tell you that on any day, Sorrento is a respected and well-frequented place.
The restaurant isn’t particularly old – its manager tells me that Sorrento first opened its doors six years ago, before which The Shangri-La’s 24-hour diner and cafe was nestled here. A brisk walk down the hotel’s lobby and main corridor, and past its rather inviting bar, brings you to Sorrento’s dining hall. A flurry of colourful pasta greets you, followed by an open kitchen that is among the statement pieces of the place.
Before all of that begins to register, Aceti personally greets me with affable warmth. Once he’s briefed us about his menu, the very first thing that strikes us is his keenness to get us started with the experience. “There is a lot to eat, so let’s begin,” he says.
‘It really is pumpkin’
While Sorrento has a pleasantly warm ambience, this single sentence sets a different vibe and mood for the dinner to follow. Suddenly, you’re no longer at just another dinner – you’re being personally invited into a journey, by a chef looking to tell his story through his dishes.
And stories, they are.
We begin with a burrata with tomato cream and crispy bread, which offers just the right balance of creaminess – paired with contrasting croutons – to set the tone for the night. In the open kitchen adjacent to my table, I catch a glimpse of Chef Aceti, who’s busied himself in finishing off the plating of a pan fried lamb loin main course. What I realise soon is, even amid prepping for a different dish, his attention is keenly spread across the hall – seeing how the diners are reacting to his fare.
The burrata, though, leaves you no room to react in particular. It is a beautifully appointed burrata, and sets the perfect tone for what is to follow. On the non-vegetarian end, the marinated yellowtail fish with fresh oranges and fennel salad is a similar story – that of base flavours akin to a ceviche, contrasted and collided with completely opposing ones.
After the refreshing first course, we’re beckoned towards the second course of the night – one which proved to be the one of the two crescendos of this experience. While the basil pesto risotto with tiger prawns is warm, filling and hearty, the true discovery of the night is Chef Aceti’s pumpkin truffle ravioli in parmesan sauce. The latter is a dish that I would have a hundred times over.
With the most impeccable sense of balancing of flavours – a touch on the sweeter end, but great nonetheless – Chef Aceti’s pumpkin ravioli is, simply put, the best way to personify the dinner. It exudes the warmth of a dining table, one where its creator takes painstaking care to bring to life.
“Yes, it really is pumpkin,” Aceti tells me with a smile. He’s hit the target, and has the light smile of a chef who has just aced his dish. This is also a part of what Aceti has grown up with over the past 25 years, in his native place of origin at Piedmont in northern Italy.
“We have a little bit of all of the items you see on my menu,” the chef says.
This brings us to the final dishes for the night – the mains. We’re served eggplant parmigiana, and grilled pork loin. While the dishes are wonderful, I also notice how Chef Aceti is busy attending every table in the restaurant – a quick, polite question to a new diner, and a brief chat on hot takes with others.
A triumphant dinner
It is this that sets the experience at Sorrento apart. The sheer warmth with which Chef Aceti serves his fare is aplomb with everything that we know of Italian dining – that of hospitality where you’re invited, and you feel at home.
The triumphant four-course dinner concludes with desserts, for which Aceti has carried his choice liqueurs all the way from Italy. It is an amaretto in bonét – a chocolate budino and mimosa cake paired with a pistachio ice cream in the other. The tiramisu, too, carries the perfect weight of boozy touches, and even after not being a sweet-heavy person, I couldn’t help but finish off the mimosa cake and the bonét.
At the end of the day, what also strikes you is that with this course, Aceti takes Italian cuisine to a different, new height in New Delhi. None of his servings rely on the conventional pastas, or makes any mention of a pizza.
Yet, his menu is as Italian as you can expect it to be.
Chef Aceti’s special four-course menu is available at Sorrento in The Shangri-La Eros, New Delhi, until November 13. The menu is priced at ₹8,500 plus taxes per person with wine pairing for every course, and ₹5,500 without wine.
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