Cinema Italian Style Kick Off Dinner with Verona's Chef Leandro Luppi

by @discovering_LA

Cinema Italian Style is the Los Angeles showcase for the best Italian movies of the year. In an 11-day marathon full of events, attendees will be immersed in the Italian culture in the way of film, food and culture. The event kicked off with a US premier of the 4k digitally restored version of Blow Up and Red Desert by Michelangelo Antonioni. Part of the activities included a Gala Dinner celebrating the Italian showcase and was held at Mr. C Beverly Hills hotel. Held in the hotel’s Penthouse, we benefitted from having a panoramic view of the city. The place was buzzing as people were excited for what was to come.
 
The people at our table were ecstatic to find out that guest chef Leandro Luppi, a Michelin starred chef from Ristorante Vecchia Malcesine in Verona, was at our table. This was his first trip to the US and he was here to help promote Cinema Italian Style. While he didn’t speak much English, he smiled often and was quite friendly. Two individuals at our table aided in the translation between English and Italian.

The first course was a tuna tartare surrounded by a base of creamy smoked mozzarella and topped with passion fruit. The dish was delicious and had an interesting combination of flavors. The acidity from the passion fruit paired nicely with Mr C’s Prosecco.

The baked tagliolini with porcini mushrooms topped with melted Grana Padano was a fairly simple dish. The bold porcini mushroom flavor held its own against the well balanced Villa Cafaggio Chianti Classico.

The simple preparation of the Chilean seabass allowed the diners to appreciate the freshness and the quality of the fish. The seabass was expertly grilled, moist and flaked away at each encounter with my fork.

Semifreddo was an excellent way to end the evening. The consistency was smooth almost like a creamy gelato. The hazelnuts gave it some crunchiness and really boosted the flavor.

On Nov. 17, The Egyptian Theatre, in partnership with AFI Fest 2017, will present Italy’s Official Oscar Submission A Ciambra, 2017, produced by Martin Scorsese. Other films include Slam (2016), directed by Andrea Molaioli, Fortunata (2017) directed by Sergio Castellitto and Love and Bullets (2017), directed by Antonio Manetti and Marco Manetti. Cinema Italian Style continues through Nov. 21. The complete lineup may be found here www.cinemaitalianstyle.com