The FINANCIAL — The Filini Restaurant and Bar, the Italian restaurant of the Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel will be welcoming Italian Chef Salvatore De Vivo, the chef of the Italian restaurant Mille Miglie at the Radisson Blu Hotel Kiev, here in Tbilisi from 12 of May till end of July.
He will be introducing us to the art of authentic Italian cuisine and hopefully share a few of his cooking secrets with us all, along the way.
Salvatore, who is originally from Napoli, will be preparing and presenting Italian dishes, as well as participate in Italian events held at the Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel. He will be using his own recipes and will be preparing pasta from scratch in front of his audience.
Pasta and Risotto Nights, as well as Wine tasting, are just a few of the upcoming events planned during his stay and we can look forward to a lot of tasty entertainment at the Filini Restaurant and Bar.
The Filini Restaurant and Bar will be offering its guests weekly specials prepared by Salvatore.
“These will be available both for lunch and dinner from Monday to Friday during that week, and the following week new dishes will be on offer, allowing our guests to get a real taste of Napoli.
At the Filini Restaurant and Bar, we will be organizing our “Chef’s Table”, where a limited number of guests will be invited to join us directly in the kitchen and watch Salvatore in action.
He will be creating a special menu just for them, explaining the ingredients used, the preparation process and on a whole provide a relaxing atmosphere in which the guests are involved from beginning to end,” says George Leivadiotis, Executive Chef at Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel.
“We will have Sea Food Nights and Pastry Nights, which I am sure will be interesting for the guests” says Salvatore De Vivo.
And as George Leivadiotis adds; “The demand for seafood in Georgia is not big, making it more challenging to develop the seafood side of Italian cuisine here, unfortunately. Georgian people do not really eat fish as much as they eat meat and they prefer to have a good pork or beef Mtsvadi. However, I really hope that we will manage to change their minds and that our Georgian clientele, as well as our foreign guests will enjoy a good seafood dish here in the Filini Restaurant and Bar in the future”.
“Filini Restaurant and Bar, is a special concept from the very beginning; we serve almost 100% Italian food, with the pizza corner being our main feature. The dishes that you find in our restaurant here in Tbilisi, can be found on a 99% average in other Filini’s across the globe.
Filini Restaurant and Bar is a concept designed by the Rezidor Hotel Group for their Radisson Hotels. We have introduced this concept in all countries where Radisson Hotels are represented.
Filini Restaurant and Bar is not a typical classic Italian restaurant, where the focus is on having a really romantic setting. We do however have features that make us really unique and pleasant with a relaxing and warm atmosphere.
One of the main features of the Filini Restaurant and Bar menu is that it is a very straightforward menu and concept where we offer the most known dishes recognized and liked by everyone and our pizza corner is offering 19 types of pizza,” says George Leivadiotis.
“The key ingredients for the Filini Restaurant and Bar are imported. The majority of our suppliers are based in Europe. You cannot make a good pizza without good Mozzarella, which we import from Italy. Using the best ingredients is the only way to ensure the authentic taste of Italian cuisine,” says George Leivadiotis.
“What makes a pizza special is the water used, the climate and the products, such as for example Mozzarella, which you do not find everywhere. Besides, you need “feel” the exact moment at which the pizza is ready, and of course, a good oven is of much importance.
The secret is just experience; the more pizzas you make, the better they get,” says Salvatore.
“If the water is hard, the dough will not react in the same way as in soft water. As for climate; when you make a pizza during the summertime you do not make the same dough as you would in spring or winter. Moreover, if you do not have the “eye and touch experience”, you will never produce a good dough. As Salvatore mentioned, a good oven is of the essence, and a pizza must be ready within 3-4 minutes of putting it in the oven,” says George Leivadiotis.
Salvatore says that in Italy there are two career prospects; you either specialize in bakery and pizza-making or you become a chef.
Salvatore was born in Italy and specialized in cooking in his hometown Napoli. After finishing his studies, he continued his career in different restaurants throughout Italy where he learnt how to make Italian variety dishes.
After mastering Italian dishes he moved to Germany, his guests being the cream of German politicians, followed by a move to Holland, where he cooked for Dutch gourmands and world celebrities. Salvatore has worked in Frances Ford Coppola’s restaurant Vivace in California and has cooked for Julia Roberts, Nicolas Cage and other Hollywood celebrities on many occasions.
In 2007, Salvatore moved back to Europe. He joined the Rezidor Hotel Group in 2008, where he began his new position as chef of the Mille Miglia restaurant at the Radisson Blu Hotel Kiev in Ukraine.
The Filini Restaurant and Bar is open to all guests who would like to attend the evenings and events with Salvatore preparing Italian dishes and answering all questions concerning the ingredients and process itself.
