Master chef gives Italian classics a Columbian twist

Beijing diners were treated to a master class in culinary craftsmanship this week, as Michelin-starred Columbian chef Roy Saloman Caceres served up his signature specialty dishes at the Ritz-Carlton hotel's Cepe restaurant.

The luxury hotel, located on Beijing's Financial Street, is home to some of the capital's finest dining rooms, and Cepe is no exception, dishing out haute Italian style cuisine. The restaurant regularly invites top chefs from around the world to create unique menus to showcase the restaurant's culinary ambitions.

Caceres, the executive chef of Metamorfosi, a Michelin-starred restaurant in the center of Rome, was in Beijing from April 10 to 13. The Colombian's menus were crafted alongside Cepe's chef de cuisine, Fabio Nompleggio, who hails from Rome and has worked in kitchens from Milan to Singapore.

Caceres says his dishes are often inspired by memories of moments in life, combining his Columbian roots and his inspiration from Italian art. As a result, Caceres' food has a very Latin feel and the delicate presentation of a piece of modern art, with diners aware that every detail on the plate has been meticulously worked over.

Highlights of Caceres' menu include a rigatoni pasta filled with red Spanish prawns and dotted with buffalo mozzarella and candied tomatoes. The sharp sweetness of the tomatoes, combined with the salty crumble of the mozzarella, perfectly complements the meaty seafood and al dente pasta.

Each dish has been especially paired with a wine to suit, thanks to the recommendations of the Ritz-Carlton's Chief Sommelier David Duan. He recommends a 2015 Vire-Clesse from Maconnais in France with the rigatoni. The white wine's snap of crispness perfectly partners the food on the plate.

No dish is simply taking up space on this menu, which includes a ceviche of amberjack topped with a tart litchi foam which totally refreshes the palate before moving on to the main course - loin of lamb coated in an almond crust. The meat is succulent and hearty. To add even more richness to the dish, the plate is drizzled with a sticky and sweet balsamic vinegar that has been aged for 18 years.

To top off the meal in style, a yuzu citrus sorbet is served, coated in a gelatinous almond skin and highlighted with crunchy fennel pollen and aromatic dill and spring flowers.

Chef Caceres says that when he was growing up he wanted to play basketball in the NBA. This diner is happy he didn't.

owenfi shwick@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/14/2018 page10)