Festa delle Regioni

Last night we attended the Festa delle Regioni with our friend Marco. This great celebration of Italian food and culture was the closing banquet for Italian Week 2002 at the Italian Cultural Centre.

Last night's menu highlighted dishes from around Italy and was overseen by the Italian Cultural Centre's new head chef, Richard Bailey. To start the meal, we dined on an antipasto plate with affumicato, bocconcini and fresh vegetables. Our pasta course was agnolotti filled with porcini mushrooms (reminded me of the porcini dishes we had in Tuscany!) in a rose sauce. We were then served ossobuco alla milanese, veal piccata, braised fennel and eggplant, polenta and salad. We topped off the meal with a cheese platter and cassata.

Besides the great food, the entertainment was great. Throughout the evening, we were entertained by Italian folk dancing, vocal performances and live music by Gianni Fuoco and his band. Although we were satiated, we still managed to dance!

Viva Italia!!