Costa Cruises offers Guests on Costa Deliziosa, Costa Magica, Costa Pacifica and Costa Atlantica a Michelin-starred menu for their 2012 Christmas and New Year’s Eve dinner created by chef Massimo Bottura, an ambassador for Italian cuisine and Made in Italy products throughout the world.
Close ties with his Italian homeland are the distinctive characteristic he shares with Costa Cruises, the only cruise company flying the Italian flag, which carries Italy’s traditions throughout the world by sea on its fleet of 14 ships.
The recipes presented this year are the result of careful consideration by Massimo Bottura, who with his Osteria Francescana restaurant in Modena has climbed the rankings of the main fine food and wine guides to become, according to The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, the top Italian and fifth-ranking chef worldwide. The recipes bring traditional regional ingredients to the meal table, which are reworked by Bottura from a contemporary perspective.
The recipes call for the use of the traditional ingredients used typically in Italian cooking, including Parmesan cheese, almonds, cherries and bergamot, the citrus fruit of which Italy is the world’s main producer. All presented in a modern interpretation inspired by the creativity of chef Bottura.
The parmesan cheese on the menu this year is served without removing the rind, reflecting a desire to revive the best of the past and bring it into the present. For the second course Bottura revolutionises the time-honoured tradition of one of Emila’s most characteristic dishes with his “non-boiled boiled meat”, where the meat is cooked sous-vide in its own juices to keep the proteins intact but without losing the poetry of classic Italian “bollito”.
The recipes served during the Christmas and New Year’s Eve Gala evenings on board the 4 ships sailing in the Mediterranean and the Arab Emirates will be prepared by 500 chefs supervised by Costa Executive Chef Stefano Fontanesi, who is responsible for ensuring compliance with quality standards that are the distinguishing feature of the cuisine on offer on all the Group’s ships.
The partnership with Cantine Aneri is also proving to be a great success and this year’s festive menus will be accompanied by Leda Bianco doc 2009 Aneri, Pinot Nero doc 2008 Aneri, the spectacular Prosecco di Valdobbiadene doc “Aneri” N° 1 and, naturally, Amarone Stella Aneri.
The ships offering the menu by Massimo Bottura at Christmas and New Year in the Mediterranean are: Costa Pacifica, which will be taking guests on an one-week cruise to France, Spain and the Balearic Islands, Costa Magica, which will be offering a 11-day cruise to Malta, Greece and Turkey, and Costa Deliziosa, with an 8-day cruise to Greece and Malta.
The Christmas and New Year menus will also be offered on Costa Atlantica during the one-week Thousand And One Night cruise itinerary to Dubai, Oman and the Arab Emirates.
Source: www.costacruise.com
