Date: Sunday 8th November 2020
Time: 9 pm onwards
Menu: 5-course Alba White Truffle degustation dinner (full menu below)
Price: AED 495 per person, including 15g of white truffle
Location: Roberto’s, Gate Village Building No. 1 DIFC, Dubai, UAE
To book: Call 00971 4 386 0066 or email reservations@robertos.ae
Parking: First three hours complimentary valet parking available
Dubai, UAE | 25 October 2020: For one night only, on Sunday 8th November 2020, Roberto’s
will be hosting the Alba White Truffle Dinner- an exclusive dining experience that blends fine
Italian gastronomy and an exciting global initiative. This year which marks the 21st anniversary of the World Alba White Truffle Charity Auction will see five countries; Italy, Hong Kong, Moscow, UAE and Singapore, coming together virtually to bid for this year’s finest white truffle specimens. The auction will be live-streamed on Roberto’s big screen from 4.00 pm-05.30 pm, followed by a 5-course curated degustation dinner taking place starting from 09.00 pm.
Roberto’s Group Executive Chef Francesco Guarracino has curated a 5-course degustation menu that tastefully incorporates white truffle throughout. He says: “We are delighted to be partaking in such an exciting global event that celebrates the culinary gem that is white truffle. We have created a stunning menu that will showcase its unique taste and versatility in every course- our guests will feel like they are part of the Piedmont action.”
The inaugural World Alba White Truffle Charity Auction took place in 1999 at the enchanting Grinzane Castle, Piedmont in northern Italy.
A Talk with the Chef…
We met Francesco Guarracino, Group Executive Chef at Roberto’s
Francesco, tell us a little about yourself…
I was born in Sorrento. I come from a family of cooks. I soon moved to England where I started advising several restaurants in the area of the Middle East, mostly in Kuwait.
How your adventure here at Roberto’s started? And what is your idea of cooking?
My adventure with Roberto’s began in 2012 in Abu Dhabi, only three years later we opened a second one in Dubai. Right from the start, my goal was to bring a bit of my Italy here, in the Middle East, mostly my memories: the scents, my experiences, the flavors. Our wish is to make people live a pinch of Italy. For this reason, even the research of products is so precise, if not almost obsessive! Plus, behind a great product, there is someone special who takes care of it, that’s the way I like to think. Our philosophy is to be real and to convey what we have experienced firsthand.
What are the strong assets of Roberto’s cuisine today?
Among the starters certainly Roberto’s pizza. The pizza that is not a pizza …! But a piadina with beef carpaccio, rocket, parmesan and truffle. While, among the most successful dishes there is the Octopus with cheese and pepper, whose particularity derives from the method of cooking the octopus … literally cooked in its water.
But the one I carry in my heart is Calamarata with prawns and pistachio. A tribute to my wife, a metaphor for my family. In fact, Calamarata is a typical Neapolitan pasta shape while the prawns originate from the famous Mazara del Vallo, my wife’s birthplace…a dish in which our origins blend and generate taste and harmony.
..But what is the secret of excellent cuisine? Or rather, what is your secret?
When you put something of your own in a recipe, linked to your experiences or your emotional sphere, the customer perceives it. And this is the detail that makes the difference.