Flora Restaurant: great food with Dolce Vita charm

The new Flora restaurant inside the Rome Marriot Grand Hotel Flora has opened with an excellent and select team: Executive Chef Raffaele de Mase, Pastry Chef Baptiste Foronda and Restaurant Manager Antonella Cardella.

The suggestive Rome Marriott Grand Hotel Flora, sits at the top of Via Veneto, the street made famous by its post-war night life and celebrities who created the Dolce Vita scene that was captivated in the Oscar-winning film of the same name by Federico Fellini. This Liberty-style hotel has hosted many famous people including Richard Nixon, Paul Getty, Christian Barnard, Joan Crawford, Mohammed Ali and even Fellini himself. Its restaurant recently underwent a total and lengthy renovation under the supervision of architect Stefano Mantovani with the consultancy of lighting designer Filippo Cannata and the new Flora Restaurant was presented to the press with an outdoor aperitif that offered finger food and Jacquesson 740 Champagne and was followed in grand style with a dinner in the large and relaxing dining room with its green and cream color scheme complimented by the marble and suffused lightly.

The originator of the project is Maurizio Cortese, the CEO of Cortese Way and director of the Consorzio della Pasta di Gragnano (Gragnano pasta producers association), who from his travels abroad understood what clients want: hotel restaurants that are a place to meet for lunch, dinner, aperitifs and even afternoon tea.
For this challenge he put together a top-notch team of great professionals based on the philosophy that “a winning soccer team needs to have the best goalie and best striker available”. The team he selected includes Executive Chef Raffaele de Mase, a native of Naples who has made Rome his home and has worked with the likes of Heinz Beck, Salvatore Bianco, Ludovico D’Urso and Michelino Gioia. His culinary philosophy is based on the conviction that “three is the perfect number” when it comes to ingredients. This is the case for most of the dishes on the Flora menu where Mediterranean cuisine keeps a keen eye on new international trends. The recipes pay great attention to the selection of prime ingredients, mostly Italian, which are always of extraordinary quality and seasonal.

I was impressed by how consistency and flavor played together in an anything-but common place way beginning with the starter “Radici” (Roots) where celeriac, Jerusalem artichoke and porcino mushroom powder came together in the mouth and prepared it for the following “Calamaro, piedino di maialino, zucca, nero di sepia e aria di lime” (Squid, suckling pig trotter, squash, squid ink and lime foam). Then came the “Tortello di anatra arrosto, crema di pecorino e polvere di cipolla” (roast duck ravioli with pecorino cheese mousse and onion powder) that were made with home-made dough and demonstrated the Chef’s great expertise in harmonizing bold flavors. On a more negative note, I was not wild about the “Ombrina, crema di sedano rapa, pane agli agrumi e ostrica liquida (Ombina, celeriac purée, citrus bread and oyster mayonnaise) because for me the fish was overcooked, although the combination of flavors was excellent.

Restaurant manager Antonella Cardella, who has international experience as both a maître and sommelier, paired the first two dishes with Qudì Verdicchio Classico Superiore 2015 from Roberto Venturi, which was followed by David Moreau Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2014 and it went excellently with the duck ravioli. With the fish she selected Sogno di Rivolta from Fattoria La Rivolta, a Benevento white blend of three native varietals: Falanghina, Fiano and Greco. All the wines were from the list Antonella drew up herself and, thanks to in-depth research, includes great classics along with some excellent wines from lesser-known producers which she believes will spark the interest of the curious client and entice them to experiment. The selection is rich and diverse, with many Italian wines, Tuscans first of all, along with some from France and Germany in honor her great passion for Champagne and Riesling. The list of spirits is also very interesting.

Pastry Chef Baptiste Foronda, a rising French talent, was in charge of dessert and offered “Consistenza di latte, dacquiose di noci pecan e croccante di cioccolato” (milk custard with pecan cake and flaky chocolate), a fresh and enjoyable mini-pastry pre-dessert. Then came “Millefoglie, passion fruit e vanilla” (Millefeuille, passion fruit and vanilla) served with some excellent mango ice cream. All this was accompanied by a nice treat, the sweet sparkling Moscato wine Regina di Felicità from Cantina Baricchi. This sweet excursion was served with an assortment of cookies.

By the end of the evening it was crystal clear that this is, indeed, a top-notch team and that the Dolce Vita is alive and well at the Flora.

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