The food of a chef with five Michelin stars will soon be available at a mall in Jumeirah — for what he calls affordable prices.
Heinz Beck, a German chef who runs one of the highest-rated Italian restaurants in Rome, La Pergola, already has a fine-dining restaurant in Dubai, at the Waldorf-Astoria on the Palm.
Now he’s signed up to create a casual Italian restaurant and shop, Taste of Italy by Heinz Beck, where he hopes everyone will have the chance to try Italian food as it’s meant to be.
Taste of Italy by Heinz Beck, a partnership between Beck and Marka Hospiality, is due to open in February at Galleria mall on Al Wasl Road, which already has a host of unique dining outlets, among them Emirati cake shop Home Bakery, South African cafe Tasha’s and Ginza Cafe, home of the sea-salt latte.
“If people ask me about Italian cooking — it doesn’t exist. There are 22 regions of Italy and every region is different from the other one. This is the variety and way of cooking. Our first menu will be a very traditional menu.”
Beck, however, is known for his modern techniques, and diners will be able to sample those in the neighbourhood-restaurant environment.
Dishes to expect will include a ‘Taste of Tiramisu’ — a spectacular deconstructed dessert that Beck previewed for tabloid! on Monday. “It’s a bit different, much more funny, much more easy to digest and less fat, but you still think of tiramisu.”
The four or five “Taste of” dishes will be Beck’s innovative interpretations of classic Italian dishes “done a little more fancy”. Taste of cacio-pepe will reinterpret the simple pecorino cheese and black pepper pasta dish. His will have spring peas underneath and lemon calamari on top. “Other dishes will be done as you expect it, really traditional.”
“I have a lot of ideas — we will have Umbria week, Tuscany week. The customers will select the bestsellers that will remain. We’ll always have new things coming in.”
Beck says he will have constant involvement in the menu, as well as the products stacked on the shelves of the retail area. There will be Taste of Italy branded goods, such as olive oil, on sale, alongside other brands. “It’s very personal. Going around the world, you find a lot of Italian products. Most are very commercial and we don’t want to do this. Our goal is to have selected high quality products. What I am doing is to get honest prices.”
