Global foodie on a desi quest

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As one greets the legendary culinary connoisseur, Ciro Orsini, the founder of the famous Ciro’s Pomodoro chain all over the world, one can easily mistake him to be a guitar-strumming, grunge rocker. But the moment you start talking to him about food, his true passion comes to the fore. Ciro opened his first restaurant in London in 1978, followed by branches in Beijing, Lahore, Dubai, Bahrain and last year entered the Indian shores with his first outlet in the capital.
“Food is a great way to connect cultures and is the perfect cultural ambassador. Whenever, we enter a new terrain with our chain, it is imperative for us to know about the place, its people and their taste in food. Italian food has found great resonance across nations and binds people across geographies,” says Ciro.
Food has shrunk the world into a small village. “While the Indian curries and spices are being utilised in the West, Spanish tomatoes and Italian cheese are being used in South Asian cuisine,” he elaborates.
Ciro feels it is essential to adapt menus to local culture. That does not exactly mean that you will get ‘butter chicken pasta’ in the menu! He explains,“In India, I ensure that the dishes are spicier than in my other restaurants. And maybe we use a chicken leg, which is more popular here than breast pieces for a particular dish.”
It is always wise to work globally and think locally, says Ciro. “I have always insisted on using locally produced raw materials. All the high quality products, such as mozzarella, we buy from an Italian distributor locally.” He adds, “Now most of the ingredients are available in all parts of the world. So it is much easier.”
He further says that he tries to include the best aspects from cuisines from across the globe in his menu. “Since I love the Indian curry, I have a particular dish in my menu that incorporates the ‘curry’. Or for that matter one of my top chefs created a sushi with spaghetti! Food needs to be creative and evolve,” explains Ciro.
How important is the idea of ‘dressing-up’ food? “Having food is an experience in itself. And live music creates the perfect setting. So one can just come, listen to great music from local musicians and eat. Music and food go hand in hand,” he concludes.