This landmark one-night celebration at Ciot Vaughan Showroom & Slab Galleria featured a taste of Italy, from refined wines to homemade pasta to the best-ever Caesar Salad. Guests tasted world-class Italian wines and spirits, sipped Prosecco out of crystal Champagne flutes and delighted in watching the best wood-fired pizza being made outside of Napoli. Special guest chef David Rocco shared his secret cooking tips and acclaimed chefs from Eataly and Contrada served some of their best dishes. Guests left with a swag bag full of treats – including a Mini Everything Pan from Kilne.
1. Italian luxury upon arrival
When guests stepped through the entrance to the To Italy With Love event at Ciot Vaughan, they were greeted in style with a welcome glass of FIOL Prosecco. The glass was not just any glass; it was a stemless Viski crystal Champagne flute, and it was a gift from Scenic for everyone to take home. Guests sipped Prosecco while learning more about Scenic’s exclusive ultra-luxury cruise experiences in the Mediterranean on board the legendary six-star luxury Scenic Eclipse.
2. Premium Italian wine tastings from Ruffino
Guests tasted some standout estate reds, including Ruffino Chianti Classico Riserva Ducale and Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Gran Selezione Chianti Classico. Across from Ruffino was the mobile wood-fired oven where authentic pizzaiolis were cooking Napoli-style pizzas.
Near Cheese Boutique‘s aperitivo bar, where co-owner Afrim Pristine, a certified cheese master, shared some of his aperitivo board must-haves, Ruffino was serving their white wines. Both their fresh, crisp Ruffino Lumina Pinot Grigio IGT, and the vibrant sparkling wine Ruffino Lumina Prosecco, were sampled. Guests at the event took the opportunity to learn more about the wines – and to try them, of course.
3. Kilne’s made-in-Italy cookware stole the show
Kilne’s colourful, high-quality Italian-made cookware were more than just an art-piece – each guest took home a Miniature Everything Pan with their gift bag. Here are six reasons why ELLE Gourmet loves Kilne, and why event attendees will love Kilne too.
- Kilne has partnered with the finest makers in Italy to bring you the best cookware for your kitchen.
- The Canadian cookware brand is a female-founded small business with products designed locally.
- All cookware is environmentally friendly and sustainably produced using fair labour practices.
- The ceramic non-stick cookware features chef-inspired quality that’s free from toxic forever chemicals.
- Kilne’s beautifully-designed contemporary cookware has sleek lines and modern colour options.
- This space-saving multifunctional cookware is compatible with all stovetops, including induction, and is oven-safe – perfect for making one-pot meals.
3. Daring and delicious Italian-inspired cocktails by VIB Events
The main bar was a hub of activity in Ciot’s beautiful mosaic studio. The colours and artistry of the mosaics – many of them custom – were an inspiration for the signature cocktails. Three cocktails were developed by VIB founder and president Valérie Sideco, including her elegant Ghost Negroni. The cocktails all had a unique spin – in the case of the Ghost Negroni, it was a hand-painted ice cube, in the red, green and white of the Italian flag.
Premium, classic dry-style gin Malfy Gin Originale was the featured spirit in the Ghost Negroni. Distilled with juniper, coriander and five other botanicals, Malfy’s Gin Originale has an Italian twist, and was perfectly matched to Cocchi Americano Bianco for the a luminous clear Ghost Negroni.
For the Basil Spritz, Fiol was the Prosecco of choice to match the herbaceous flavours of fresh basil leaves. Fiol Prosecco Extra Dry is elegant and balanced with a fresh and lively taste. Light in body, it’s made with great attention to detail. This standout Prosecco is known for its pale straw-yellow colour and persistent, smooth bubbles. The bouquet of wisteria, acacia flower, wild apple and pear is refined. On the palate, Fiol Prosecco has sweet and savoury flavour notes, with a finish of Mediterranean spices and lemons.
For the ultimate aperitivo experience, Peroni Nastro Azzurro’s unique taste profile made it the perfect fit for an ELLE Gourmet’s stylish bar. The refreshing, effervescent beers from elevated Italian beverage brand Peroni (the recipe for Peroni Nastro Azzurro has been the same since 1963) were ‘Servito Con Stile’. In other words, Peroni was served with flair in true Italian style. Peroni’s new Stile Capri, a bright and crisp lager inspired by the Italian island of Capri, was a hit with guests.
4. Insider secrets with celebrity guest chef David Rocco
At the event, ELLE Gourmet editorial director Erin McLaughlin chatted with charming chef David Rocco, who shared some of his favourite cooking hacks – “you should have a workhorse olive oil for cooking and a special one for drizzling” – as well as some of his secret vacation spots on the Amalfi Coast. More tips from David Rocco are in the Autumn issue of ELLE Gourmet.
5. An Italian icon – Prosciutto di Parma
Guests were enthralled by chef Roberto Fracchioni‘s skills on the manual flywheel slicer as he magically produced perfect swirls of Prosciutto di Parma wrapped around the end of an Italian grissini – a Prosciutto di Parma “lollipop”, if you will — and then handed them out for sampling. It comes as no surprise that Prosciutto di Parma is an icon. Crafted with just two ingredients – specially bred Italian pork leg and sea salt – Prosciutto di Parma is a renowned, air-cured ham made exclusively in Italy. Its all-natural aging process (it ages for a minimum of 400 days without any additives such as nitrates and preservatives) creates a wide variation of flavour profiles and textures, from mild and nutty to mature and full-flavoured, making it a great addition to pizza, sandwiches, salads and much more.
6. Italian cuisine from the best of the best
EATALY prepared their famous Pasta con Crema di Parmigiano Reggiano DOP right in the wheel of cheese – a theatrical way to prepare and serve this iconic dish. The complex flavours of Parmigiano Reggiano are smoothed out with heavy cream, and the sauce clings beautifully to the rigatoni. The chef tosses the pasta directly in the cheese wheel, scraping up bits of parmigiano as it melts from the heat of the freshly-cooked pasta. Hunks of freshly-baked focaccia made sure that non of the crema went to waste,
The Parmigiano Reggiano DOP consortium were also on hand – along with their vintage-style custom-made Parmigiano Reggiano cargo tricycle – to educate guests about Parmigiano Reggiano‘s uniqueness as well as its endless culinary potential. An 18 month Parmigiano Reggiano and a 36 month Parmiano Reggiano were sampled.
The team behind one of Toronto’s best new restaurants, Contrada, were on hand creating two much-talked-about dishes – their spectacular olive oil cake with fluted créme fraîche, sea salt and rosemary and a Cavatelli with mascarpone and hazelnuts. No evening with Contrada would have been complete without a glass of their eponymous spritz: Skin contact wine, cocchi rosa, akvavit, sumac, promegranate and Fiol Prosecco.
Of course, the evening wouldn’t be complete without a dish from ELLE Gourmet on offer. Chef Kate Levitt prepared one of the magazine’s most popular recipes: our Best Caesar Salad featuring grilled chicken and an easy homemade dressing.
7. Creative inspiration was in the air
In the slab galleria, guests were immersed in incredibly artistry at a pop-up gallery of works by renowned abstract modern artist Pietro Adamo. His dramatic use of colour and textured, offers a window into the intensely creative mind of an artist. A consummate traveller, Adamo finds inspiration from the world around him. On trips to Italy, a country that Adamo describes as his “ancestral homeland”, he explores art and architecture, and finds beauty in the “small details of the rural landscape.” Adamo was on-hand to share his passion for art and to guide guests through his world of exuberant, large-scale works of art. (For more information on Adamo, visit pietroadamogallery.com).
Near Adamo’s pop-up gallery, Ciot’s mosaic maestro, Igor Marziali was at work on an impressive custom mosaic. At Ciot Studio, Marziali creates intricate handmade mosaic patterns as well as classic designs. Trained at Italy’s Mosaic School of Friuli, Marziali’s years of experience and incredible eye for detail was on display. At the event, Marziali was able to share this intricate old-world art form by creating the mosaic in person.
8. Keeping hydrated
As guests wandered through Ciot’s elegant showroom, two water stations were on hand to keep everyone deliciously hydrated. Canadian-based company FlowMineral Spring Water was the perfect water partner for ELLE Gourmet’s To Italy With Love. The smooth, clean taste of 100% naturally alkaline water complemented the elevated flavours of the Italian cuisine at the event. Similarly, Flow’s eco-friendly packaging (the container is recyclable, 68-75% renewable packing) and Certified B Corporation status, made the partnership even more special. Guests were also treated to a 500 ml container in their gift bag. Flow’s tagline says it all – “Because the water you drink matters.”
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