Italy trip inspires update of Regent's Sette Mari menu for Grandeur debut

SVP Hotel Operations Franco Semeraro took his culinary team to Italy, to his native region of Puglia, to draw inspiration for the project.

'What we are experiencing in this area is a lot more than is in a recipe book,' Semeraro said in a short film of the trip.

'We want to experience the hospitality of this area. We want to experience how the chefs here cook and translate into a family feeling. It's not just going out for food. It's going out for an experience.'

Accompanying him on a trip to masserias (farmhouses) and family-run restaurants where everything's made from scratch were Regent team members including VP Food & Beverage Bernhard Klotz and Senior Director Culinary Wolfgang Maier.

The essence of Sette Mari's dining experience

The film captures the essence of Sette Mari’s dining experience, a celebration of the long, lingering family meal, with exquisite Mediterranean cuisine, enhanced by the company of loved ones in beautiful surroundings.

At centuries-old masserias in Puglia, the Regent chefs discovered traditional cooking techniques and local ingredients. They explored how mozzarella, stracciatella and burrata are made at Masseria Conte, and learned about olive oil production at La Montalbanese, which houses Italy's oldest mill, dating back to the 1200s, and tasted a wide range of oils.

The Mediterranean style of 'living and eating'

They studied pasta-making techniques at Il Capriccio and cooked alongside the family team behind Osteria Sant’Anna, a lesson in how to bring the family experience to the table. They also cooked a multi-course meal with freshly caught fish and seafood for friends and family at Lido Bizzarro and furthered their understanding of the Mediterranean style of 'living and eating' in Masseria Salamina’s outdoor kitchen.

Fresh local ingredients in Puglia

Refined or new dishes on the Sette Mari menu will include bruschetta al pomodoro, zucchine alla poverella. cavatelli ai frutti di mare, insalata di panzanella alla Masseria Salamina, cozze gratinate al forno, branzino in agrodolce, pasticcini alla mandorle, 'Chef Nino' cioppino and focaccia con pomodorini.