CARROLL GARDENS — It was a special night at Brooklyn’s renowned Marco Polo Ristorante when owner Marco Chirico hosted a wine dinner that spotlighted three culinary superstars — Gabriele Massa, master sommelier and brand ambassador from the Sorrentino winery; Marcello Avitabile, a five-time world champion pizza gourmet and Chirico himself, the legendary executive chef of Marco Polo.
The event, which took place on Wednesday, Nov. 13 was also the perfect opportunity for guests to enjoy the pairing of fine red and white wines with the dinner entrees prepared by Chirico and crew.
The idea for the dinner came about when the national representative for Sorrentino winery called Chirico, who also happened to be a good friend of his, to do an event with his wines. “We’ve been friends for a long time now and so we put this event together because I love the winery and I love their wines,” said Chirico.
Chirico said that Sorrentino offered a wide variety of premium wines that just happened to go very well with the food he prepared. “And I worked with our special guest chefs and we created all the dishes together,” added Chirico.
Chirico said it was not a traditional wine-pairing dinner; rather guests were offered a choice of dishes and the wines were paired with the dishes they chose. “For example, the risotto for that night paired especially well with the white wine and also with the light red,” explained Chirico.
“It was all done tableside and Marcello made a fried pizza dough stuffed with Fontina cheese. It was lightly fried with a little bit of light sauce on it top. And that went especially well with the sparkling wine and the white wine we were showcasing,” he added.
Chirico said that he always tries to steer customers to find the best wine for the dishes they have decided to eat. “That’s what Gabriele and I did on the floor that night. We made the guests pick the food they wanted to eat first and then we steered them in the right direction for the wines.”
This was the fourth event of its kind that Chirico has hosted at Marco Polo and the second one with Sorrentino wines. Among the guests attending was former Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. Chirico also promised more such events in the future.
Marco Polo is located at 345 Court St. For more information, visit the website: mpolo@marcopoloristorante.com
Marco Chirico showed off a plate of risotto.
Former Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, second from right, was among the guests.
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