Culinary Journey to Malta with Chef Trevor Portelli in Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko
Chef Portelli and Maltese dishes: 20th July 2019
Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena Bansko continues to surprise gourmet lovers with new themed evenings in the summer. On the 20th July, the hotel organises a Maltese evening, where chef Trevor Portelli will reveal the secret of his native cuisine.
With his menu, he brings us back to his memories of childhood, filled with the taste of homemade sheep’s cheese, the aroma of the traditional Sunday rabbit on a wood-fired oven and freshly caught calamari of the turquoise sea. Because of its advantageous and strategic position, Malta has been captured many times by various nations, leaving a lasting impression in the culinary tradition of the small island state. This is the place where nowadays we find traces of Italian, English, Spanish, Provençal and Arabic cuisine.
Maltese Sinizza
Full Disclosure: This is a press release from the Kempinski, Bansko Blog sponsors. Please bear this in mind but also note that I never recommend anything in Bansko I do not think is worthy of mention.
The four-course menu of Chef Trevor Portelli is a combination of authentic flavours and includes a rich mix of typical traditional Maltese specialities – the famous Maltese sausages, sheep’s cheese from Gozo, fish delicacies, classic beef olives, stuffed calamari, zucchini and roasted rabbit. Interesting is the belief since Roman times that rabbit meat consumption embellishes women and since then, rabbit has become one of the most traditional dishes of Maltese cuisine.
Maltese traditional beef olives
The products for the new culinary temptation will be carefully selected personally by chef Portelli and imported directly from his native Malta. For the sweet end of the dinner, he has prepared three different classic desserts – warm date rolls with vanilla ice cream, almond nougat and the famous Maltese Sinizza, which resembles an aromatic sweet pastry. The Maltese chef says that wherever in the world he cooks the Sinizza, it becomes very famous and guests always ask him about the recipe. All meals will be served with a glass of first-class Italian wine according to their taste, with the kind assistance of BNK.
If you wish to indulge in the tastes of Malta, you can book the special Maltese Night Package valid for the weekend of 19-21 July 2019, or book only for the dinner at the following link: https://www.kempinski.com/en/bansko/hotel-grand-arena/special-offers/maltese-night-package/
Inspired by his recent sharing experience with chef Rémy Giraud in the two-star Michelin restaurant Les Hauts de Loire in France, chef Trevor Portelli will serve the guests another culinary surprise – a Provence evening on the 24th August. Guests will be able to taste classic Provençal specialities, combined with the most famous Provençal rosé, white and red Château d’Esclans wines and high-end champagne. The event is planned to be different and will take the guests to the atmosphere of the famous Saint-Tropez outdoor parties by the pool against the backdrop of the enchanting Pirin Mountains.
Both special evenings I thoroughly recommend because on previous ones, this last winter, they were excellent and represent value for money for the quality of the food and the overall experience.
