Hotel Xenia's Guest Chef Events offers diners the chance to try unique creations from different Italian regions, tastes and traditions. We attended and reviewed one of these swanky culinary journeys!

Hotel Xenia entrance 

I was recently given the opportunity to attend a preview of Hotel Xenia’s Guest Chef series at their in-house restaurant Evoluzione.

It was the first in an upcoming monthly series where they are bringing in guest chefs from different regions around Italy. The night I went we got to enjoy a menu from both resident Chef Andrea Angeletti and guest Chef Pietro D' Agostino from Sicily.

Hors D'oeuvres 

As we entered the restaurant we were greeted with Prosecco that was soon followed by some hors d’oeuvres as we mingled. At one end of the bar was Pastry Chef Manuele Francesco who was assembling some desserts. It was amazing to watch a cake magically turn into a piece of art in front of our eyes!

After a couple of glasses of Prosecco and several yummy nibbles, we all made our way down into the dining room for the main event. We were given an introduction to the chefs, the night, and the whole concept of the series which was really nice to put everything into perspective.

Hotel Xenia are putting on an impressive series! Every month there is going to be a chef from a different area of Italy that will create unique, one-night-only menu that showcases some of the best ingredients and flavours from their home. This particular night the region was Sicily and we were treated to lots of seafood and even wines to match.

Pastry Table

Finished cake

Bread rolls

Noodle scallops

Throughout the night, we were served plenty of bread rolls with some fancy tomato infused olive oil which were a great start but dangerously filling! But the first speciality dish to come out was Noodle Scallops. It was just a tiny taster dish, but really set the seafood tone for the evening. I will say that when this dish came out I was a bit concerned I’d leave the evening starving… I like to eat and this was tiny!

But I didn’t have to worry for long - our next dish was King Prawns with an Onion Salad. And it was by no means a small dish, especially considering it was just one of several courses. I have to say I do not like onions. I can handle little pieces that are cooked, but raw onions are a big no thanks. However, I don’t know what kind of heavenly dressing this onion salad was coated in - but it was amazing and I scraped every last onion off that plate.

King prawns

Black cod

Ravioli

Then we had some Black Cod with potatoes and lettuce. This was followed by Seafood Ravioli with capers, fennel and pistachios. The ravioli was was buttery with a creamy sauce. Then for our final savoury course we had Turbot with artichoke, calamari and roasted aubergine.

Then it was time for pre-dessert and dessert. We started with Panna cotta type dessert with a citrus sauce and a candied almond. I’ve had some bad experiences with panna cotta previously being flavourless and just dull as a dessert. But as a pre-dessert it actually worked because it made for a perfect segue/palette cleanser to prepare us for the dessert.

Our actual dessert was Cake with Raspberry sauce and yummy fillings. despite the fact I was stuffed I scarfed it down!

Pre-dessert

Dessert

Chocolate truffles

Cannelloni

We also had post-dessert of two little chocolate truffles. They were rich and chocolatey and totally my kind of treat.

Then there was a Cannelloni! No one in the restaurant had room I don’t think…but I sure managed to make myself eat it. And it was soo delicious. The shell was crunchy and sweet just as I hoped. The cream centre was airy and just sweet enough. And the combination was heavenly. I think I enjoyed it a little too much though because my husband took one look at my face and said “Stop cheating on me with a pastry!”

As well as this banquet of food we were also treated to wine throughout the night. It was clear the wine choices were well thought out and well matched with the various dishes.

All in all, it was a pretty amazing evening and my husband and I definitely plan to book a couple more of these nights over the next few months.The guest chef events are taking place every 6 weeks with the next one on the 21st of April. I have to say at £65 per person for several courses and wine is a fantastic deal, even if each event is only half as good as the one we attended!

Future guest chef events

A special thanks to Evoluzione for inviting us along to their beautiful banquet of Sicilian food! Visit their website to sign up for the next Guest Chef event or e-mail at info@hotelxenia.co.uk

Twitter: @HotelXeniaLND /@EvoluzioneLDN

Facebook: facebook.com/HotelXeniaLondon

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