On Saturday, May 27 from 8 p.m., the restaurant and cocktail bar in Milan’s Porta Romana will take guests on a discovery of Peru. Accompanying a pairing starring dishes that recall the roots of Chef Katherine Rios, along with 5 signature cocktails made by bartender Geanfranco Chavez, based on Pisco 1615, San Pellegrino and Gin Intira,the main sponsors of the evening along with Ice Cube.
Food pairing and mixology with Peruvian flavors in Milan
Milan, May 25, 2023 – Conceived and organized by owner Masha Britsyna, in collaboration with Pisco ambassador Ivan Castillo, the May 27 evening of Il Puma restaurant opens wide the doors to contaminations from overseas.
📍Il Puma Ristorante Via Lazzaro Papi, 10 (Porta Romana)
The venue’s botanical and suffused atmosphere, together with the stylistic furnishings of refined design, create an oasis suspended from the Milanese traffic that well-suited to experiencing and giving guests experiences and tastings with an international character.
It’s here, between the indoor dining room and the outdoor dehor, that the menu inspired by the roots of chef Katherine Rios and Monza’s Dive Cocktail House head bartender Geanfranco Chavez will be on stage. Both, born and raised in Peru before moving to Italy, will import into the heart of their creations the typical products of the gastronomy that still binds them to the land of the Andes.
Food and drink menu from Peru
The five courses, from amberjack ceviche, bell pepper, almonds, and basil to barbecued chicken, anticuchera sauce, and zucchini, will be illustrated and narrated four-handedly with Il Puma resident chef Vincenzo Ippolito, allowing guests to share and immerse themselves in the boundless and traditional Peruvian culture.
I come from a family extremely connected to gastronomy, thanks to which I inherited the same passion and was able to make and live experiences that brought me closer and closer to the land and to the local Peruvian communities. This menu tells the true story, roots and colors of my beloved Peru.“
declares Chef Katherine Rios, among other winners of the “Fine Dining Lovers Food for Thought Award 2022/2023 Italy, San Pellegrino” with the dish “Migration and Integration”
Chavez‘s liquid interpretations, paired with appetizer, entrée, main course and dessert, will range from Dos Pelados, made with pisco (chive infused, g&r datterino nectar, lime and sweet bell pepper salt) to Quemadito with Gin Intira, Mexican rum, clarified apple, ginger paste and sparkling wine.
Continuing with Liquid Cesar Salad made with Gin Intira and lettuce and cucumber cordial, moving on to Don Pedro, with pisco, vermouth, sherry, bitter, and ending with the Mez&Mez made with mezcal, bitter, red vermouth, citrus sherbet, and San Pellegrino bitter orange soda top.
“The evening we have organized is a tribute to the land from which our guests come, thanks to the extraordinary power of pairing food and cocktails. Only the hands of those who have experienced Peru, in fact, can really tell and transfer such an intense culture and cuisine. – says Masha Britsyna – For one evening the boundaries of Il Puma will be undone, transporting us to the discovery of distant flavors and scents.”
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Puma restaurant – Peruvian cuisine and mixology
Il Puma at 10 Via Lazzaro in Porta Romana, open Tuesday through Saturday from 6 p.m. to midnight, features 40 covers between the lounge, mezzanine and outdoor dehors, the latter of which can be closed and heated so that it can be used in any season.
At the head of the restaurant is Masha Britsyna, born in Como in 1997 and having Ukrainian origins, with a strong passion for food & beverage and a flair for entrepreneurship.
Chef Katherine Rios
Katherine Rios Chañi was born and raised in Arequipa, Peru, in a family with close ties to gastronomy. She trained at the Institut Paul Bocuse in Lima and matured her work experience in two stops that were important to her: the legendary Astrid y Gaston in Lima and La Mère Brazier in Lyon, a place that marked her professional growth significantly. Back in Peru after the French interlude, she began working with Amantica Lodge on the island of Amantaní, in Lake Titicaca, at about 4,000 meters above sea level, in close contact with local communities. This is undoubtedly the experience that marks her the most and makes her connection to the land and the incredible traditions of her country very strong. Together with chef Simone Nebbia, her mentor and life partner, she has been developing the Troppo project in Lima since 2018. Currently in Italy, she is working on her personal and life project in Palestro, in the province of Pavia, where she is opening with Simone the restaurant Nina.
Bartender Geanfranco Chavez
Geanfranco Chavez is the bar manager and head bartender at Dive Cocktail House in Monza. Born in Peru but having moved to Italy more than 26 years ago, he began his training in the Hotel Institute of Monza where, at the beginning, he embraced a passion for cooking and then changed and totally immersed himself in liquid cuisine: the bar, which has accompanied his life for more than 13 years. Chavez è il bar manager e head bartender del Dive Cocktail House di Monza.
IVAN CASTILLO
Ivan Castillo born in Lima, Peru, on May 5, 1987, is a bartender and deep connoisseur of spirits such as rum and pisco. Engaged for years in the consolidation of commercial and cultural exchanges between Peru and Italy, as well as in the consolidation of the diffusion of pisco in the Italian market, he collaborates steadily with companies and producers of pisco and other spirits. For many of them he coordinates representation and distribution activities abroad.