An evening of pizza, jazz & wine in Delhi

Braving the massive traffic snarls due to incessant rains in NCR on Friday, a select gathering of ambassadors, entrepreneurs, and music aficionados, came together to enjoy a musical and culinary evening hosted by the ambassador of Italy Vincenzo de Luca at the Italian Embassy.Musical treat: Guests were seen enjoying a concert by the Italian Doc Remix group, comprising vocalist Francesco Pellegrino, guitarist-composer Marco Cappelli, clarinettist Doug Wieselman, trombonist Roberto Schiano, contrabassist Ken Filiano, and drummer Jim Pugliese, collaborating with sitarist Dhruv Bedi. “The ensemble is known for fusing jazz with the folk music of Italian immigrants,” said Francesco. Speaking at the occasion, which marked 75 years of diplomatic relations between India and Italy, the ambassador said, “The event summarises the philosophy of our cultural promotion in India, based on the interaction of our culture with that of India.”A slice of Italy: While music and rain created the right mood, what added extra cheer to the evening was a special pizza tasting menu, featuring a delish variety of Neapolitan pizzas, also known as Naples-style pizza, like verde, la bufala, quattro formaggi loaded with cheese and the classic Margherita, among others. To end the evening on a sweet note, guests were served handmade gelato. “Neapolitan pizza, which is prepared using a pre-fermented dough, has a crust, which is fluffy, airy and a little charred and is prepared in a wood-fired oven. For this special evening, we chose exotic toppings like ham (Italians love it more than chicken), sausages and a variety of cheese like red cheddar, ricotta and mozzarella. Our Pollo Affumicato pizza with sliced smoked chicken, bufala mozzarella and marinara sauce was quite a hit among the guests,” said Kush Khemani, one of the chefs and caterers for the evening.