Our own private chef
Yes, I know, celebrating Valentine’s Day is cheesy, but as H says, “We’re lucky we have a reason to celebrate.” We normally go out at a later date–last year, we didn’t have our V-Day date ’til March!
This year, I offered to plan the whole thing, which was a mistake on my part–I was stressed out trying to find a place, because instead of going to a restaurant, I decided to hire a private chef. After the logistical problems, we finally had a venue, and Chef Maj Lazatin proceeded to stuff us silly.
I first heard about Chef Maj from a friend who was raving about her risotto. She studied at the Apicius Cooking School in Florence for a year, so she knows her Italian food! On the menu:
ZUPPA: Zuppa di Zucca - Pureed pumpkin soup with croutons and pancetta with a drizzle of truffle oil. I suuuper loved this soup! It was so smooth, and the truffle oil made it extra special! I could’ve eaten this all night.
INSALATA: Insalata with two kinds of Mushrooms - Mixed greens topped with sauteed Portabello and button mushrooms dressed with blueberry vinaigrette. It had some crispy parmesan hidden underneath the greens.
PRIMI PIATTI: Risotto con Vino Rosso, Pera, Gorgonzola e Manzo - Risotto with Gorgonzola cheese and pear cooked in red wine and served with grilled tenderloin. Mmmmm. The Gorgonzola was so intense–I could take it at the back of my throat all the way to my nose!
SECONDI PIATTI: Pesce con Mandorle e Prezzemolo - Pan-seared cobbler fillet with toasted almonds and parsley, served with fried zucchini flower. By this time, we were so stuffed that we couldn’t finish this dish. But the fish was deliciously nutty and the zucchini flower was delightfully crispy.
DOLCI: Panna Cotta con Fragola - Double-cooked cream with pureed strawberries. The perfect end to the meal–it wasn’t nakakasawa because the tanginess of the pureed strawberries perfectly complemented the cream.
A delicious post-V-Day date, and a really great experience! I could get used to this whole private chef thing.
(Interested in hiring a private chef? Contact Chef Maj Lazatin of Cucina Toscana, (02) 810-3101, 0917-8233101)
Yummy!
Comment by Vera — February 28, 2008 @ 5:54 pm
Yeah, it was dee-lish!:)
Comment by Tisha — February 29, 2008 @ 2:21 pm
How much does it usually cost to have a meal for two prepared by the chef? thanks
Comment by Rach — February 29, 2008 @ 4:51 pm
Wow. Food trip. FOr Valentines our of sheer boredom, my wife and I drove to Subic just to eat at meat-plus. La lang. Trip. It was worth it naman:)
Comment by Denis — February 29, 2008 @ 6:13 pm
Rach, I don’t know if there’s a “usual” cost…I think you can specify naman your budget. For all these courses (there was homemade sorbet in between the two entrees), it was upwards of P1,000 per person.
Denis, that’s pretty cool. Our funniest was when we went to the casino. Haha. And we spent our last anniversary at Ababu! It was awesome.
Comment by Tisha — March 1, 2008 @ 2:25 am