Ristorante Corallo: Italian eatery comes to the west
Published:Thursday | February 23, 2012 | 12:00 AM
Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Western Jamaica's new Italian restaurant, Ristorante Corallo, sits on the border of Trelawny and St James. But make no mistake - no borderline European fare is being served at this seaside eatery.
In fact, its owner, Italian Ugo Cerri, is taking diners to the heart of Milan, where he displaced his mother, Ester Papa, in the kitchen at age seven. "My mother was the only Italian woman I know who was terrible in the kitchen," he quipped, just before paying tribute to his grandmother who taught him how to cook.
Ugo Cerri will also tell you that one half of his brain has a master's in business administration, but the other half is artistic, craving music and cooking.
That love of the arts and culinary delights has seen the birth of the first eatery of its kind at the 19-room Royal Reef boutique resort in Greenwood. The hotel is owned by Sherold Philibert and his wife, Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert.
The businessman, who brought in 23-year-old executive chef Antonino Miduri to run his kitchen, is keen on offering diners an insight into authentic Italian cuisine, where Italian food conjures up images of family and friends, good food, fine wine, conversation and laughter.
Quite frankly, the image that Italian food is equated to spaghetti is not one that Cerri wants his guests to envision, as his vast and exciting menu is a food lover's dream. Ristorante Corallo serves up mouth-watering appetisers, including chicken paté on a crostini bread; marinated mahi mahi with orange and 'rucola'; beggar's purse 'alla caprese' and terrina (vegetable terrine with ricotta cheese and spinach filling); eggplant flan and vitel tonne (cold pork loin with tuna sauce).
Corallo's entrée comes with a rich variety of pasta dishes which combine lasagne, home-made ravioli, home-made gnocchi, and pasta al pesto, complemented by Mediterranean styled mahi mahi, tuna 'tagliata' with balsamic vinegar chicken breast with mushroom sauce, red snapper filet in potato crust, filet mignon 'tagliata' with rucola and Parmesan cheese.
"Most of the time you go to Italian restaurants and they change to adapt to where they are. We will experiment, but if you want a decent pasta with ragu and ravioli, you will find true Italian cuisine here," said Cerri.
Currently, the restaurant only serves dinner, but plans are afoot to introduce lunch. A pizza oven was just completed and all that is missing is the pizza man who is coming straight from Italy to "run the entire operation", says Cerri.
Ristorante Corallo can easily accommodate 50 persons and is opened to hosting weddings and birthday parties.
As the Italian businessman transitions and adds his expertise to the melting pot of cuisines in Jamaica, his mother, Ester Papa, has over the years improved her cooking skills and is now an excellent cook.