When I heard the House of Peroni was back for a second season running my reaction was pretty much this...
You may remember my review of The House of Peroni back in July so when my invitation to attend the launch party of part two popped into my 3BM inbox, I RSVPed in a heartbeat.
The House of Peroni is all about showcasing a new wave of Italian style and creativity. Part two was centred around fashion, film and of course food and drink. Film was a particular focus this time round with the space boasting a luxurious cinema showing a series of contemporary Italian films each evening as well as a weekly, hotly anticipated ticketed film and dining experience but more on that later...!
See what mini mouse and I got up to at the launch party...
Well... an exclusive screening of Paolo Sorrentino’s 'The Great Beauty' which is hotly tipped for an Oscar nomination for starters. And as if that wasn't special enough, guests were also promised a lavishly designed 8-course menu created by Italian restaurant, Bottega Wapping. Put the two together and what do you get? ...out of this world food that brings to life the tastes, smells and textures of the film. It really was a completely new way to experience and appreciate film - I'm not so sure that i'll ever be able to go back to bog standard cinema munchings ever again, bye bye popcorn and pick 'n' mix!
We started our Roman inspired film feast by being ushered into a plush and intimate little theatre set up with a scattering of oh so comfy squishy sofas. We settled down into our designated seats and waited, anticipation building by the second, to find out what Peroni had planned for the rest of our evening! First up a bottle of chilled Peroni Nastro Azzurro was presented, well it would be rude not to! Next up the following was placed before our very eyes...
Intriguing...What could be inside a stack of plain white boxes each labelled with a single word?! Well, we were quickly brought up to speed - at key moments in the film one of the House of Peroni girls would walk into the cosy cinema and hold up a sign featuring a word. This word would map back to one of the boxes sitting in front of us, match the word to the box, open it up and consume the contents. How very exciting! Food coupled with this much anticipation was almost too much for me...!
Without further ado the film started to roll...
Ten minutes in, and I was starting to get itchy feet - I wanted to uncover the masterpiece sitting inside my first film feast box. Sure enough a couple of minutes later the Peroni girl strode in and held up her first sign. Everyone jumped forward and greedily whipped open their box number one... The 'Cocktail' which contained a dish of scallop, almond crisp bread and a Negroni jelly cube all topped off with raw vegatables marinated in orange juice. Delish.
And the barrage of gastronomic delights continued apace from there with the likes of...
Rome's most popular and authentic dish - croquettes with slow cooked tomato sauce, pine nuts, raisins and chocolate breadcrumbs
House of Peroni
Tuna tartare, seaweed, oyster water and black squid mayonnaise
Deconstructed carbonara with oozy egg yolk and tortelloni
Lamb cooked in Peroni Nastro Azzurro with Roman-style artichoke
Sadly because I was eating the above in a dark cinema I couldn't take any snaps so I don't have photography to do the dishes justice. BUT what I do have is one single of picture of the piece de resistance - the puds, which consisting off three desserts. My favourite being Gin & Tonic jelly - stiff but inspired...
All in all, an unforgettable experience! It's just a shame The House is closing shop on 30th November so I can't go every week...
41 Portland Place
Marylebone
London
+44 (0)203 176 2177
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