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Angelina at the Hotel Metropole Hanoi has recruited one of Macao’s finest Italian chefs, Egidio Latorraca, to supply some panache to the city’s Italian aspirations.
In a city where eating Italian was for a long time tantamount to ordering pizza or twirling spaghetti, Latorraca, beginning Oct. 24, is delving deep into Italy’s most esteemed culinary traditions.
Whether with a lamb ossobuco, a charcoal-grilled duck breast or porcini dusted sea scallops, Latorraca plans few concessions to the distance between Milan and Hanoi as he invigorates the Angelina kitchen.
“Egidio is a game-changer,” said Kai Speth, general manager of Hotel Metropole Hanoi. “In the same way that people tired of having to go all the way to Hong Kong for a stylish club scene now provided by Angelina, they were tired of missing great Italian food when at home or visiting Hanoi. Egidio’s kitchen is solving that problem.”
Latorraca comes to Angelina from a stint as chef de cuisine at Portofino in The Venetian at Macao. Until 2005, Latorraca worked in kitchens across Europe — principally in Milan and Paris — before heading East, first to Australia and then to Macao.
Those who’ve worked with Latorraca cite his focus on details, and his precision, whether he’s at work on a grilled artichoke heart or talking to a diner. His mission at Angelina, says the Metropole’s Director of Food & Beverage, Carl Gagnon: To introduce Italian culture to Hanoi.
“Our clientele, culturally, is incredibly ambitious,” said Gagnon. “It’s not enough for them to know a pinot from a Bordeaux, or conchiglie from campanelle. They want to know what they know in Milan when they’re ordering Italian.”
Born, raised and educated in Milan, Italy, Latorraca won the Hotels and Restaurants Services Specialist and Food and Beverage Executive award from Istituto Amerigo Vespucci in Milan.
ABOUT HOTEL METROPOLE HANOI
Opened in 1901, Hotel Metropole Hanoi reigns as the Grande Dame of Vietnamese hospitality and one of Southeast Asia’s most iconic hotels. The 364-room hotel was completely renovated in June 2009. Its historic Metropole Wing features suites named for Charlie Chaplin, Somerset Maugham and Graham Greene, each of whom ‘stopped’ at the Metropole during their time in colonial Indochina. The hotel’s restaurants include Spices Garden (Vietnamese), Le Beaulieu (French) and Angelina (Italian). Le Spa du Metropole opened in the summer of 2009 and immediately set a new standard for nostalgic elegance in Vietnam.
ABOUT ANGELINA
Located on the ground-floor of the Sofitel Metropole Hanoi’s Opera Wing, Angelina opened in October 2008 as the country’s most distinctive new dining venue. Part lounge, part nightclub, part Italian steakhouse, the space seats 120 on three levels and 16 more in a discreet, upper level suite.
For reservations, call + 84 43 9386 999. For additional information, contact Le Thi Nhung (Ms. Nhung) at (84.4) 3 826 6919 ext. 8509 or email pr@sofitelhanoi.vnn.vn
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