Chef's visit to give organic industry timely boost

An Italian masterchef who grows his own organic produce for his restaurant has confirmed his participation in February’s hotly-anticipated Gourmet Abu Dhabi event.

Alfonso Iaccarino, a descendant of four generations of Italian hoteliers, will present his organic recipes at Hilton Abu Dhabi’s BiCE restaurant during the 15-day event.

The organic advocate grows his own produce on his Le Peracciole farm, which he then serves to guests at his two Michelin-starred Don Alfonso 1890 restaurant, on Italy’s Sorrentine Peninsula.

Iaccarino is hoping to convince diners that organic is synonymous with gourmet, as well as being the healthier choice to conventional ingredients.

“Organic food is not only essential to the true gourmet experiences, but for everybody, if we consider that most of the new and more frequent cancer diseases are connected to food habits,” he said.

“In our restaurant we prepare our dishes with our own farmed organic vegetables, fruits and extra virgin olive oil for more than 20 years, this is much more than a simple idea – it is a complete food chain.”

And Iaccarino is coming to the Middle East at a time when the region's organic industry desperately needs elevating.

Just months ago, the organic market appeared to have been significantly impacted by the economic downturn, with Organic Foods and Café chief executive officer Nils El Accad telling Caterer Middle East: “There is no market in the Middle East; we are the only really organic retailer and the market is still in its infancy.

“We have a food service company and, for fine dining, it has gone all the way down; the hotels are all buying cheaper products and they’re definitely not looking to organic," he continued.

“They were not really interested in organics before and now they’re not interested in organics at all.”

But Iaccarino hopes his participation at Abu Dhabi’s culinary showcase will help to reinvigorate a market which has lost much of the ground it built up prior to the downturn.

The Italian masterchef, who is already planning his Gourmet Abu Dhabi menu, revealed: “The menu that we will present at BiCE will focus on traditional recipes, made in a modern and healthy style, which is the main concept of Don Alfonso 1890 food philosophy.

“It will be modern because we use modern technology to reproduce the tradition and healthy food every single preparation of ours has realised over the years. We pay attention to our guests’ health through short cooking, not using butter (apart from when it is really necessary), no cream, no fat and everything is based on extra virgin olive oil that we produce in our organic farm.

“I am so happy to be coming back because it is a new chance to engage with the Arabian culture and of course to learn a bit more,” he added.

Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority deputy director general Ahmed Hussein said: “Health, through careful and thoughtful eating choices, seems to be the keynote theme emerging from many of the master chefs participating in Gourmet Abu Dhabi 2010.

“We are seeing a new gourmet agenda emerge and it is one which we believe will win the full support of the discerning diners around the region.”