PIZZA EXPRESS – 50 YEARS CELEBRATION
By Ritika Dhawan
Pizza Express hosted a blogger’s night, to celebrate its 50th anniversary and the launch of its new menu, at its recently opened outlet at Ambience Mall, Gurgaon. Established in 1965 in London, by founder Peter Boizot for the love of real Italian pizza, Pizza Express has mapped its journey with over 500 restaurants in 14 countries across the globe. Every outlet is uniquely designed, with its inspiration drawn from the location of the outlet.
A warm welcome and an assorted non vegetarian platter marked the start of the evening. Antipasto Pollo e Gamberro – an assortment with pesto marinated chicken, prawns on skewers, roasted tomatoes, fresh buffalo mozzarella served with basil pesto, pesto rosso and dough sticks baked with emilgrana (a dehydrated hard cheese). Each item on this platter complimented each other, as explained by the chef the buffalo mozzarella cleanses the palate so as to ensure that we can enjoy the individual flavours of each assortment. Also we were served a drink which was a blend of watermelon, mint and lemon- it was as refreshing as it sounds.
Next was the star of the night – The Pizza !! The chef prepared their signature pizza from scratch; he explained to us every minute detail and walked us through the process of creating this Italian wonder. The importance of evenly stretching the dough, not overloading the pizza with the toppings so as to let the flavour of the base stand out, every tip and trick was shared. The fun was tripled when we got a chance to create our own pizza under the supervision of the chef.
A thin and crispy Romana base, layered with their signature tomato passata sauce which is imported from Italy, topped with fresh basil, buffalo mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, flavoured with salt and black pepper and finally drizzled with olive oil was the highlight of the evening. The pizza was not at all heavy, the base maintained its crunch and one could have countless slices of it- a must try.
For a perfect end to a meal, a baked vanilla cheesecake served with your choice of gelato, cream or mascarpone(a soft cheese) delighted the senses.
A place that promises quality and will surely continue to maintain its legacy; if pizzas define Italian food for you, head to Pizza Express now and indulge!
