D'Acqua
Executive Chef Enzo Spills the Beans
on Presidential Palates
WASHINGTON,
DC - (November 19, 2008) - As Barack Obama's team feverishly
plans for the inaugural ball, food options will be at the top
of the to-do list. Cooking for guests is always an interesting
topic, but more so when the guest of honor is the President
of the United States of America. Chef Enzo should know - he's
had the experience of cooking for the last two presidents and
now offers his take on what he'd like to prepare for President-elect
Obama.
"When
a chef gets the opportunity to cook for the President, it's
a great honor, and one they are likely never to forget,"
explains Enzo Febbraro, co-owner and executive chef of Washington
D.C.-based D'Acqua Ristorante. "I've cooked
for the past two, and now I hope to carry on that tradition
by getting the chance to cook for President-elect Obama."
So,
just what would Chef Enzo prepare for the new President? He's
heard that he likes Italian food, so he'd like to prepare a
meal of:
·
Grilled octopus to start, along with pasta linguine sea urchin
·
For the main dish, a Fiorentina di manzo "Beef porterhouse
fiorentina style"
·
And for dessert - a sfogliatelle, which is a traditional Neapolitan
dessert featuring a flaky pastry shell, stuffed with polenta,
ricotta, orange zest, and orange blossom water
"I
think that the new President would find this selection of some
of my finer dishes to be pleasing," adds Chef Enzo. "Not
only is it a very balanced and nutritious meal, but it is also
very adventurous in taste."
Chef
Enzo also had the opportunity to cook for President
Clinton several times, including such dishes as sausages
and broccoli rabe, stuffed eggplant with mozzarella, roasted
bell pepper, bucatini amatriciana with pancetta (Italian bacon,
onion and tomato), and raviolistuffed with ricotta and spinach.
For
President George W. Bush, he has prepared fittura
di paranza (fried calamari, anchovy and shrimp), crab salad,
meat carpaccio, grilled octopus, paccheri with lobster, gnocchi
with meat, Neapolitan ragu, and turbot, salt-crushed.
About
D'Acqua Ristorante
D'Acqua Ristorante, owned by Chefs Enzo Febbraro and Francesco
Ricchi, is located at 801 Pennsylvania Ave. NW in Washington,
D.C. The restaurant, which features a coastal Italian menu with
a seafood emphasis, was opened by the two highly acclaimed chefs
in 2006, and has quickly earned great reviews. Enzo, a native
of Naples, Italy, has traveled throughout Europe, preparing
dishes at high-end restaurants and hotels. Francesco, a Florentine
native, has owned a number of award-winning establishments,
and has also hosted President George W. Bush. The restaurant
is a popular political dining establishment that is frequented
by Washington's elite, including senators, members of congress,
and White House staff. To learn more about D'Acqua Ristorante,
visit the Web site at www.dacquadc.com.