The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Concorde El Salam Hotel Cairo’s Chef Carlo Di Nunzio’s passion for food and culinary art is detectable from just a single conversation with him. Seriously, talk to him for a few minutes and you will find yourself with a deep craving for new food adventures. His passion and talent come to life in Italiano’s menu, which has been crafted to perfectly highlight Carlo’s specialties, as well as appeal to Egyptian lovers of Italian cuisine.

When asked about his strategy for creating this menu, Nunzio stated that firstly, he had to get to know the area and what Egyptians like to eat. “Here, people like their food strongly flavored”. We have some dishes that are very, very light in Italy. I don’t add this type of dish [to the menu] because I know it will not have the success I would hope for.” Nunzio states the customer favourite dish at Italiano is the calamari (makes sense, us Egyptians love seafood!) as well as the current special at the restaurant, the OssoBuco; “The people love it. Why? Again, because it’s strong…it has a strong flavour.” OssoBuco, Italiano’s dish for the month of October, is a specialty Lombard cuisine made up of veal shanks and tomato sauce. Chef Nunzio prepares the dish with tomato sauce and gremolata.

A great deal of Nunzio’s own personality is present in the menu. When asked what the most unique dish would be, he described one of his very own creations; “I call it lasagna, but it’s not really lasagna, because lasagna has more layers of pasta, and this one has only two. It’s made with zucchini, just one touch of fresh pesto, and mozzarella di bufala (also fresh).  There’s also the tagliatelle fettucine with pesto du rucola and toasted almond. You will not find this recipe in any book, it’s my recipe. Wherever I go, in the menu, I have three or four dishes that are completely mine.”

When asked about how his passion for food developed, Nunzio revealed that his work in restaurants began as a young teen. “Between 14 – 18 years old, I was a waiter….in the summer, to make some money for myself I worked as a waiter.” In some situations, he had to get involved in the kitchen when extra help was needed. During these experiences, he realised that he had a real talent for cooking, and he also became aware of his own high standards and complex taste. He explained that, even if he made the dish exactly as he was taught, and everyone else claimed it tasted good, he still wouldn’t be satisfied unless it tasted perfect to him.

Nunzio has been living in Cairo for about 9 months now. His favourite thing about Egypt? The food of course! He especially enjoys ful and taameya, and expressed that he enjoys learning about Middle Eastern food from within the region itself. We even discussed some of the similarities between Egypt and Italy, both very passionate cultures.He has previously lived and worked in 7 European countries, with Egypt being his first in the Middle East. “Food is food” he says with conviction; “Most food, if it’s good, its good. Why is pizza famous all over the world? Because it’s good!” He explains that, after being a chef in so many different countries, he must argue this sentiment with people all the time. He believes strongly that any dish, when made the right way, will be delicious to anyone, anywhere. “We must just be curious, and be open to other people and other cultures, they can help us and teach us something new.” Nunzio goes on to discuss how food can connect people throughout different cultures.

“Your macaroni bechamel, this came from where? Bechamel is French, macaroni is Italian…so we take French bechamel and Italian macaroni and make Egyptian food…and what is nicer than one big table, full of food, and people from everywhere sitting and enjoying it. If you want to put some people together, what do you do? One nice dinner, and everyone will enjoy it. Doesn’t matter. You can put, at the same table, an Egyptian, an Australian, and an Italian…it doesn’t matter.”

Nunzio is also very passionate about the emotional connection humans have with food. He never goes around the restaurant to ask customers if the food is good, “because most of them are polite, even if they don’t like it, they will say “oh, very good, very good”” He instead judges whether or not people enjoy his food based on their eyes and how they interact with the people they are dining with. He is constantly striving for that visible emotional response to the food. He feels that one of the most rewarding things about his career as a chef is that it is always changing, and one never stops learning. “Always, you can do something better, and because of this, the job is interesting. It’s not like other jobs where you go to work every morning and do the same thing, no.” In the culinary world, there is always new magic to be made.