By Kim Caula -
The Frescobaldi family has been famous in Europe for almost a thousand years. It is an aristocratic dynasty, which has included landowners, famous musicians and international financiers — at one stage the Frescobaldis acted in 1270 as bankers for Edward the First and later for Edward the Second of England.
Tomorrow the current head of House of Frescobaldi, Marquis Leonardo Frescobaldi will be attending together with his Chief, Executive Chef, Umberto Vezzoli, rated by many as the finest in the world, an Opera Ensemble dinner at the Bustan Palace Hotel.
This will also be the main annual dinner of the Oman chapter of the Chaine des Rotisseurs, an organisation, which can trace its origins back to the French Royal Court of the thirteenth century...
The master behind the menu is Umberto Vezzoli, Executive Chef of again one of the world’s most famous hotels, the InterContinental De La Ville, Rome, located at the top of the Spanish steps.
One man cannot of course create a dinner of five courses alone. He will be able to call on Luc Amann and his team at the Al Bustan Palace. Luc Amman has now been known for the very high standards he has maintained over the past ten years.
The theme of the evening will be Teatro Alla Scala.
Frescobaldi history
Frescobaldi trading outlets spread across the Eastern Mediterranean to Damascus and Constatinople as early as the 1400s, but particularly relevant to tomorrow’s performance entitled ‘Teatro Alla Scala’ is that the Frescobaldi family also produced a famous musician.
Girolamo Frescobaldi was a major composer from the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods, whose keyboard works rank amongst the most important of his time. He was also a child prodigy organist at the age of 14 to the famous Academia della Morte in Ferrara, and later became organist at St Peter’s in Rome.
Thanks must go to the whole of the InterContinental Group for planning this cultural, gastronomic and musical event — but particularly thanks should go to Martin van Kan, General Manager and Director of Operations IHG Oman, Rocco Bova, Director of Food and Beverage, plus their Executive Chefs, Umberto Vezzoli and Jean Luc Amman.
Recipe
What could be better to have in the morning than a nice slice of Brioche toast with homemade jam and butter.
Here is my personal recipe which I have been making for the last 10 years.
Ingredients:
100 grm fresh milk
30 grm dry yeast
30 to 50 grm sugar (if you prefer less or more that is your choice)
15 grm salt
11 pc medium fresh eggs
1000 grm bread flour
300 grm butter
1 pc lemon zest
Method:
Break down 
the yeast, bread improver and sugar in the milk, and mix with the flour. Stir the salt into the eggs and add 2 to 3 times. Add the butter only when the dough is well formed. Then knead the dough well and allow to stand for approximately 6 to 8 hours in a cool place. Put the brioches to prove and place around 300 grm of dough in a cake mold which has been lightly spread with butter. Then stand in a cool place for about 1 hour until the dough raises up more then double the size and carefully brush twice with egg. Bake in a hot oven with open damper to a fine light brown colour.
