It was one of those happy afternoons. The food was excellent. The company was fun. And everywhere you looked, your eyes met something beautiful.




All of us bloggers were invited to Olive Bar and Kitchen by the Dalmia group to sample various Chef Saby creations all made in Leonardo Olive oil.







Himani Dalmia of Dalmia Continental introduced us to Leonardo Olive oil- the various grades and uses. Here she is talking to all of us.







The renowned Chef Saby (who I have to say is the friendliest, funniest chef I’ve met!) then took us through some really easy preparations using olive oil. The Olive chain of restaurants all use Leonardo Olive oil for their cooking. Chef Saby also successfully concluded the debate on the eternally maligned poor Olive Pomace oil, making it clear that it was perfectly safe to use, great for frying, and excellent for Indian food.







He then demonstrated a lovely fried asparagus and fried basa in Olive Pomace Oil. The batter was made frothy and light with a nitrogen infusion. Here he’s showing us how to do it.







All through this we were nibbling at the beautifully presented anti-pasti platters set up for us, with slices of thin crust pizza in between and delicious swigs of Sangria.




Here’s a look at what we ate.




Cold cut platter.







Assorted cheese platter.







Some of us felt like we had been transported to another serene world filled with delicious food.




Doesn’t Sangeeta look like that? 🙂







We all took several pictures- only because everything was so photo-worthy. It seems like all we had to do was point and shoot to get a stunning image.




Here’s Sid having some fun with the camera 🙂







The main courses arrived as we sat around two large tables which had been set in the most charming way.







All the food was prepared and/or drizzled in Leonardo Olive oil.




Sizzling Gambas- in which the pomace olive oil was the hero of the dish, coating the prawns and olives, making them glisten.







Pasta Marinara with a drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive oil and a generous, generous sprinkling of Parmesan.







Classical tenderloin lasagna Bolognaise-meaty and cheesy. Yum.







Black truffle porcini risotto, which was utterly divine. The deep truffle flavour was heady.







The desserts were all delicious…







…but the Tiramisu had us swooning.







After a guided tour around the kitchen, and some digesting, we were all smiles.







It’s always nice to spend time getting to know a product we all use so often, and how best to use it. A big thank you to Himani and the Dalmia group, as well as Chef Saby and his team at Olive for such a memorable afternoon.