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Guest chef - Cafe Matisse
DINING & ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE - JAN 2003
Guest chef - Cafe Matisse
Swiss and Italian dynamic duo
The Continental flavour of Cafe Matisse is embodied in the artists who create its culinary delights. The quaint courtyard restaurant on Bank Lane in downtown Nassau exudes Europe, specifically northern Italy - with a tropical ambience.
The 115-year-old mansion, with beautiful tiled floors, cosy nooks, and a verandah overlooking the courtyard, is sprinkled with Matisse prints and impressions. Despite the name, Cafe Matisse is more Italian than French. Homemade pasta and pizzas are staples of the house.
Cafe Matisse was the home of longtime newspaper reporter, editor, publisher and historian Mary Moseley, who died there in the early 1960s. It was later turned into classic Italian restaurant called Roselawn Cafe.
Greg Curry bought the building in 1995. He and his wife Gabriella spent a year refurbishing. They added the European touches, renamed it Cafe Matisse, decorated it with about 40 prints by French artist Henri Matisse and opened in October, 1996. The menu is also superbly European.
Senior chef at Cafe Matisse is Roger Kunzli, 43, a native of a little town between Basel and Bern, in the German sector of Switzerland. He has been at the downtown restaurant since it opened as Cafe Matisse in 1996.
Creativity, imagination
Chef Kunzli brings to the kitchen unique creativity, a sharp imagination and culinary experience from Australia and St John's in the US Virgin Islands.
Among the chef's house specials are fish dishes; frittura ligera di calamari con crema al chili, crispy fried calamari with chili jam; and grigliata mista di pesce salsa salmoriglio, a mixed grilled seafood platter with a delicate herb sauce. He also creates spectacular meat dishes including fiorentina e rucola, sliced T-bone served rare topped with rucola and shaved parmesan; filetto di manzo al pepe verde, patate al rosmarino, filet mignon in green pepper sauce and rosemary potatoes; and, of course, osso buco alla milanese, braised veal shanks with saffron risotto.
Davide Fiore, 34, came to Cafe Matisse four years ago after an apprenticeship that began in his native Milan's well known Osteria del Binario and then took him to Japan, France, Spain, Chicago and a year on an Italian cruise ship. Chef Fiore likes to experiment, combining his northern Italian knowledge with local produce. He specializes in the restaurant's pasta dishes. "When you think Italian, you think pasta," he says.
The chefs make their own pasta and pizza daily and bread twice a day. They use as much local produce as possible in their creations, but import their cheeses and oils from Italy as well as salami and prosciutto.
Home grown herbs
Curry and his Milan-born wife, Gabriella, grow and supply most of the herbs used in the restaurant.
"We use almost exclusively fresh produce, very little canned product," he says, "and the menu changes two or three times a year."
Cafe Matisse is downtown opposite the courts and parliament, near big banking, high-end boutiques and the British High Commission. It caters to a mainly local business luncheon crowd and a mixed local and tourist evening clientele.
Visit www.cafe-matisse.com to view the menu.
Casarecce with shrimps, red lentils and rosemary
(serves 4)
12 oz casarecce pasta
6 oz red lentils
16 medium shrimps, halved
1/2 oz fresh rosemary
1 oz chopped tomato
2 bay leaves
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Boil lentils in four quarts of water with one tbsp salt and bay leaves for 20 mins. Discard half the cooking water and set lentils with remaining water aside. Sautee garlic in olive oil. Add shrimps, rosemary, salt and pepper and cook for one min before adding lentils and fresh tomatoes. Cook until sauce begins to thicken.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain pasta and add to the sauce. Mix well and serve topped with freshly ground pepper and a couple of drops of extra virgin olive oil.
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