11 minute read
Meet Da Vinci’s Head Chef
Marco Crugnola, Head Chef at Da Vinci
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At just 25, Marco Crugnola, Head Chef at Aberdeen’s Da Vinci, is gaining an enviable reputation for combining the flavours of Italy with the best of Scottish produce.
‘Family is big in Italy. Every Sunday afternoon, everyone would gather at my grandparents’ home. I’d watch them cooking. I was filled with curiosity and eventually allowed to help. They really triggered my passion for cooking.
‘My style owes a lot to traditional Italian cooking. The quality and freshness of ingredients is really important and I like to bring a modern, personal, touch to my dishes. As well as my chef’s training, I trained as a pastry chef, so I love our Tiramisù - it’s absolutely amazing! Currently, my favourite dish on the Specials menu is Tagliolini all’Astice. The lobster comes from Johnshaven and the dish gets lots of compliments. Da Vinci gives me the opportunity to be creative, yet authentic.
‘I’ve worked in hotels and restaurants in both Italy and the UK, but Da Vinci feels like home. The team come from all over Italy, so we share regional styles of cooking and with each other. I hope our customers feel transported to Italy while trying our dishes, drinking Italian wines and chatting with our staff.’
Marco’s Tagliolini All’Astice
(Serves 2)
INGREDIENTS
1 whole fresh Scottish lobster 250g Tagliolini pasta 150g fresh cherry tomatoes 3 or 4 garlic cloves 1 large onion, diced 2 celery sticks, chopped 2 carrots, diced 2 medium courgettes, chopped, deseeded 3 bay leaves 200ml dry white wine Salt and pepper Extra-virgin olive oil
METHOD
Cook the lobster in plenty of boiling water for around 5-8 minutes depending on the weight. Cool and remove all the meat by breaking up the shell (keep the shell), removing the lobster tail, and cutting the meat into pieces.
Fry the onion and garlic in a tablespoon of oil until golden. Add the diced cherry tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
Take the lobster shell, heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the shells with cherry tomatoes, celery, carrots, onion, and bay leaves. Add cold water and dry white wine to make a bisque and cook for an hour. Cook the Tagliolini pasta in plenty of salted boiled water for 4 minutes, until “al dente”. Add the cooked pasta to the tomato and lobster sauce and add a tablespoon of bisque to make the creamy sauce.
For the courgette sauce: Chop the courgettes and tear out all the seed parts; boil for 4/5 minutes and cool the pan in iced water. Blend with oil, salt and pepper. Add a little bit of water if you believe it is too thick.
Plate by making a nest with the pasta, place some more tomatoes and lobster sauce on top, dot the plate with courgette sauce, and garnish with chopped parsley.
Love for good food
Our restaurant is a family business, it’s a small group of Italian chefs & waiting staff, doing our best to offer our customers a culinary trip to Italy.
In Italy, we have great respect for the food that we eat, so we use fresh, locally sourced ingredients only.
Open for Lunch & Dinner SPECIAL DEAL £15 two courses.
Book your table now!
1 Alford Lane Aberdeen AB10 1NT T: 01224 591810 E: davincirestaurant@hotmail.com davincirestaurant.co.uk
Omnia: A gifted new venture
The Omnia is the latest business to join the retail spaces at The Boxes @ Chapelton. The Omnia is a homeware and gift store where store owners and friends and Chapelton residents Fiona Joss and Karyn Werninck are fulfiling a lifelong dream of owning their own business. They'll be offering a gorgeous selection of homeware and gift ideas to suit all tastes. Opening soon.
Escone Solutions secure DFS contract
Aberdeen based financial applications support company, Escone Solutions, are sitting pretty having won a new contract with the UK’s biggest sofa retailer, DFS.
Escone specialises in providing clients with super user application helpdesk support, system implementation, and strategic planning as well as workplace application solutions.
For more information, visit
esconesolutions.com
New MD for Glencraft
From left, Glencraft chairman Jonathan Smith, Donald MacKay theincoming MD, and previous Glencraft MD Graham McWilliam Glencraft, the luxury mattress maker that has supported visually impaired and other under-represented people with dignity through work for 178 years, has appointed a new managing director.
Donald MacKay takes up the reins from Graham McWilliam who held the position for six years. Donald commented, ‘Businesses and the community across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire have always been tremendous supporters of Glencraft and I look forward to strengthening those relationships.’
For more information, visit
glencraft.luxury
Chaophraya celebrates it 5th birthday
Chaophraya Aberdeen, the Thai restaurant on the corner of Union Terrace, celebrated its 5th birthday in style. Guests were treated to a tasting menu, live music and plenty of Prosecco, Buddhist monks from Edinburgh performed a traditional blessing, bringing luck, purification, peace and prosperity for the premises and staff. Owner and Executive Chef Kim Kaewkraikhot commented, 'It was amazing to celebrate with so many of our regular customers and Chaophraya family. It’s been a challenging year for our industry and to be able to all come together meant so much to each and every person within our team.' Find out more about Kim's passion for the freshest Thai flavours at chaophraya.co.uk/aberdeen
Are you lacking inspiration & looking to inject a bit of flavour & skill into mealtimes? Or do you want to learn some new skills & create some amazing food?
From the comfort of your own kitchen, Craig Wilson, the Kilted Chef, will give you lots of great ideas, hints, tips and tricks to unlock your inner Nigella Lawson or, dare we say…Gordon Ramsay!
From knife skills to recipe ideas, plating and getting everything ready on time, the Kilted Chef Cooking Masterclass is an online cookery session with Craig, which can either be on a one-to-one basis, or as a group.
For further information email: craig.wilson@kiltedchef.co.uk thekiltedchef.co.uk
WEDDING JEWELLERY | COMMISSIONS | COLLECTIONS
Exclusively designed & made for you
Call to discuss your ideas & make an appointment
265 North Deeside Road, Peterculter, AB14 0UL Tel: 01224 735000 lavajewellery.co.uk
balfour+manson Growing into a new office space
Julie Clark-Spence, the Partner who heads up the Aberdeen office, explained, ‘Balfour+Manson first opened in Aberdeen in 2004 and we’ve have grown from strength to strength, specialising in Personal Injury, Medical Negligence, Family Law, Property and Wills, Trusts and Executries.
‘We’ve had our Carden Place offices for nearly five years, although, like many people, we’ve mainly been working from home over the past 18 months. It made us realise we needed additional space for when we returned. We’ve added to the team – most recently with Katie Albiston joining our Family Law team as a solicitor – so we started to look for new premises that offered more space as we continue to grow and work with more clients throughout the North-east.
‘The new offices at 6 Albyn Terrace offer modern facilities in a traditional setting, so it’s the best of both worlds. It’s a fabulous location and exactly what we were looking for, with room for growth and additional staff over the next decade. The new offices are not just an investment in our growth, but part of Balfour+Manson’s ongoing commitment to the people of the city and shire. ‘We’ve always prided ourselves on being friendly and approachable as a team, supporting our clients through all aspects of our specialisms, from an initial consultation to final resolution. We offer a combination of a great depth of experience with the help and guidance needed no matter what situation a client is facing.
‘We’re good at listening, too and our approach is very much about getting to know our clients as people and working with them every step of the way. Prospective new clients are always welcome to call and set up an initial chat without long-term commitment.
We provide guidance during what are often traumatic and incredibly difficult times in our clients’ lives. We understand that no two cases are the same and we pride ourselves on getting the best possible outcome.
‘After months of working from home offices and kitchen tables, we’re all looking forward to moving in and welcoming all our clients to our great new space. We’re already thinking about an opening event later this year or early next year so we can show people round.’
Prominent law firm Balfour+Manson have outgrown their current Carden Place premises & have made the move to 6 Albyn Terrace, where they are looking forward to welcoming clients old & new.
6 Albyn Terrace, Aberdeen, AB10 1YP Tel: 01224 498080 balfour-manson.co.uk
FIFTH DIMENSION Juggling your way to success & better mental health
We’ve all had our hands full over the past eighteen months. It’s been a challenge in terms of work, family life and our mental wellbeing.
Ivor Smith and Jeff Burns of Fifth Dimension have been working with companies and individuals to help them cope with the challenges they’ve faced. One of the most popular sessions is their Juggling Workshop. Learning to juggle helps to open up conversation around health and wellbeing, looking at new ways of working and the power of juggling to relieve stress. Ivor explained, ‘Over the years we have taught hundreds of people how to juggle from schoolkids to CEOs! When we ask people at the start of the workshop, fewer than 20% believe they’ll be able to juggle three balls. By the end, 80-90% have achieved success. This naturally leads to a conversation about being more open minded and counteracting self-limiting thoughts.’
Jeff added, ‘We find many people really struggle with throwing the third ball. Juggling, is much more about letting go than it is catching. This makes us think about what we might need to let go in life. What’s stopping us from moving forward?
‘Juggling benefits our health and wellbeing. Focussing on eye-hand co-ordination effectively gives the brain a mini-holiday from stress or worry. It’s a state known as relaxed concentration - sports people need to be in this state to achieve great results. It also helps to improve coordination, rhythm and timing. One study even found that juggling causes certain areas of the brain to grow in areas associated with visual motion functions.’
Ivor concluded, ‘Juggling is well worth exploring. It facilitates conversations that move people forward, combines fun and health benefits and it might be simpler than you first thought…with the right coaching!’
Find out more at fifthdimension.biz
Salon 70’s new initiative Discounted hair care for VSA’s vulnerable clients
Salon 70’s Sarah Jane Ironside has teamed up with Voluntary Services Aberdeen to offer discounted hair styling to some of the adults the charity supports and free cuts for supported children. Sarah Jane explained, ‘Working with VSA is something I’ve wanted to do for a while. I’m passionate about mental health and wanted to give something back. Many of us have suffered at times, but a good cut, restyle or colour can boost self-confidence and make us feel better about ourselves and our lives.’
VSA’s Holly Leiper added, ‘This lovely idea from Sarah Jane really will mean a lot to the vulnerable people we support, from children to older adults. The discount card will really mean a lot to people who need it the most – a small act of kindness can help put a smile on someone who needs it.’
vsa.org.uk salon70aberdeen
Speciality coffee for the memorable moments in time.
What does your ideal afternoon look like? If it’s enjoying a collection of spectacular photography from around the world with a deliciously roasted cup of coffee in your hand, you’re in luck.
Goddard Gallery, a world-leading boutique wall art photography brand dedicated to delivering high-quality photographic prints to private buyers, interior designers, corporate art curators, quality hotels and restaurants, is expanding its offering with the launch of the Goddard Coffees Label that includes a speciality roast produced in Scotland.
With a diverse range of coffees from Goddard Coffees US label also in its portfolio, the UK market will be able to indulge in a Peru Speciality Label with beans expertly roasted in Scotland. To complement the launch of its coffee line, Goddard Gallery has recently issued “The Collection”, a series of volumes of new photographic coffee table books for coffee table art buyers - a real treat for all art, design and coffee lovers out there.
Visit goddardgallery.com to find out more.
