During the COVID-19 lockdown, each week I would choose a region around the globe and create a feast based on the traditional dishes there. It would be a multi-course meal that we called our travel meals. We got to pretend for a moment that we were leaving our home to explore and experience something other than our condo. The travel ban is lifted, but that doesn't mean we all have the capacity to hop on a plane and escape to a grand adventure. Luckily for Chicagoans, the team at Adalina is hosting their own destination dinners throughout the summer where guests can explore the cuisine of three different regions in Italy at their Night in Italy Dinners. The first event, focused on the Amalfi Coast, sold out in June, but there are two more coming up in July and August, Sicily (July 23), and Piedmont (Aug 27). I spoke with Adalina’s Chef de Cuisine, Jeff Rueth about these special evenings of five-course dinners, showcasing seasonality, and culinary identity.
The Night in Italy dinners focus on different regions each evening, the first sold out event was the Amalfi Coast, the next is Sicily, and the final evening is Piedmont. How did you choose which regions to focus on?
I will give the credit here to our general manager, Colin Hofer. Colin and I based the sequence of regions on seasonality. For example, Sicily makes sense in July because produce significant to Sicily, like eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes, are reaching the peak of their season. Doing a dinner highlighting Piedmont, I want to make sure nice truffles are accessible. Italian food in general is based around showcasing the best products specific to a time and a place, which is why I've fallen in love with both cooking and reading about the cuisine. It always kind of blows my mind how different Southern Italian food can be from Northern or coastal vs. inland. The products available and specific influences/traditions can vary widely, but the ideology remains the same: cook what is in season, waste nothing, and let the ingredients speak for themselves.
How did you select which dishes would best highlight each region for the five courses?
I enjoy reading about the history of food, so researching dishes that have helped shape the culinary identity of those regions is a big part of that. After gaining an admittedly small understanding of some of the classics, I try to incorporate my own style/background into our food at Adalina. For Amalfi, I did a Fritto Misto, and it reminded me of Friday fish fries in Indiana, where I grew up. For our Tuscan dinner, I did a smoked/preserved mussel dish that reminded me of my time in NYC. I'm inspired by the food I grew up eating and the places I've been lucky enough to cook in and learn from. Again, it goes back to an ideology. All of a sudden, food from the Midwest or the East Coast can remind our guests of food they may have in Sicily or Tuscany. It's my job to source the highest quality ingredients and thoughtfully combine them to hopefully do justice to the region and make the people we cook for happy.
Sommeliers are pairing wines with the courses as well, are the wines just as regional as the food?
Alex Thomas is incredibly talented, and the passion she has for regionally focused wine and the story behind it makes my job so much more fulfilling. We collaborate on wines after I make a menu, and then together we begin making decisions on how to proceed. I consider these dinners as a collective experience where wine is just as important as food. Tasting and learning about the wines from Alex is one of my favorite parts of the whole process.
Are there dishes that you think will surprise guests going beyond the preconceptions of what Italy has to offer?
Yes. It's similar to question one, where getting to tie my own background and experiences to a totally different place gets me excited—and hopefully my team in the kitchen and the guests we're serving as well. I'm generally pretty shy, but whenever I drop courses and describe them with references to Indiana, Milwaukee, NYC or even a family meal one of my cooks has made, I feel far more comfortable. I think it makes guests feel a little more a part of the room too. Again, from cabbage rolls inspired by my Grandma Grabovac to Spaghetti Pomodoro inspired by my mom, I think the story behind food is often what surprises guests more than anything else.
I have a personal obsession with Piedmont after tasting bagna cauda, what other cuisine mainstays will be served to make guests feel like they have indeed left Chicago behind?
Bagna Càuda will 100% be making an appearance. I'm going to do a Vitello Tonnato that I learned from my time at Del Posto in NYC that I'm really excited about too. I'll probably do a risotto made to order that will be an insane amount of work, but it will translate to the plate. A true labor of love, but absolutely a worthwhile one.
For more information or to make a reservation for Adalina’s Night in Italy dinners, go to their website adalinachicago.com. Each dinner starts at $135 per person and are 21+ from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm each event.
