What's the secret to making the best Italian pizza? Apparently, a lot.
Kicking off what is one of the best offerings in Muscat this season, Fresco — the modern reinterpretation of the traditional pizzeria-trattoria, located in Al Mouj has started offering pizza-making classes every Tuesday from 4 pm to 6 pm for their patrons to learn the finer details of Italian pizza-making.
"Fresco is characterized by the classic Neapolitan cuisine. In our pizza corner, our pizzaiolo (pizza maker) follows only the traditional and authentic recipes that enhance the typical flavours of our high-quality products, perfectly representing the Mediterranean cuisine," shared Giselda Abate, CEO and Founder of Easybusiness LLC and the brains behind the three Fresco food joints in Oman.
"Our goal is to take you on a journey through the traditions and gastronomy of Italy; changing the way you experience traditional flavours," she added.
"Fresco has three locations where you can savour the authentic Italian flavours. Our first location is based in Al Mouj Marsa 3 in a secluded area with a large indoor and outdoor space overlooking the marina. Fully equipped with both a pizzeria and a gelateria. All our gelato is homemade right here at Fresco al Mouj," Giselda shared.
"Our second location is based in Bandar al Rowdha. It has a large outdoor space including facilities such as a swimming pool and a padel court. Our third and latest location is based in Madinat Sultan Qaboos. A café-style restaurant with a large terrace. This branch is mainly focused on take-aways and pick-ups for customers," she shared.
"Fresco is a 100% Italian-run restaurant in Muscat. We pride ourselves on the quality of food that we serve to our customers. Our seasoned chefs spend a lot of time curating their recipes, ensuring that they reach the standards that we and our customers expect. At Fresco, we will make sure that your meal experience is as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. Our team of hardworking staff are committed to doing everything that they can to ensure that you enjoy your food," she shared.
The pizza-war
To give the media in Oman an opportunity to see how complex the pizza-making process is, the Fresco team decided to invite five media houses for a friendly best pizza-making competition.
The team shared that all the processes that the participants execute are the exact same process and procedures that their chef does on the daily pizza offering go through.
With select media from radio, print, and digital, the 10 participants had an impromptu class of how to prepare the dough which Giselda explained is not the typical ones found in fast-food chains.
After the dough preparation, the teams were then shown the different ingredients that go on a pizza which included a few selections of cheese, veggies, and a different variety of meat and seafood.
The teams were then given time to assemble a pizza together including how to put it into a large oven and then put it in the pizza box for packaging.
Their concoctions were then judged based on several expectations topmost of which were the overall look and taste.
Virgin Radio and Merge Radio both won second and third place respectively with the Oman Observer team winning the competition.
More fun activities and delightful offerings are coming soon
Giselda said that they had been looking forward to making a lot of their offerings accessible to their patrons.
The pizza-making class they offer is just the start of the whole initiative to demystify many of the Italian dishes that people in Oman have come to love.
"Aside from the pizza-making classes, we also have classes for pasta-making every Thursday. This one gives our patrons an opportunity to lock down that Italian flavour that our restaurants are known for," she said.
"We really want people in Oman to come and visit and experience the spirit of Italian hospitality. We've made our restaurants, regardless of the location to have that relaxing ambience where you and your family can relax," Giselda said.
"The ambience is that of a typically Italian atmosphere where everyone is invited to share the flavours and feelings of home cooking. We highly encourage those who want to learn how to prepare Italian food to join our classes and take a few tricks so you too can make your family fall in love with Italian dishes," she said.
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