What’s in a name?  Shakespeare would have definitely had to agree that in the case of Executive Chef Ciro Perfetto his name translates into perfection in the creative Neapolitan dishes that he oversees and often cooks himself.   Chef Perfetto graciously sat with me and explained the joys of his job aboard the Costa Fortuna.  Forty years ago he joined Costa Cruise Lines as a pot scrubber even though he had studied cooking in his native town of Naples, Italia.  Yes, he started at the bottom of the rung at Costa, in the ship’s galley and slowly and arduously worked his way up the chain of command to the position he now holds as Executive Chef on the beautiful Fortuna.  

When asked about the success of his career he attributed it to a love for food and fine dining.  But he also stressed the necessity of constantly learning new techniques and enhancing old and new recipes.  “The product quality that we use is extremely important when producing each meal”, he noted.  Chef Perfetto emphasized that in order to bring a little of Italy to the Caribbean it is extremely important to have the correct supplies.  Every two months he receives a shipment of key products from Italy via container ship.  This special shipment is filled with prosciutto, cheeses, cans of Italian tomatoes, pastas, flour and native Italian seasonings.  Even their wines and liquor are shipped in this precious container.  Amazingly, the chef remarked, that he and his kitchen staff go through 600-700K (1320-1540lbs) a week of each prosciutto and pasta!  Can you imagine, that’s more than I probably have gone through in a lifetime of feeding my Italian family of five children plus their friends?    As with most modern cruise lines, the kitchen staff on the Fortuna have an “approved” recipe book to follow for the meals they make.  As all seasoned cruisers know, the taste of the food can vary on board and that is to be expected, according to Chef Perfetto.  He laughed and explained that no two people making and following the same recipe will get the exact same results.  He gives the example of cooking side by side with his grandmother and mother, all using the same ingredients and each having the end product turn out a little bit different.  “Perhaps, one cooked the garlic a little bit longer or added a dash more of a seasoning but the dish will always come out differently as each person cooks.”  This is why the skill and passion of any ship’s Executive Chef and his key chef staff can make a real difference in the dining experience and cruise lines value these masters of cuisine.

A passion for cooking exudes from this man as he talks about his career as a chef “I like a chef who is always willing to learn and create and is not in the business for the money.”  This passion certainly translated into the meals Chef Perfetto prepared.  You only have to taste his risotto and Shrimp Fra Diavolo while closing your eyes to feel as if you had been instantly transported to a little bistro in his beloved Naples.  On some ships the Executive Chef rarely has the time to personally prepare any of the meals; Chef Perfetto though feels that he needs to keep his hand in the preparation to stay on top of his game.  So, each day this chef, with the help of one or more of his assistants, prepares a special dish which is usually served to those passengers requesting “something a little different” than what is on the menu.  The day that I visited the Fortuna’s kitchen Chef was happily rolling out some gnocchi (an Italian dumpling made with potato).  Kindly he asked if I would like to sample the gnocchi at dinner that night and of course I said yes.  Well, let me tell you that evening to the delight of my table mates our waiter, Michael, who was delightful and attentive throughout the cruise, brought out the gnocchi.  These light tasty dumplings were served tossed in a light marinara sauce for our entire table and yes, it received eight thumbs up from all.  My only regret was that The Crabby Old Guy (my dear hubby) wasn’t there to experience this wonderful treat.  I’m sure one bite of this mouth watering, melt in your mouth pasta would have brought back memories of his Sicilian grandmother, Mary, and her own special recipe for this classic and great dish.

I asked Chef Perfetto if there was a difference in what he cooked onboard for passengers when The Fortuna cruised in the Caribbean or the Mediterranean and he told me, without hesitation, “yes”.  He explained, “Americans prefer more meat (beef) as well as lobster and crabs legs while Europeans favor more fish, veal and cheeses for their palate.”  Over all the food on the Fortuna was excellent in taste, presentation and variety.  Although I happened to notice that the food served in the Lido buffet each day seemed to be much more flavorful and robust while the dinner entrees were less seasoned.  When I asked our chef about this he explained that with such a diverse variety of dishes and salads in the buffet there is definitely something there for each person’s taste while at dinner he is restricted to five or maybe six entrees and therefore must keep the seasonings and selections as neutral as possible in order to please all the passengers onboard.  Yep, you guessed it, there is that little best-kept-secret that every experienced cruiser knows about; ask for something to be made to your liking,  Yes, this is perfectly proper and good cruise-line Head Waiters will do so without skipping a beat and the best will often ask an evening ahead if you would like something particular for the following evening.  Of course, such personalized service should warrant a more personalized gratuity.  One of the passengers at our dinner table requested a zestier dish as an entrée for one of the evenings.  The very next night Shrimp Fra Diavlo with its dash of red pepper flakes was served to all of us at the table.  It was incredibly good, so much so that we all requested it for our final dinner onboard the ship.  So folks, if there is something on the menu not to your liking make sure you speak up and you may be pleasantly surprised with what you receive.

Many say that the gift of being able to cook and create wonderful foods must be in your blood.  Well, it must be true since both of Chef Perfetto’s sons are also chefs.  His youngest son, Francesco, works with him on the Fortuna in the pastry kitchen.  Francesco looks forward to the day when he will have his own land-based restaurant and cook for no more than seventy people.  Who knows, maybe one day Dad will retire from the high-seas and The Three Perfetto’s will open up an amazing restaurant in Naples.  Well it’s definitely something to look forward to but in the meantime Costa is very fortunate to have such an incredible chef onboard. Grazie, Senor Chef.

BELOW ARE TWO OF CHEF PERFETTO’S FAVORITE RECIPES!
                               
ZABAIONNE ROSA MIA  (Recipe for 8 servings) Chef Perfetto won the Bacardi Competition with this recipe.

                                         

Zabaionne is a fresh custard like confection that is light and frothy and quite time consuming to make.  It is particularly good with fresh berries of any kind; I am particularly fond of it with strawberries.  This is Chef Perfetto’s winning recipe in the Baccardi Competition; he is now sharing his great dessert recipe with us.

INGREDIENTS

12 egg yolks
300 grams or 10 ½ ounces of sugar
2 TBL Vanilla
50 ml or 1 ¾ ounces of Drambuie
8 strawberries

Place the egg yolks and sugar into a mixing bowl and place over a bain marie (double boiler).  Constantly stir until mixture becomes a cream and then add Drambuie and vanilla.   If you prefer Marsala or another liqueur it can be substituted.  Slice strawberries and marinate in Drambuie. Place in a cocktail glass or as Chef Perfetto served it in a light pastry shell.

MACCHERONI GRATINATA ALLA PALERMITANA 

(PASTA AU GRATIN WITH TOMATO, MOZERELLA AND EGGPLANT)

INGREDIENTS

1 kg or 2.2 lbs of Ziti
1 liter or 4 ½ cups of Marinara sauce
2 kg or 4 ½ pounds of eggplant
1 g Olive Oil
500 g Mozzarella cheese
1 bunch of Basil
300 g Parmesan cheese

Dice the eggplants and sauté in oil, add the marinara sauce and finish with parmesan, basil leaves and diced mozzarella.  Coat a ramekin with sliced eggplant, add the cooked pasta tossed in the sauce, and top with parmesan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  Turn out the eggplant flan and serve.  If you use individual ramekins you should shorten the cooking time.