Di Beppe Hosts Polenta Festival Dinner on April 28

‘FESTA DELLA POLENTA’: DI BEPPE HONOURS ITS ITALIAN ROOTS WITH ONE-NIGHT-ONLY COMMUNAL POLENTA DINNER ON APRIL 28

Gastown Hotspot Celebrates Centuries-Old Festival with Multi-Course, Family Style
Dinner Showcasing Polenta, Accompaniments, Cocktail and Wine Pairings

Italian caffè-all-day, ristorante-by-night Di Beppe will pay homage to its roots by hosting a Tuscan-inspired ‘Festa della Polenta’ dinner at the Gastown restaurant on Sunday, April 28 with two seatings offered at 5 and 8 p.m.

The origins of the event date back to the 16th Century when members of the nobility offered polenta to hungry townspeople to help counter a famine that was ravaging the region of Tuscany. The gesture grew into a time-honoured annual communal feast that continues throughout many towns in Italy to this day.

During Di Beppe’s take on the traditional festival, guests will enjoy a welcome aperitivo of Aperol Spritz and mingle during a cicchetti course of small snacks and a Vermouth Martini Riserva Speciale before long communal tables are filled with polenta and gourmet accompaniments such as osso buco, fennel sausage & peppers, and rapini with Calabrian vinaigrette served alongside tumblers of Pinot Grigio and Valpolicella. The dolci course also showcases the festival’s star ingredient in polenta almond cake with blood orange and mascarpone.

The dinner will be hosted by Di Beppe General Manager Matthew Morgenstern alongside Di Beppe Chef Andrew Morales and special guest Alessandro Vianello, who recently joined the Kitchen Table family as Executive Chef of Pourhouse and collaborated with Morales on the menu for the event. The Festa della Polenta is close to the heart of Vianello, whose family hails from the Northern Italian region of Veneto.

“Hosting a traditional ‘Festa della Polenta’ dinner gives our team an opportunity to embrace Di Beppe’s heritage while providing guests with a taste of the authentic flavours, traditions and hospitality of our home country,” says Vianello.

DI BEPPE FESTA DELLA POLENTA MENU
— $79 per person plus tax and gratuity —aperitivo
Aperol Spritzcichetti
polenta with baccalà mantecato
anchovy, egg & olive
roasted mortadella & pistachio pestoVermouth Martini Riserva Specialepolenta
osso buco
fennel sausage & peppers
rapini with Calabrian vinaigrette

Di Lenardo Monovitigna Pinot Grigio 2017
Folonari Valpolicella Classico 2016

dolci
polenta almond cake, blood orange & mascarpone

caffè
espresso and il rimorchio

TICKETS
Tickets to Di Beppe’s communal ‘Festa della Polenta’ dinner with seatings at 5 and 8 p.m. are available for $79 per person plus tax and gratuity and may be purchased online at bit.ly/2uTp4yv.For more information about Ristorante di Beppe, visit dibeppe.com, become a fan of /dibepperestaurant on Facebook and follow @dibepperest on Twitter and @dibepperestaurant on Instagram.

ABOUT DI BEPPE | Located in Vancouver’s historic Gastown district, Di Beppe conjures up an unabashedly authentic Italian spirit in a family friendly caffè, deli and grocery with an adjacent ristorante by night showcasing regional Italian cuisine such as house-made artisan pastas and Sorrentine-inspired pizza, delectable dolci and a wide array of Italian wines and specialty liqueurs. At its heart, Di Beppe is inspired by the Italian immigrants who desired to share a piece of home while living abroad and pays homage to those gathering places that served as a hub for people to connect, hold court and nurture a sense of community while honouring their shared love of food, culture and traditions. Part of the Kitchen Table Restaurants group, Di Beppe — named on The Globe and Mail’s 2018 list of the Top 10 New Restaurants in Vancouver — is one of five establishments operated by the hospitality group in addition to cocktail-and-comfort-food hotspot Pourhouse, Northern Italian-focused Pizzeria Farina on Main Street, casual Italian eatery Ask for Luigi and Quebecois-fare-forward St. Lawrence.