One particular dish that raises the standard of the art of gastronomy is the Italian marvel called pizza. Kolkata is lagging behind when it comes to genuine thin-crust pizza joints or restaurants. That said the shortcoming is being fulfilled by The Factory Outlet at 22 Camac Street with its “Wood Fire Pizza Celebration”. The festival started in the first week of December and is scheduled to run for the entire month. “If we get a good turnout, we will extend it to the month of January”, said senior manager at TFO, Arindam Banerjee, “Basically these pizzas are made in wood-fire and the guests can see it live while it is being prepared.”
The Wood Fire Pizzas are essentially thin crust with Italian herbs and condiments, which produce works of culinary excellence. TFO is offering these pizzas in nine-inch and 12-inch variants. Senior sous chef Badal Kanji also expressed his delight about the availability of Indian and Chinese dishes. That helped him to experiment and use Chinese and Indian preparations such as Tandoori chicken, Malai chicken, Tangra style chilli chicken and Chicken Tikka Butter Masala as toppings on delicious thin-crust pizzas. “My favourite would obviously be the Tangra-style Chilli Chicken Pizza”, Kanji said.
Vegetarians shouldn’t feel left out as they can choose from a wide range of options namely Aglio Olio, Hummus and Ratatouille and Formaggi among the traditional Italian pizzas to Panner Tikka and Makhni Sauce, Dal Makhni and Vegetable Manchurian from the Indian kitchen.
From the long selection of pizzas, one opted for the Chicken Tikka Butter Masala and Chicken Bolognese Pizza. The former was topped with capsicum and onions with chunks of the North-Indian preparation of chicken; the spices were typically Indian in its aroma and taste. The Chicken Bolognese Pizza, garnished with coriander leaves, was made with concasse sauce and loaded with John’s Mozzarella cheese, wherein the chicken is minced in a keema form. The concasse sauce adds the right amount of flavour and the oregano sprinkled on top works wonders.
The Red Velvet Cheese Wheel was a perfect conclusion to the meal — a red velvet and mascarpone wheel garnished with tulsi leaves, and served with blueberry coulis and a strawberry red sauce base.
To sum it up, TFO is definitely a treat for all pizza lovers!
Offer: The pizzas are also available in a 1:1 offer in their Happy Hour section between Noon and 7.45 pm
Pocket Pinch: Rs 599 plus taxes for two
Address: The Factory Outlet, Block D, Fifth Floor, 22 Camac Street, Kolkata 700016