Rossini Dishes

DATE March 12, 2013 VENUE The Marmara Taksim GUEST SPEAKER/CHEF Executive Chef Rudolf Van Nunnen At our gala dinner themed “Rossini Dinners,” held at The Marmara Hotel, we achieved yet another “first” befitting the Friends of the Kitchen. Rossini is one of the greatest composers in the history of music. He was a composer who drew inspiration from the Turks for the subjects of two of his operas—such as *A Turk in Italy* (*Il Turco in Italia*—1814) and *The Siege of Corinth* (*Le Siège de Corinthe*—1826). But his greatest passion outside of music was food. At our gala dinner, 99 culinary enthusiasts took their seats around an oval table set for 100. A wide armchair—one he might have barely fit into during his lifetime—was left empty in Rossini’s spiritual memory.