Tatler Tales

Heard around Hong Kong this month

riling an Italian into a fit of apoplectic rage is as simple as making minor tweaks to their country’s traditional dishes. As Marco A Livoti tells us on page 42, a Hawaiian pizza is just not cricket. The pet peeve of Marcello Scognamiglio, chef de cuisine at the Grand Hyatt’s Grissini, meanwhile, is Hong Kong’s freewheeling attitude towards tiramisu. When the Naples native came to Hong Kong, he was shocked by how flagrantly the dessert’s recipe was interpreted here. “Some add gelatine to make the cream firm; that’s cheating and illegal,” he grumbles. In this city of fusion dining, tiramisu appears in martini glasses (a no-no, apparently), infused into bagels or coffee, blended with a herbal grass jelly base, or made firm like a birthday cake, with mixed berries between the layers. Having worked in four Michelin-starred restaurants in Italy, Scognamiglio has one request: “Nothing fancy.” Grissini’s take is served in a relaxed, unassuming style, like that of the chef’s grandmother, who, “Would make a big tray of tiramisu, walk around the dining table, spoon up the dessert with her spatula and throw dollops at our plates”, he recalls. Why break with tradition now, Marcello?