Roman chef Francesco Calvani curated an authentic Italian pop-up menu at Permit to Grill, Novotel Hyderabad — showcasing Rome’s simplicity, technique and soul
By Fridaywall Editorial Team
Francesco Calvani: Bringing Rome’s Soul to Hyderabad, One Plate at a Time
At Novotel Hyderabad’s Permit to Grill, diners recently journeyed into the heart of Rome — guided not just by flavour, but by a storyteller-chef who embodies the evolution of Italian cuisine. Chef Francesco Calvani, Roman by birth and global by training, arrived with fellow chef Shiiv Parvesh to curate a menu that bridges simplicity, heritage, and technique.
Calvani speaks of Rome as “the beginning of the beginning” — the cradle of Italian culinary sensibility. His food reflects this philosophy: minimal ingredients, utmost integrity, uncompromising technique.
“If the ingredient is good, you don’t work too much on it. If you overwork it, you’re hiding something,” he says.
This sentiment shaped the Hyderabad menu — a tapestry of Roman traditions, classic Italian comfort, fine-dining flair, and dishes that speak of land, sea, and season.
Rome is a Nation Within a Nation
Italy, Calvani explains, is surprisingly small — yet every 50 kilometres, “you find another world”.
With 21 regions, 3,000+ cheeses and 100+ tomato varieties, Italy’s cuisine is not a monolith.
He sees a parallel to India — different climates, produce, rituals — creating infinite expressions of ‘Italian food’.
Yet Rome stands distinct: central Italy, tasting of both north and south — freshness, austerity, richness, and simplicity collide here.
The Roam Italian Popup Menu: An Italian Journey Told Through Ingredients
FRITTI — The Roman Ritual of Fried Starters
Frittura di Calamari e Gamberi
Crisp calamari and prawns with lemon mayo — a dish beloved from Venice to Sicily.
Traditionally, Italian coastal towns serve fried seafood simply with lemon and sea salt — letting freshness shine.
“We brought prawns and calamari from Italy,” says Calvani. “When the ingredient is perfect, you do almost nothing.”
Funghi Ripieni
Stuffed mushrooms with lamb — echoing Italian cucina povera (peasant cooking), where foraged mushrooms and minced meat stretched humble meals into feasts.
ZUPPA — A Taste of Tuscany
Zuppa Toscana
A rustic bean soup featuring greens and olive oil — a Tuscan staple historically eaten by farmers, often with stale bread stirred in for body.
Classical Minestrone Soup
Italy’s most democratic dish — changing flavours with region, season, and what is available.
PRIMI — The First Course That Defines Italy
Gnocchi alla Sorrentina
Potato dumplings baked with tomato, basil, and mozzarella — originally from Campania.
It is considered Italian comfort food at its finest: pillowy, saucy, home-like.
Calvani smiles when mentioning it — “You must taste it.”
Roman Icon: Aubergine Parmigiana
One of Calvani’s personal favourites, Parmigiana traces its roots to southern Italy — layers of fried aubergine, tomato sauce, basil, and cheese baked together.
Taste Atlas and La Cucina Italiana both list it as one of Italy’s most loved dishes — often believed to be perfected in Naples or Sicily.
But Calvani insists on Italian aubergines — mild, low in seeds, and ideally textured.
“If we use long or small Indian ones, full of seeds, it is not the same dish.”
Risotto and the Soul of Slow Cooking
Calvani calls risotto Milanese a forgotten-truth dish — traditionally saffron-infused and served with osso buco (slow-braised veal shank).
For Hyderabad, he replaced veal with lamb shank — slow-braised the Roman way, echoing Indian curries.
“It’s similar to curry,” he says. “Slow-cooked. Deep flavour.”
Roman Foundations on the Table
Calvani proudly imported four Roman cheeses:
- Parmesan
- Pecorino
- Gorgonzola
- Scamorza
All are DOP-protected, meaning their authenticity, origin, and production method are legally safeguarded — a distinction Italians fiercely uphold.
Rome’s most iconic dishes — Carbonara, Amatriciana, Cacio e Pepe — rely on just a handful of ingredients, but technique is everything.
Calvani explains:
“Italian recipes don’t have many ingredients.
Few ingredients, high quality, good technique — that makes the dish.”
His favourite example? Cacio e pepe — pasta made only with pecorino cheese, black pepper and water — no cream, yet unbelievably creamy.
Food historians often trace its origins to Roman shepherds carrying aged cheese and pepper into the mountains, binding pasta with minimal tools — a rustic invention that became luxury.
A Roman Chef with a French Brain and Global Soul
Calvani’s journey began not in kitchens, but Wall Street.
Finance, two degrees, a Master’s later — he walked away from his desk to cook with his grandmother’s memories in his hands.
London gave him Le Cordon Bleu, which gave him Gordon Ramsay’s kitchens and finally a flourishing career as a private chef — cooking for royalty, celebrities, and global elites.
“Private cooking was my world,” he says.
“Every day you create, talk to clients, go to market, invent.”
Today, he is based again in Rome with three children — but travels the world for pop-ups, such as Hyderabad’s.
Roman Italian Philosophy Served to Hyderabad
So what distinguishes Roman Italian food?
- Simplicity masquerading as depth
- Freshness over spice
- Technique over complexity
And above all — respect for the ingredient.
From the sweet datterino tomato, to the prized red prawn from Sicily’s Mazara del Vallo, Calvani believes in sourcing ingredients that do the work themselves.
“When an ingredient is good, you don’t overwork on it.
If you do, you’re hiding something.”
Why Hyderabad Matters
Indian diners know pizza and pasta — but Calvani came to teach that Italy lies beyond stereotypes.
Slow-cooked stews, offal-based classics like trippa, coratella, and coda alla vaccinara (oxtail stew), risottos, aubergine dishes — all echo Indian sensibilities.
For Hyderabad, Chef curated a menu that feels familiar, yet revelatory
– A Roman chef conversing with a Deccani palate.
In the End, a Roman Truth
Italy is cinema, romance, complexity — but food-wise, it is honesty.
Hyderabadi guests walked away knowing something deeper:
Italian food, like Indian, is memory, land, climate, and history served hot.
And somewhere in the plate — Francesco Calvani’s grandmother probably smiled.
