Our residents enjoyed La Dolce Vita at Briarlea’s recent Italian Night. The dining room ceiling was adorned with Italian Tricolour bunting, whilst tables were decorated with breadsticks, olives and authentic red-checkered table clothes. For a bit of fun, we also set up the mantlepiece with maps of Italy and a vase of raw pasta (an interior design move that worked surprisingly well!) From our speaker system, we played Bruno Tonioli’s opera CD ‘An Italian Romance’, where the TV personality known more for his dancing prowess crooned us with such classics as ‘Una Notta a Napoli’, ‘Mambo Italiano’ and ‘Que Sera Sera’. The atmosphere was brilliant – you could have been forgiven into thinking you were on a piazza in Florence or Rome!
Beneath a huge Italian flag that decked the wall, our residents helped themselves to delicious carbonara, lasagna and ravioli. There was scrumptious bruschetta topped with ham, goats cheese, salamis, and basil leaves – all drizzled with sweet balsalmic glaze and shavings of parmesan. There was an assortment of Neopolitan pizzas, and for dessert, residents enjoyed fancy tiramisu, elegant berry compotes and beautiful homemade cakes.
Much of this superb spread was brought in by staff and we owe each of them a special thank you to for all their generosity and culinary efforts! We would also like to thank all the lovely families and friends who joined us for the evening. Residents loved sharing a meal and showing off their home to their loved ones, and it was wonderful to see new friendships being made across our little community. We topped off the night with cappuccinos and a shot of limoncello – for our braver diners – which was a fab conclusion to a perfect evening. Thank you very much for everyone who attended.
