Already Michelin-starred at Nostrano in Pesaro, chef Stefano Ciotti has been called upon to enhance the prestige of Italian cuisine at The Bodrum Edition boutique hotel on the beautiful Turkish peninsula.
The project, the chef and the facility
The Bodrum Peninsula is one of Turkey's most attractive destinations, especially when it comes to the sea, where coves and bays of crystal-clear water are now the focus of attention among major luxury hospitality brands as well. Indeed, this is the case at The Bodrum Edition, which from this season dedicates a dining outlet to Italian cuisine and entrusts it to chef Stefano Ciotti, of Pesaro's 1 Michelin Star restaurant Nostrano.
An important premise needs to be made, to tell the worth of this project and to give the right insight into the vision of the Marriott family's luxury brand. The Bodrum Edition has already featured a new Michelin Star this 2024, in the newly entered Turkey circuit, by hosting the Kitchen restaurant of the talented chef Osman Sezener. This is to say that now, in one of Bodrum's most exclusive establishments, directly and indirectly the (Michelin) stars become two. In addition, the one sewn on chef Stefano Ciotti 's jacket , earned at his restaurant Nostrano in Pesaro.
Stefano in this adventure has been called upon to enhance the value of Italian cuisine, and Brava, the name of the dining format whose menu he signs, is a restaurant that brings Italian gastronomic heritage to a sea-view terrace. In Turkey, at The Bodrum Edition, a 108-room boutique hotel, suites and villas overlooking the Aegean Sea, some with private pools, gardens or balconies. Each room is an expression of elegant, never intrusive luxury and fits perfectly into the private buildings that inhabit the hillside descent to the bay.
Within the complex, we also find a spa that includes a salon, a Turkish hammam and a fitness center, all the way to the shore where a well-equipped beach club stands out, including a gourmet restaurant. Truly beautiful is the infinity pool that overlooks the beach and the sea.
Colors that serve to build the atmosphere are pure white and wood, adorned with the flourishing green in nature, designed to be in harmony with the authenticity of the area's flora. Bushes, trees, and plants make up a large garden, compounded to make you feel at ease on the bay, and the team who inhabit it is so attentive yet numerous, that it is almost unnoticeable until you need it. Into this framework comes chef Stefano Ciotti, bringing a colorful content that represents him and that may be able to portray his Italy in an international destination.
The cuisine
The chef's approach to cooking is simple, and goes straight to the point of taste you expect. With good technique in enhancing raw materials, the dishes excel in recognizable flavors that, thanks to continuous research, are served in lightness. Bringing Italian cuisine abroad, in an international gateway destination, is a responsibility that the chef feels well on him and that is already up his alley, also given his latest opening in 2019 in Doha, with the restaurant Veritas at Messia Luxury Collection Resort & Spa.
"Here, I offer cuisine that is traditional in style, but viewed with modernity and enriched with experience. I have reworked the most important dishes from my childhood, bringing them closer to others that I have discovered in southern Italy, to create a Mediterranean range that gives as much as possible the idea of authentic Italian cuisine," this is how the proposal is described by Stefano, who in the kitchen can count on support of the talented Andrea Cetani at the head of the brigade.
On the menu at Brava 's you will find "Fried Calamari and Sfere di Parmigiano Reggiano all'arrabbiata", among the appetizers, while among the entrees is really interesting "Nella's Carpaccio" with beef, candied orange and foie gras, and of course the "Parmigiana di melanzane all'origano di Pantelleria with burrata and pomodorini confit" is not forgotten.
Among the great-tasting first courses are the "Fagottelli cacio e pepe", a signature dish the chef brings from Italy, but neither disappoint the "Tagliatelle alla vodka", in their '80s remake of that cuisine which conquered Italian tables at the time. The cuisine ranges between sea and land, but telling the story of Italy are mostly the meats in such dishes as "Agnello alla Rossini", a beautifully cooked loin served with a truffle scent.
To top it off, patisserie is a show that never fails at Stefano Ciotti's table, and right after a good "Tiramisu", the curtain literally comes down on petit fours. Special note should be given to bakery and pizza, which is not absent in the menu, with very light doughs, always fragrant and aromatic.
Brava's wine list is the kind that a major brand in the Marriott family expects for its customers, but also benefits from room sommelier Irene De Feo's ability to tell and suggest wines. Letting her guide you means discovering fun labels from a valiant and unexpected Turkish hinterland.
It is Federico Penzo who personally oversees the bar and cocktail offerings on every single counter point throughout the entire property, and for Brava, the mixology has been shaped in his hands into a fairy-tale menu revolving around Pinocchio's fable. Six signature mixes, told in an illustrated book, ranging from a Geppetto to a Pinocchio span tequila, mezcal, gin and home-made fruit extracts. Apartments with private pools, rooms overlooking the bay, an infinity pool and at least four dining options offering grilled meats, sushi, fine dining by Osman Sezener and Italian cuisine by Brava by Stefano Ciotti. Thus The Bodrum Edition becomes a luxury getaway, a destination dedicated to the pleasures of a bay on the crystal-clear waters of the Turkish peninsula, where gastronomic offerings are the key players that carve out a space for Italian food culture.
Contacts
Brava By Stefano Ciotti- The Bodrum Edition
Dirmil Mahallesi, Balyek Caddesi, No.5A- 48400 Yalikavak Bodrum/Muğla, Turkey
Phone. +90 252 311 3131
