Cicchetti’s Autumn/Winter Collection Of Delight

GORDO is on a diet. It’s an experiment. Having been a type two diabetic for sixteen years he needed to do something drastic otherwise he will be staring at a big fat insulin needle in the next couple of years.

The carpaccio was cut thicker than most, luke-warm with truffles and oil; it was the best dish this year for Gordo. 

Gordo’s been on a diet that’s been gaining interest in the medical world, pioneered up in Newcastle; an ultra-low calorie (600 a day) beast for eight weeks, it appears to have the effect of re-profiling the pancreas and kick starting it back into producing its own insulin.

So, Gordo is on his third week of hunger pangs but currently fourteen pounds lighter with his blood pressure now normal and sugar levels only 15% from normal; he was twice over the normal levels before he started, averaging fourteen against a max of seven.

What this means is he has been spotted out in the restaurants and bars drinking water and having soup. Oh, and Parma ham and melon.

The less fat one had to attend the bi-annual press lunch at Cicchetti the other day to try the new dishes. He had saved up 400 calories on top of his 400 lunch and dinner allowance and sat with the press loonies drinking water and having one mouthful of each course. Well, maybe two. Here is the brief report.

• Tagliatelle con castagne - chestnut flour tagliatelle with chestnuts, porcini and truffle oil £6.50
  This was huge, flavour-wise, like standing outside Harrods in the snow, wrapped up warm, eating chestnuts off a brazier; knock out both in flavour and texture with those crunchy chestnuts hiding in the pasta.


• Gnocchi al forno - gnocchi baked in a cast iron pot with parmesan, sage, and cream £6.20
  Just up a gnocchi lover’s street, looks the part and tastes the part.


• Haddock affumicato – smoked haddock gratin with fontina cheese £6.95
  Gordo would love this at breakfast, dazzling.


• Risotto pere e Gorgonzola -  pear and gorgonzola risotto £5.95
  Its clear that at this level of cooking the risotto base is going to be cooked well, but the deft hand with the gorgonzola and the addition of pears makes for a fun dish. Gordo will come back for this after his diet and drink a good bottle of prosseco with it.


• Ravioli di zucca - pumpkin ravioli with sage and butter £5.95
  Missed this one, sorry


• Brasato al Barolo – braised beef in red wine £6.95
  Same again

In addition, we were served three specials. The first was described as carpaccio of beef with truffle. The second, pheasant stew with sweet potatoes and finally, a fish stew.

The fish stew was out of this world, with monkfish, baby squid, mussels and more, in a deep and dirty broth straight out of a Neopolitan fish market. It was heavenly. The pheasants had actually been shot by the owner, Marcello and this stew was another success. 

But, the carpaccio; it was cut thicker than most, luke-warm with truffles and oil; it was the best dish this year for Gordo. That’s a full stop folks. 

The food at Cicchetti is getting better and better. Go.

These excellent pictures are by Carl Sukonik.

You can follow Gordo on Twitter here @gordomanchester