Why the D™me is home

There's much more to food than just eating it," said Joe Tallarida, general manager of the food service division of the D™me CafŽ in Juffair.

Joe has been cooking ever since his fellow Australian-Italian friends assigned him as the group's 'chef' back home in Perth, Western Australia.

With 15 years of hospitality experience, Joe started out in the wholesale side of the business before moving into catering.

"After school I decided to take a year off before university and got myself a job with my friend's father selling fish," he explained.

"I was so amused by the way he interacted with people. There were so many different people, different characters. Everyone knew him and he knew everyone by name.

"I then decided that I didn't want to study more and began selling fish full time - first wholesale and then to restaurants."

From then on it was a steady climb from working as a chef to owning a restaurant and finally setting up a catering business - Simply Delicious - in Australia, before selling it off and moving to Bahrain to work for the D™me CafŽ.

"My strongest point is customer services," he said. "When people walk into D™me I feel they have come to my home and we give the same kind of importance we would provide to our guests at home." Joe loves to cook, both professionally and at home.

"My wife, Felicity, and I have had Friday barbecues with friends in our compound in Juffair. We would cook all day and there are so many different cuisines to choose from. It is a complete day of fun with the adults cooking, children playing and then everyone sits down all together and enjoys a hearty meal.

"The beauty of Italian food is that it is quick to make and its best enjoyed with a bunch of friends - all sharing food from the same plate.

"Preparing food is like an education. I really like to watch people eat while I cook," he explained.

Among the celebrities that he has cooked for are the Prime Minister of Australia, movie stars including Melissa George, the Sultan of Brunei, musicians and more.

Joe shares one of the simplest and tastiest pasta dishes for the readers of GulfWeekly. "It contains very basic ingredients that are predominant in most households," he explained.

To wrap a perfect meal at D™me, Joe suggests the Orange Choc log - a syrup cake served fresh and hot. The Affagato, a hot and cold concoction of coffee and vanilla ice cream is also a delicious end to a meal.

Also, advisable is the D™me's famous blended prepared iced beverage - Espreski which comes in various flavours and can be consumed both as a drink and dessert.