Milano Nights
An Intimate Italian Culinary Experience:
A culinary journey through Northern, Central and Southern Italy.
Join Chef Davide Olivieri for an intimate culinary journey across Italy. Each evening begins with an Italian aperitivo and wine, followed by the live preparation and tasting of one featured regional dish.
6:00–8:00 PM
Approximately 2 hours
FRIDAY EVENINGS
2 dates each month
6 GUESTS
An intimate setting
COCKTAIL ATTIRE
Preferred
WHAT TO EXPECT
Milano Nights is designed as a relaxed and highly interactive journey into Italian food culture. Chef Davide Olivieri cooks in front of the guests while introducing the dish, its history and the ingredients that define it.
Italian Aperitivo
Begin the evening with an Italian aperitivo and wine.
Discover the Ingredients
Learn where key ingredients come from and what makes them distinctive.
Taste & Compare
Taste selected ingredients individually to appreciate their distinctive flavors.
Live Cooking
Watch Chef Olivieri prepare the featured dish and explain the techniques involved.
Pairing
Discover how food, wine and ingredients work together.
EVOO Tasting
Selected evenings may also include a guided extra virgin olive oil tasting, depending on the availability of our olive oil expert.
A culinary experience, not a traditional dinner
Each Milano Night is one stop in a wider culinary journey through Italy, centered on one featured regional dish and preceded by an Italian aperitivo. The focus is on the food, ingredients, techniques and traditions that define each area.
UPCOMING MILANO NIGHTS
Three journeys through Italy, each told across six unique evenings.
THE NORTHERN JOURNEY
Six evenings exploring the flavors and traditions of Northern Italy.
October 23 - Risotto Gorgonzola, Pere e Spumante
Lombardia
Why this dish
A distinctly Northern combination of creamy Gorgonzola, ripe pear and sparkling wine.
The story
Gorgonzola is one of Lombardia’s defining cheeses. The pairing of blue cheese and pear is a familiar Northern Italian contrast: salinity and richness against fruit and freshness. Here it becomes a risotto, with spumante adding lift and giving the evening a natural live-cooking moment.
Live cooking moment
Toast the rice, add the sparkling wine, build the risotto gradually and finish with Gorgonzola, pear and Parmigiano. The key technique is the final mantecatura: glossy, fluid and all’onda.
Wine pairing
Conti Riccati Prosecco. The dry bubbles and acidity cut through the creaminess of the Gorgonzola and complement the sweetness of the pear.
Accompaniment
No contorno. The risotto stands alone.
Tonight’s guests enjoy 5% off all products available for purchase in store.
October 30 - Tagliatelle al Ragù Bolognese
Emilia-Romagna • Bologna
Why this dish
One of the clearest expressions of Bologna: fresh egg pasta and slow-cooked ragù.
The story
In Bologna, tagliatelle al ragù is part of the city’s culinary identity. Bologna Welcome identifies traditional tagliatelle as fresh egg pasta cut to about 8 mm and paired with classic Bolognese ragù. The dish also evokes the tradition of the sfogline, the women who made fresh pasta by hand in homes and trattorie.
Live cooking moment
Demonstrate the sfoglia and the correct width of traditional tagliatelle, then finish the cooked pasta directly in the ragù with Parmigiano Reggiano.
Wine pairing
Campo alle Comete Stupore. The good structure and freshness of the Bolgheri stand up to the ragù, balancing the tomato, meat and richness.
Accompaniment
No contorno. The pasta is the focus.
Tonight’s guests enjoy 5% off all products available for purchase in store.
November 13 - Mondeghili Milanesi
Milano • Lombardia
Why this dish
A true Milanese cucina povera dish that turns cooked meat and leftovers into something deliberately delicious.
The story
Mondeghili are Milanese meatballs shaped by practicality and layered culinary influences. Their name is generally traced through Spanish influence to albóndigas. Traditionally based on cooked meat and other leftover ingredients, they embody the Italian habit of wasting nothing.
Live cooking moment
Shape, bread and fry the mondeghili until crisp and golden while the center remains tender. Finish with the house accompaniment.
Wine pairing
Campo alle Comete Oltresogno. An elegant, well-structured Tuscan Cabernet Sauvignon, with silky tannins and notes of fruit and spice. Its fresh, savory character balances the richness of the mondeghili and complements their intense flavor.
Accompaniment
Maionese all’aglio arrosto, zafferano e senape.
Tonight’s guests enjoy 5% off all products available for purchase in store.
November 20 - Polpettone di Tonno
Italian home-cooking tradition • Strong Ligurian connection
Why this dish
A dish from the Italian home kitchen: pantry ingredients transformed into something made to be prepared ahead and shared.
The story
There is no single city that can accurately be credited with inventing polpettone di tonno. It belongs to the broader Italian tradition of polpettoni and practical home cooking. A particularly interesting Northern connection is Liguria’s pesce finto, an old Genoese-area preparation made with tuna and potatoes and shaped like a fish. The deeper story is cucina povera: making something satisfying from accessible ingredients.
Live cooking moment
Slice and compose the polpettone with a bright fennel-and-orange salad. The contrast gives the course a strong visual and textural presentation.
Wine pairing
Claris Pinot Grigio. Fresh and easy-drinking, it complements the tuna without overpowering it and brings out the fennel and orange notes.
Accompaniment
Insalata di finocchi e arance, EVOO e Balsamico di Modena.
Tonight’s guests enjoy 5% off all products available for purchase in store.
December 4 - Trofie Liguri - Due Salse
Liguria • Genova
Why this dish
One pasta, two sauces: the same Ligurian shape moves from walnut sauce to freshly made pesto Genovese.
The story
Trofie are one of Liguria’s signature pastas and are famously paired with pesto Genovese. Pesto is traditionally made with basil, pine nuts, garlic, Parmigiano or Pecorino, salt and extra-virgin olive oil, worked in a mortar. Walnut sauce is another important Ligurian preparation, most closely associated with pansotti but also well suited to trofie. The two sauces create a natural comparison.
Live cooking moment
Make pesto Genovese in a mortar and prepare the walnut sauce separately. Serve the trofie in two small portions so guests can compare the sauces.
Wine pairing
Kali Sauvignon. Its freshness and herbal notes echo the basil in the pesto, while its aromatic intensity also stands up to the walnut sauce.
Accompaniment
No contorno. The two sauces are the focus.
Tonight’s guests enjoy 5% off all products available for purchase in store.
December 11 - Bigoli in Salsa
Veneto • Venezia
Why this dish
A Venetian dish built on restraint: thick pasta, slowly softened onions and salted fish.
The story
Bigoli in salsa is a classic Venetian expression of cucina povera and the maritime pantry. Onions provide sweetness, while salted anchovies provide depth. The dish is remarkably simple but depends on patience and balance, offering a natural story about Venice as a trading city and the historic importance of preserved fish.
Live cooking moment
Slowly soften the onions until sweet and translucent, melt the anchovies into the base, then toss the bigoli directly in the sauce. No cheese is added.
Wine pairing
Claris Pinot Grigio. Fresh and mineral, with enough structure for the anchovies while cleansing the palate.
Accompaniment
No contorno. The bigoli are the focus.
Tonight’s guests enjoy 5% off all products available for purchase in store.
THE CENTRAL JOURNEY
COMING SOON
The journey continues through Central Italy.
THE SOUTHERN JOURNEY
COMING SOON
The journey continues through Southern Italy.
Meet our Chef Davide
Born and raised in Italy, Davide grew up in a family where good food, fresh ingredients and the pleasure of gathering around the table were part of everyday life.
His connection to Italian cooking runs deep. On his mother’s side, his grandmother, Gina, was a chef in Bologna, and Davide spent much of his childhood surrounded by both his grandmother and his mother in the kitchen. Watching them cook, learning their little tricks, techniques and instincts, and seeing how simple ingredients could become something truly special sparked a passion for cooking that stayed with him.
Growing up, Davide and his brother were competitive swimmers, so his mother also placed a strong emphasis on wholesome ingredients, balanced meals and knowing what goes into the food you eat. That early appreciation for both nutrition and flavor continues to influence the way Davide cooks today.
Davide has always loved cooking with quality, seasonal ingredients, preparing them simply and bringing people together around the table. Today, he and his wife enjoy entertaining friends and sharing the food and traditions that have been part of his life since childhood.
Now a real estate broker in Charlotte, Davide also brings a background in luxury interiors and a lifelong appreciation for design, beauty and wellbeing. For him, the details matter — from the ingredients and the way a dish is prepared to the setting, the table and the company around it.
Through these gatherings at Milano’s, Davide brings a little of the Italy he grew up with to Charlotte, sharing authentic recipes, seasonal ingredients and the simple pleasure of gathering around a beautifully prepared table.