WHAT DO CHEFS EAT when they're at home? From a quick glance into chef Umberto Bombana's two refrigerators at his Mid-Levels flat, you might be forgiven for thinking he and his wife, Julia, are on a water diet.
Row upon row of two-litre bottles of San Benedetto are stacked in his fridge, as well as a few bottles of Perrier. For variety, it seems, they drink Coke or orange juice, and when they need solids, there's a little ice-cream in the freezer.
Unlike the shining, modern kitchen at the award-winning Toscana at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, where he is chef, Bombana's kitchen at his Mid-Levels' home is small (about 72 square feet) and basic. Besides the two refrigerators and a four-burner stove with oven, the only other appliances - tucked away under the sink - are a mixer and rice cooker.
Bombana says he usually only cooks at home on Sundays. The rest of the time, he's in the hotel kitchen and when he comes home for his afternoon break, it's Julia who makes their meal. But when he does cook for Julia (who's pregnant with Bartolomeo Bombana, who's due today) and guests, it's a simple dish, like the following salmon served over mixed greens.
To accompany the fish, Bombana recommends an Arnaldo Caprai Bianco 1997, from Montefalco.
Salmon with 'battuto' of anchovy and parsley