Did you know that authentic pizzas aren’t perfectly round? “In Italy, pizza is a staple. Much like how our mothers make luchi at home without worrying about perfect shapes, it is the same with pizza. The bread must be fresh and the look traditionally is rustic,” says Ashish Sarkar, executive chef of Holiday Inn.

The Chinar Park hotel is hosting a pizza festival until November 24, where you can watch chefs hand-make such pizzas.

“Pizzas are widely available now, but what differentiates us is the fresh bread base made right before your eyes. You can watch us knead and shape it. The ingredients too are imported: Italian mozzarella, goat cheese, bocconcini cheese, and canned Roma tomatoes, that are juicier and sweeter than others” Sarkar explains.

The chef, a Mediterranean food specialist with global experience, has joined the hotel recently and this is his first food festival here.

Indeed, every bite of the pizzas feels like a sauce burst. There are pizzas like the Sicilian with black olives and fresh tomatoes, the Tandoori pizza, the Kathi pizza which is an ode to the local kathi roll, and the Diavola with cold cuts like sausages and salami.

The chef’s signature dish is the Green Paneer Dumpling Pizza (Rs 419). “We have a big demand for vegetarian fare, so this thin-crust pizza features dumplings made of cottage cheese topped with basil. It uses white sauce and spices like cumin, coriander, mint, and chilli to cater to the local palate,” Sarkar says.

The famous Margherita pizza is also on the menu. “This is the mother of all pizzas, invented by Raffaele Esposito, the father of modern pizza in Naples. It’s a classic that shouldn’t be tampered with, so we serve it as is,” he says. It costs Rs 342.

There’s also the four-cheese pizza, quattro formaggi, but Sarkar confesses that it’s not for everyone. “It uses blue cheese, mozzarella, parmigiano, and Greek feta. Out of these, some may find the blue cheese overpowering. But no pizza festival is complete without this,” he says.

K-pop fans can try the fiery Buldak pizza with shredded chicken and Korean spice mix, and seafood lovers can opt for the Gamberi pizza with tiger prawns cooked in saffron and gondhoraj lemon. To quench your thirst, there’s Maska Daab Shikanji, a drink of green coconut water and pulp, honey, green chilli, and sea salt.

There’s also a Rs 447 calzone, or folded pizza. “Calzones are tough to come by as they take time and skill to prepare. Else the outside gets cooked without the inside. Instead of spreading the chicken cubes and other toppings, we gather them in a line and fold the bread over it creatively, like pithes,” the chef shows.

General manager Santanu Guha Roy believes pizza is the perfect way to welcome winter. “We have more exciting plans for the season, but pizza is our chef’s forte and diners are eager to explore new ways that this popular dish can be presented,” he says.