"A simple soup. The salt may miss the perfect mark. But when love has been stirred into it, you are sure to think it's good," say Natascia and Cristian Santandrea at Alto Vino, the Italian restaurant at Pune Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre. For the brother-sister duo, cooking goes beyond just ingredients and methods. It includes patience, a certain sensibility and of course love. It is with this mantra that the Michelin Star chefs are hosting the Wine and Food Pairing festival at the hotel till February 11.

This is their first trip to India - a week-long fest in Mumbai preceded their Pune visit. "We are curious about Indian people, Indian food. We're looking forward to interacting with people here. On Monday morning, I requested the chef here to introduce me to Indian dishes. The tastes were so strange for my palate and yet very good," Natascia says. She's a chef as well as sommelier. At their family restaurant - la Tenda Rossa - in Italy, she also looks into the management and sourcing of ingredients. She creates a puzzle for you to piece together as she tries to explain the various family members who are part of the restaurant. "We are very close-knit. Family is very important in Italy quite like in India," she points out. "Though each one has a particular section to look into, we all can do everything. That's the secret of our success I think," she adds with a smile.

With this same collaborative spirit, Natascia and Cristian work in the kitchen at Alto Vino. they start early. There's a lot of trial and error. "Only because the ingredients here are so different and we want the meal to be perfect. From the mozarella cheese to the milk and cream, it all tastes different. It's like a battle with the ingredients for us," Natascia says. They've put together a menu with a total of 11 non-vegetarian and vegetarian choices in antipasti, pasta, main course and dessert for this festival. A selection of Banfi wines are recommended with the dishes.

"Wine and food are like a couple wandering through different streets. What and how much wine you drink depends on several factors, the main one being how you feel inside," she explains. "After my first Indian dish, I had a couple of beers - and I never drink beer in Italy! Now, I'm on a mission to try different Indian dishes so that I can find that perfect wine to go with them," she says.