Giorgio, his great menu and ... our pasta!

Last Tuesday was one of these day when nothing goes according to plan… but sometimes this also means that an unexpected phone call can change your night… and just in a better way.

This call in fact brought me to Locanda Locatelli, for me THE Italian restaurant in London and the one that I have never been to yet. The day was finally saved thank to Giorgio and my brilliant host!

The place is simple but elegant, the light is soft and relaxing and I felt really spoiled by the service and of course by the nice meal.

Homemade Parmesan breadstick and bread are brought to your table just to intrigue you.

I had Pan fried scallops, celeriac purée and saffron vinaigrette as a starter, a Locatelli special invention absolutely stunning for the combination of taste and texture.

The main needed to be Linguine with lobster, tomato, garlic and chilli. This Linguine ( like the Orecchiette) in fact are Pastificio dei Campi Linguine and they were just top in my opinion. I tried also the Cod parcels with chickpea purée and rosemary oil but there I understood I’m not a big fan of the fresh pasta filled with fish.

Then we ordered more fish and also if the Char grilled mackerel in herb crust it was good The Pan fried fillet of plaice in basil crust, potato, olives and tomato sauce was much more tasty and smooth and ... there was a perfect balance and combination of ingredients.

To close this amazing dinner we ordered some sorbets, and a Chocolate and pistachio fondant, with milk ice cream and toffee sauce, but they also gently brought a plate full of sweets from trulles to amaretti and mashmellow.

This was my PARADISE and in a day like hell, a dinner like this one can really save your soul. 

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An exclusive event with the Chef & Pastificio dei Campi

I have a great news for all of you today: I’m proud to announce a very special evening taking place on the 23^rd of Januray at Massimo, the London’s new speciality fish restaurant and oyster bar.

Italian chef Massimo Riccioli, of the celebrated La Rosetta in Rome, will help you to forget the winter blue with a night dedicated to Pastificio dei Campi.

 "Join Massimo and Niccolo Bittante of Food in the City on Tuesday 24th of January at 7.30pm (£25 pp) for an exclusive evening and see the chef create his famous signature dishes with pasta by Pastificio dei Campi (Gragnano, Naples). 

To book your place, call our reservations team on +44 (0) 207 998 0555 or email tables@massimo-restaurant.co.uk"

In love with this chef since I was in Rome, he recently opened his new restaurant in London between Trafalgar Square and Embankment, in the Corinthia Hotel and I can’t wait to comeback to say hello.  The restaurant offers a great Mediterranean menu specializing in the highest quality seafood and he is the most adorable and nice person I ever met.

It will be a great night and I just tell you… don’t miss it.

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For a luxurious 2012

New year and a new place to try. Finally, after a long time I was listening people speaking about it, I went to “pay my visit” to the famous Bob Bob Ricard  a restaurant near Carnaby Street.

The place is stunning and it is worth to go even only to admire the design and the details of the restaurant. The designer David Collins, took inspiration by the “train travel in Edwardian times: emerald green leather banquettes topped by little curtains of brass mesh, marble tables, constructivist chandeliers” as said by  the Evening Standard,  and the logo everywhere, from the pavement to the box of chips, without speaking about the bell on the wall to ask for more Champagne. Everything is extremely curated and luxurious. Incredible!

Head Chef James Walker has created a menu of great English and Russian classics with ingredients “sourced from small, traditionally run farms, dairies, fisheries and family-owned producers mainly in the British Isles” as written on the website. BBR is also famous for its selection of rare Vintage Vodkas and Caviar, so i decided to start exactly form here: Iranian Cure Caviar with Blinis and sour cream.

Then I tried another signature dish, for how much weird it can seems: the lobster burger and the Cornish crab cake. If I didn’t like so much this last one, that was a bit too heavy and greasy, the Lobster burger was fantastic. This was serves with French fries and for dessert I tried this stunning Grand Marnier soufflé you can see below. It was incredible…but of course the prize of the place it’s a bit too high.

If you want to live a 360 new dinner experience, the place it’s the right one, but be careful with your choices.

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The best from 2011

I wanted to write today a little recap of what had occurred in this blog during 2011 and looking back to all the posts, I was surprised to discover how much has been happening this year:

In January we created Linguina Facebook profile and being winter I gave you lots of soups recipes. January is also the Michelin star guide of UK and Ireland and the women took definitely power this year.

In February Pastificio dei Campi took part at Identita’ Golose, the food festival in Milan. In March we received the certification for being 100% Italian pasta, but was also the month of the Dolce Vita event here in London and Taste In Florence.

In April we discovered together the 50 best European restaurants of the year and while in Italy everyone was enjoying Vinitaly and  Squisito, we had the Royal wedding to celebrate.

In may we supported the sustainable fishing campaign and "Two greedy Italians" went to visit us with the English TV in Gragnano.

In the summer I suggested some recipes for picnics and barbeques, but there was also the harvest in Italy, the opening of the Clifton Hill Food market and Melograno deli.

In September Gragnano hosted the amazing Pasta festival called "La festa della pasta", while in October we had Identita’ London and the opening of a new Italian interesting place Fornata.

Last months we had the change to meet lots of food lovers at MasterChief Live in Olympia, while in December I gave you some ideas to make some foodie really really happy with hampers and maxi cube of pasta .

Are you now ready for a 2012 even better?

Happy new year to all of you!

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Two cool places in one

Are you looking for a special place to go with your partner in these holidays? Or are you organizing a special Christmas lunch or dinner with friends?

I have a special place to tell you about: HIX and the Mark’s bar.

Some weeks ago in fact I had the pleasure to be invited at the restaurant from a friend of mine that is always speaking about it… now I understand why.

The restaurant opened by the chef Mark Hix in 2009 serves pure english cuisine, one of the best I have ever tried. He is frequently lauded as one of London’s most eminent restaurateurs with an unrivalled knowledge of ingredients with provenance. Mark has a monthly column in Esquire, a weekly column in The Independent, and is the author of a number of cookbooks on British cuisine.

The restaurant is on the top while the amazing cocktail bar, in a New York vibe, is downstairs. Here you really have plenty of drinks to try, one better than the other. They are designed by mixologist extraordinaire Nick Strangeway. I suggest to everyone who is thinking to go there to have at least one cocktail downstairs and then go for dinner upstairs or even remain down and try the great dishes offered at the bar. Everything is  perfect and the food is really good.

We spoke with the waitress and she was a real food passionate, knowing all the places where they were sourcing the products. From the cherries to the meat, from the cheeses to the oysters… and of course I asked if they were also serving some pasta dish, but unfortunately they just serves English cuisine. I could really see Pastificio dei Campi in one of Mark’s restaurant. The love for the good food and high quality products is the same that we have.

Get inspired by the amazing cocktails and food we have tried there: Martini Sbagliato, Champaign cocktail, Brookfield farm veal dumpling with creamed Savoy cabbage while my friend took an Hanger steak with baked bone marrow, selection of ice cream with hot chocolate sauce!

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Other Christmas ideas for your presents

Still looking for the latest presents? Are you already planning the shops you will visit this weekend to look for some great Christmas idea? Here i am to help you out.

If last week i told you about the great Maxi Cubes of Pastificio dei Campi, available directly on our website, this time i will give you another idea for your presents.

What about a Christmas hamper filled with the best italian product available on the market? We are sure this will be a present that will make everyone happy and, especially in these times, spend on food is always a good idea. 

And if you are looking for great italian products, i will suggest you to go to Food in the City or to Melograno Deli.

Food in the city is a warehouse based in St. John's wood (London) but it's also a great website where you can order directly online. The hampers you can see here is just and example and you can ask for a bespoke one. Over £40 the delivery is free. 

Have a look and you will remain amazed by the quality of their products. 

Melograno Deli instead is in Holland Park (London) and they are also specialized on italian brands but they also have cheeses, cold cuts and lots of other typical products.

"Our hampers are made with acacia wood accessories (cheeseboards or salad servers) and they can be made up either by us, or with products of the customers choosing."

At this point, I can just suggest you to have a look at the London map and enjoy your weekend of italian delicatessen... and don't forget to add our pasta to your shopping.

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The new cinema and fast food experience

Some days ago came up the news that an Odeon cinema “ The Lounge” in Queensway, London, will soon offer to the customers a gourmet proper meal during the movie!
Ok, it's well known the problem of the junk food in the cinema, and the choices are grown with the time: not just pop corn but also nachos, hotdogs, ice creams, sweets of any kind... but a Michelin star chef, Rowley Leigh of Le Café Anglais, thought in something different: a proper gourmet dish brought by a waiter and served during the trailers at the beginning. The menu will include a hamburger "royale" with a fillet steak in a bun for about £14.50, red mullet risotto, deep fried squid and salsify fritters, all for about £10.

The chef said: “I wouldn't exactly say it's my take on fast food but it will have to be something that is remarkably tactile". Also if it seems an eccentric but maybe pleasant experience to live, my only concern is just the darkness of the room... How do you think to eat properly and enjoy a dish you can't even see?

The funny thing is that something similar has just happened lately in Italy too: Gualtiero Marchesi, the chef of all the italian chef has just created 2 hamburgers and a dessert for the king of the fast food, Mc Donalds.

Vivace, with bacon, sautéed spinach, marinated onions, beef burger and mayonnaise with mustard seeds and Adagio, with bread covered with chopped almonds, eggplant mousse, sliced ​​tomatoes, sweet and sour eggplant, beef burgers and ricotta salata. Both will cost 4.70 euros!

How to call all this? Maybe it’s a challenge for bored chef or just a gourmet low cost menu'? Do you think all this wants to show that you can eat well everywhere for a little price or the purpose is actually to invite young people to enter in contact with healthy and good food?

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