Zizzi

THE NEW SPECIALS ARE HERE

When it comes to launching our new specials our Head chef Angelo goes off into a cloud of steam and pans, and when he comes out we get to eat the lot. We’ll let the man himself talk you through his new ideas.

“My first starter’s perfect for summer: very simple Italian food. We take fresh bruschetta, then top it with pomodoro tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and a cured Italian ham called speck. Basil leaves, a touch of olive oil, and that’s it. For something more warming, we’re using Calabrian n’Duja sausage to make a spicy tomato sauce with fresh fettucine ribbons, parsley, and mascarpone cheese to finish. Try it with a glass of the organic Syrah-Merlot, from my home region of Puglia.

“The new pasta dish uses a mixture of wild mushrooms to fill fresh tortellini. It doesn’t need a heavy sauce: butter, lemon and sage and porcini oil sets off the earthy mushrooms just right. The other main is Pollo al Limone... chicken fillet, pan-fried then braised with white wine and lemon: really light and fresh. We serve it with wilted spinach, pine nuts, and a hot pot of sliced potatoes with red onion and sunblush tomatoes. The crisp new Falanghina, a white wine from vineyards near Vesusius, works really well with this dish.

“Then there’s Sorbetto Limoncello, an unbelievably fresh, zingy lemon sorbet with lemon zest and a shot of sweet limoncello liqueur on the side.

“We’re adding some guest beers: Menabrea from Italy’s north, or the artisan Amarcord Gradisca, with great gold colour and loads of complexity. They’re made in really limited quantities... let's hope we have some left.”

THE GREAT BALSAMIC SEARCH PART 3

The result of Marina’s care, passion and attention to detail is after 25 years, a tiny amount of thick, brown heaven in a bottle. We tasted it as you would a wine, watching it coat the inside of the glass and taking in its rich, sugary, complex aroma before it touched our lips. Absolutely delicious. But at almost £60 per bottle, it’s no wonder that Marina sells only 12 bottles of Balsamic Traditionale a month!

The product that we all know and love is called Balsamic di Modena. Balsamic di Modena isn’t left to age for as long, so although it’s taste is still distinctively balsamic and delicious, it isn’t as thick and syrupy as the Balsamic Traditionale.

Marina is very proud of how she makes hers. Rather than being a slave to 21st century manufacturing methods, she injects the best elements from the Traditionale method into the more industrialised approach used for Balsamic di Modena.

The result? Vinegar that tastes like no other.

THE GREAT BALSAMIC SEARCH PART 2

Our search for the world’s best balsamic vinegar took us to a traditional Italian and beautiful supplier’s farm called Nero Modena. The farm is owned and run by a lovely lady called Marina whose family has been making balsamic for generations from the picturesque settings of Modena.

After a tour of the stunning farm, Marina showed us the traditional method used to produce the oldest and purest balsamic vinegar - Balsamic Traditionale. This pure, untainted balsamic is produced from Lambrusca and Trebbiano grapes crushed into a pulp and then lovingly tendered over time into a truly luxurious and wonderful product.

The ‘must’ (the fermenting grape juice) is poured into small barrels to ferment in the summer and cool and clarify in the winter over many years. The barrels are made from a range of woods, each of which gives its own flavour to the must. Every spring, Marina tops up each of the barrels with liquid from the barrel next to it, mixing the flavours together, which ultimately produces a richer vinegar. The attention to detail, care and passion shown by Marina at Nero Modena reflects that which our Executive chef Angelo keeps at the heart of his cooking.

ZIZZI FRESH TALENT

When we saw Camille Rousseau's work for her Central St Martins MA, we knew we wanted her to help us with the redesign of our restaurants. We commissioned a mural for Zizzi Charlotte Street, and once we'd seen what she could do we never looked back. Camille's now done work for Charlotte Street, Chelmsford, Canary Wharf and our new Strand Zizzi. We love her style and we can't wait to see what she'll come up with next.

Camille's originally from Paris but she's lived in London for 5 years now, and the influence of the city is a strong theme in both Charlotte Street and Canary Wharf. The latter - one of the hearts of international finance - was a real challenge. We asked her to hand-draw her illustrations on the lanterns dotted around the restaurant space. If you get the chance to pop in, you'll see her amazing street views and cityscapes: they really plug into the life of the City of London. As she says herself:

"Zizzi always ask me to look very hard at the local area when I'm working on a new commission. Zizzi restaurants are about the local culture and colour, and you can't do that without being inspired by what's going on around you. I never knew Chelmsford was the birthplace of radio, for example, but the history of Marconi was a fantastic theme to work around. And for the Strand, it just had to be theatre. You can walk down the Strand and see the modern London but set in this amazing historic setting. The theatres, even the pubs are bursting with stories. I want people to look at what I've done and pick out little details that make them smile. When you're making a mural that's maybe 3 metres across, you have the chance to tell a real story."

Camille also specialises in animation, so the next time you're wandering down the Strand and see our restaurant, take a look at the animated movie that sits at the centre of her mural. It draws on the classic 1920s Phantom of the Opera movie, and it's a really fun way to warm up for a meal before that theatre visit.

"The builders are amazing. Even when they have so much to do to open a new restaurant - and I think they're a little thrown by this crazy French girl creating illustrations when they're trying to get the lighting just right - they're always ready to help out. And Zizzi always push me to go outside my comfort zone and create something a little bit different... something that challenges me."

Zizzi on the Strand is now open. We hope we'll see you there, or at any of our newly designed Zizzis, some time soon.