Fresh local produce with an Italian twist

16th September 2008, 3:57pm

Creating fresh food, sourcing locally and making sure prices are reasonable is executive chef Lisa Valenti's ethos behind the newly opened Refinery bar in London's Southwark. Maria Bracken from Eat Out magazine attended the launch party last week to see what delights the venue has to offer.

Valenti, who developed the establishment's menu, got her inspiration from Sicily where she trained as a chef: "We would go to the garden and pick our own herbs and produce everything from scratch. This is the way I have been brought up, this is my culture."

"Our typical dishes are based on where I come from, all fresh Italian style produce. If we do pasta, it's fresh pasta. If we are using a sauce with this dish it would be a mascarpone because it is of an Italian origin."

Giving the public what they want is Valenti's main focus at the new London hotspot, part of the new Drake & Morgan bar group: "In the food industry you know people want their food quickly, they want fresh produce, they don't want to overpay for it, and people don't like you mucking around with their food.

"If they want fish and chips, they just want you to source the best fish, batter it, chip fresh potatoes, make your own handmade tartare sauce, and there you have it."

One of the eatery's most popular dishes on the opening night was the squid. Valenti explained how she took very fresh Italian seafood where she used to live in Italy and made it easy and economical.

The pork burgers were also a hit. Valenti described the secret ingredients behind the dish: "These are spiced with sage and apple – something people haven't really seen before. Sage is also a really big herb so I have used a lot of garlic, chilli's, sage, basil, all those herbs that make the food more of an Italian style home-cooked kitchen style."

The group uses local suppliers such as the Flower Station at Borough Market to source all of their bread, Alan's of Mayfair Butchers, and M&J Seafoods. Valenti commented on why sourcing locally is important to her: "We spend a lot of time going around making sure our suppliers are the best people in the industry. We benchmarked them against each other to make sure their ethos was what ours was."

"I will be soon going to Asia and Australia to source and see what is going on in the market. It's important to source the right people to source the right products."

Valenti has designed the menu with a lot of sharers and starters so guests can pick and nibble rather than having a main dish.

Delights on the sharing menu include the Mergueze Sausage with Rosemary Rock Salt potatoes (£5.50), fresh Pesto & Mozzarella Bruschetta with dressed Rocket leaves (£5.50), Tuscan Bean, Spring & Red Onion Bruschetta with cold pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil (£4.95), and Home Made Salmon Fish Cake Lolly Pops with Tartare Sauce (£5.95).

Those looking for a main dish can indulge in meals such as the Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto with Toasted Pine Nuts & Rocket (£6.95), Aubergine Stack with Bolognese Ragu & Mozzarella, served with Rustic Bread (£6.95), and Char Grilled Rich Pork Sausages, Mashed Potato & Red Onion Gravy (£8.50).

And to finish, desserts on offer include Panacotta with dark Chocolate & Candied Orange Peel, Knicker Bocker Glory  and Chocolate Brownie served warm with Double Cream, all priced at £4.95 each.

There are also over 40 wines available on the menu, ranging from the Chenin Blanc Long Beach 2007 South Africa, priced at £11.95 per bottle, to a Clos Des Quatres Vents 2004 Margaux France, available at £48.00 per bottle.

The Refinery seats a total of 550 guests, including 236 seated, and also benefits from an al fresco area, providing space for a further 120 diners.

Weblink: www.therefinerybar.co.uk 

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