Essenziale - Florence
I love Florence. So much so that I've extended my 3 month "holiday", to a year working over here.
But there's somethings from over the pond in London which I miss terribly. Number 1 being the international food scene - we have it great over there. I love the strange food combinations, bringing together influences from all over the world in 1 dish. In Florence? Not so much. Don't get me wrong, I'm in love with Italian food (otherwise I wouldn't be staying here!), but as the weekend approached, I was after something different - enter Simone Cipriani; the chef at Essenziale.
Go go go! - pick up the phone and book tonight! (as long as its Tuesday - Sunday) and get yourself down across the river onto Piazza di Castello.
I eat out A LOT. I travel to cities for the soul purpose of eating at restaurants I'm desperate to try. I've eaten at what feels like most restaurants in London too, I just absolutely love food (hence why I have a background as a chef, and now work as a sommelier).
The wine list was short and sweet; we went for this Tuscan blend of Mediterranean grapes; Alicante Nero, Mouvedre, Carignan and Alicante Bouschet. I'm drinking a lot of Tuscan wines made up of these grapes at the moment, and think they are really special, and offer something different from sangiovese. A nice medium bodied wine, with a silky smooth mouth feel. Fairly delicate fruit, it's herbal and fragrant, a great wine to take you through a range of food flavours.
Enough talk already - lets get onto what I ate;
Things started off pretty strong with this first dish - pumpkin/cabbage/mushroom/pecorino
Lots of autumnal flavours coming together, the toasted cabbage notes gave lots of earthy flavours, alongside the mushrooms then bursts of sweetness from the pumpkin puree hiding underneath! Salty slithers of cheese brought this dish together really nicely.
Main courses arrived and I was reaching capacity - but none the less I persevered through. Beef tenderloin (from Argentina) with charcoal bread, with cannelloni beans on the side - a very simple dish, but the beef was very succulent and full of flavour, the bread tasted just like fried bread, so a winning combination in my eyes!
Mackerel was the other main course on offer, and although I didn't get to try, it did get the thumbs up with flavours of leek, lentil and yogurt alongside.
I wasn't excited about this, this wasn't a dessert! Where's the chocolate? The cream? The sugar?
But of course this dish was delicious, the kitchen really knows what they're doing. I loved everything about the dish, it finished off a perfect meal really well. And a touch of sugar, together with the smooth olive oil worked so well.
I loved that you could tell the chef understood food and flavours so well, that he has obviously travelled and taken inspiration from many places around the world. It was also great to see the chefs serving the dishes, clearing tables and refilling water throughout the evening. It was a really special evening, and as soon as I get an evening off I will be be back.
But there's somethings from over the pond in London which I miss terribly. Number 1 being the international food scene - we have it great over there. I love the strange food combinations, bringing together influences from all over the world in 1 dish. In Florence? Not so much. Don't get me wrong, I'm in love with Italian food (otherwise I wouldn't be staying here!), but as the weekend approached, I was after something different - enter Simone Cipriani; the chef at Essenziale.
Go go go! - pick up the phone and book tonight! (as long as its Tuesday - Sunday) and get yourself down across the river onto Piazza di Castello.
I eat out A LOT. I travel to cities for the soul purpose of eating at restaurants I'm desperate to try. I've eaten at what feels like most restaurants in London too, I just absolutely love food (hence why I have a background as a chef, and now work as a sommelier).
The wine list was short and sweet; we went for this Tuscan blend of Mediterranean grapes; Alicante Nero, Mouvedre, Carignan and Alicante Bouschet. I'm drinking a lot of Tuscan wines made up of these grapes at the moment, and think they are really special, and offer something different from sangiovese. A nice medium bodied wine, with a silky smooth mouth feel. Fairly delicate fruit, it's herbal and fragrant, a great wine to take you through a range of food flavours.
Enough talk already - lets get onto what I ate;
Things started off pretty strong with this first dish - pumpkin/cabbage/mushroom/pecorino
Lots of autumnal flavours coming together, the toasted cabbage notes gave lots of earthy flavours, alongside the mushrooms then bursts of sweetness from the pumpkin puree hiding underneath! Salty slithers of cheese brought this dish together really nicely.
A bowl of potpourri or our first course?
Next was a dish I had heard about and was glad to see it on the menu - "pappa mary" a play on the tradition Tuscan bread and tomato soup and a bloody mary. The pappa al pomodoro layer on the bottom, was topped with crunchy curls of cucumber hiding a horseradish sorbet. Hints of Tabasco, basil and oyster leaf, and the finishing touch of the chef spraying vodka completed a favourite dish of mine. Lots of concentrated flavours, and a thing of beauty in itself;
One of my favourite dishes in a long time
Next course was "cacio e pesce", made up of little cod and potato dumplings, artichokes, cocoa nib and parmigiana cheese., very delicate flavours, interspersed with lemon. At the start of the meal we were offered a special, to be swapped into for one of our risotto courses. Described as an Italian take on Japanese ramen, we decided to share alongside the risotto. Ramen is one thing I'm missing greatly over here, and Shoryu in Carnaby Court is somewhere I rush back to when I'm back in London. This was a really cool twist on the dish, just a shame about the bad photography skills!
Main courses arrived and I was reaching capacity - but none the less I persevered through. Beef tenderloin (from Argentina) with charcoal bread, with cannelloni beans on the side - a very simple dish, but the beef was very succulent and full of flavour, the bread tasted just like fried bread, so a winning combination in my eyes!
Mackerel was the other main course on offer, and although I didn't get to try, it did get the thumbs up with flavours of leek, lentil and yogurt alongside.
So onto dessert! I have a massive sweet tooth, and even if I've eaten so much I cant move , I miraculously find a little more space. Desserts don't really play a massive part in meals over here in Florence. Don't get me wrong, Ive had some of the best gelato here, but its now fast approaching November, and its cold!
I was obviously looking forward to this part of the meal..."bread, olive oil, salt and kale". Sorry what?!
But of course this dish was delicious, the kitchen really knows what they're doing. I loved everything about the dish, it finished off a perfect meal really well. And a touch of sugar, together with the smooth olive oil worked so well.
I loved that you could tell the chef understood food and flavours so well, that he has obviously travelled and taken inspiration from many places around the world. It was also great to see the chefs serving the dishes, clearing tables and refilling water throughout the evening. It was a really special evening, and as soon as I get an evening off I will be be back.
Meaningful quotes or to much wine?
Comments
Post a Comment