Chefs Mazzei and Randall discuss Italian cuisine in London
The conversation launches the events for the 11th Italian Cuisine Week in the World
A conversation between two of the UK’s most celebrated chefs, focusing on the traditional Sunday lunch, marked the opening at the Italian Cultural Institute in London of the events celebrating the 11th Italian Cuisine Week in the World. One year after Italian cuisine was recognised as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Theo Randall and Francesco Mazzei, in conversation with moderator Gail Anderson, discussed the success of Italian food in the UK, sharing a series of anecdotes that confirmed the enduring love affair between the British and Italian cuisine.
“Thirty years ago, there was essentially only French cuisine here in London. Today, Italian cuisine plays an extraordinary role in the British culinary scene. That’s because Italian food is truly special,” Theo Randall, a long-standing admirer and ambassador of Italian cuisine in the UK, told Director Francesco Bongarrà. “It is not just one cuisine, but as many cuisines as there are regions in Italy: all extraordinary, varied and different,” explained the author of the recently published The Italian Table, an extensive collection of Italian regional recipes, before revealing his preference for Venetian cuisine.
Francesco Mazzei, one of the best-known Italian chefs in London, wholeheartedly agreed. Having arrived in the UK from Italy many years ago, he has enjoyed one success after another, most recently with his restaurant Mezzogiorno, whose name, he explained, “refers not only to lunchtime but also to the south of Italy”. Mazzei, who introduced the British to ’nduja, had a message to share: “Cook simple dishes that respect high-quality Italian ingredients and the seasons. Dishes should taste good rather than simply look beautiful; if they look good too, that’s even better, but flavour must always come first.”
