Pizza Toscana, a typical and unmatched handmade creation, was born in 2003 at La Bussola, Florence’s oldest pizzeria since 1960. By using Tuscan pecorino cheese rather than mozzarella, and chopped local tomatoes rather than passata, drizzled with Tuscan extra virgin olive oil as the base ingredients before adding other toppings, this different and totally Tuscan pizza practically became an overnight success. And not just with the locals, but with an international clientele.
Located in the heart of Florence and virtually next door to the British Embassy, whose staff patronised the restaurant daily and still do, Stefano Cresci’s father was constantly asked when they would open such a restaurant in London. When Stefano took over the family business, he stayed true to its value but with his more international outlook, he realised that London was ready for a Tuscan pizza. The ‘brand’ was created, and the first Pizza Toscana opens in in the heart of London in Wardour Street on 16 November 2016.
With 92 seats spread over three floors, Pizza Toscana embraces all that is traditional Tuscan – from the wood oven by Valoriani, the cutlery by Pinti, whilst the wood for the tables comes from the Chianti area. And all the products of course, are from Tuscany.
From the heart of Florence to the heart of London, You are invited to experience Pizza Toscana, opening on 16 November 2016 in Wardour Street.
Your invitation is enclosed and we look forward to your rsvp.
London- (Caterina Belloni) Thanks to the cooperation with Sardinia wines and Antonello Salis, in fact, Monday 7th of November you can taste the pork cooked following the traditional recipe of the island in the first Festival of Sardinian procedure hosted by the United Kingdom. One more element to make known to the English-speaking world the delights of Italy.
The occasion will be the Gusto Italia show room, held in the ballroom of the Sheraton Hotel and that will see Sardinia depicted with numerous exhibitors. A leading role lies with the delegation of the Association Centro Storico Sa Costa of Bosa, which promotes the Bosa Wine Festival and will present its wines in London scenario. In the stalls set up for the region, sponsoring the event together with the municipality of Bosa, however, will be offered even the rice from Oristano, some other typical products, the mineral water Smeraldina. There will be men and women in traditional costume, will be revealed the wonders of the filet, the embroidery that made it famous and now comes in Bosa with thousands of shapes, from traditional lace to the recent production of textile jewellery. A terrific opportunity to discover a part of the island and describe its beauty.
Among the exhibitors engaged in fair, in fact, you will find wood and restoration experts, exhibitors of knives, craftsmen specialized in making traditional masks. “We’ll get to Bosa with a delegation of at least twenty people between companies and volunteers – says Mario Stara, President of Associazione Centro Storico Sa Costa promoting Bosa Wine Festival-. We will propose to the public, made up of buyers, distributors, chefs and experts, the peculiarities of our production, from food to wine up to the elements of artistic craftsmanship. This is our second visit to London and we are keen to continue this partnership with Gusto Italia to promote our wealth beyond the Italian borders. The idea is that you tighten trade relations, but also that you convince new tourists to reach Bosa and Sardinia, developing the market for travel and hospitality”.
The pistachio is now known all over the world. It is essential to prepare the cannoli, but not only, since it has become the key ingredient for a chocolate cream, sausage, arancini, pizza. An extraordinary food, who is carrying the name of Sicily in the world with new horizons. It is sure for Graziano Calanna, Mayor of Bronte, who launched for the product of his city an international Expo. And on November 7 and 8 will bring the Pistachio up to London to spread it on a different market. Although in the British capital the Pistachio already has strong supporters. These are the Bauso brothers, who created a corner of Sicily behind Victoria Station. Their place is called Etnacoffee and is the realization of a dream: to recreate in the heart of London a bar like those on the island, with people passing by to say hello, consuming coffee and a cannolo, having a taste of cake delight, or a lunch with arancini. “The aspect to point out is that we do not accept compromises. We are and we will remain strong to our point. We can serve focaccia and arancini, but no one should expect to find different products, not even a muffin, on our sales counter, “explains laughingly Gaetano Bauso. The idea is to make Etnacoffee a trade mark applicant and to open a new restaurant every six or eight months. “We love our land and we love what it produces, as the Pistachio” concludes Bauso, who attended the 2016 Edition of Pistachio Expo in Sicily and on the 7th will be at the show room of GustoItalia, at the Sheraton hotel, to celebrate its strong taste, which stems from the fact that is harvested in sciara, with lava rocks that gives flavour and unique organoleptic properties to it.
Interview by Valentina Celi, Article by Ilaria Edja Gallo
Interview with Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Health.
Last night, Wednesday 28th September, from 6pm to midnight at Le Meridien Piccadilly, we celebrated Italian food, drink and culture. The event has been organised by CLWCA conservative Italian Group 2016 in collaboration with APCI UK, the Association of Italian Professional Chefs in the UK.
Many prominent political guests, such as Jeremy Hunt MP, Secretary of State for Health, Mark Field MP, Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party, Alberto Costa MP, South Leicestershire, Zac Goldsmith MP for Richmond Park & North Kingston and Dr Tania Mathias MP for Twickenham attended this amazing and successful event together with 450 guests.
Zac Goldsmith, LondonONEradio Staff. Photo by Leslie Weir, LondonONERadio- BenTVJeremy Hunt, LondonONEradio Staff. Photo by Leslie Weir, LondonONERadio- BenTV
The celebration has been accompanied by the amazing entertainment given by the acclaimed Italian tenor Yuri Sabatini and Giuseppe Mauriello, Laura Araldo, the guitarist Domenico Ranieri and The Tony P Riccio Trio.
LondonONEradio managed to question Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Health about the importance of the mediterranean diet:
Do you think it is important to support the mediterranean diet and to promote it in the UK?
Absolutely, because we now have a huge amount of evidence that mediterranean diet is less salt, less red meat, more fish, olive oil instead of butter and this reduces cholesterol and therefore it reduces the risk of heart disease, cancer, even things like Alzheimer and dementia. So it’s the best way of eating healthily and it’s also delicious. So most of this diet you go on, you have to deny yourself the best things, but actually the mediterranean diet is healthy and delicious so we would love more people to be on the mediterranean diet.
What is your plan of action about obesity? We know that in the past few years Uk developed and faced severe problems linked to obesity.
Well, we have the second largest problem with obesity in the whole of Europe, and we are very worried particularly for children who spend a lot of time behind computers, not as much time as they used to out and about playing. So we have a big plan to change it: we want to get children more active, we want to encourage manufacturers to reduce the sugar content in their food as there’s a lot of sugar in things like frozen pizzas, and actually you can reduce the sugar and not affect the taste. So we want to encourage people, encourage the manufacturers to do that, but we also need to promote understanding among consumers about an healthy diet and certainly mediterranean diet is a big part of that.
So is it possible to say that embracing the mediterranean diet would be the “best thing” for the UK population?
I think that we have to be careful because in this country people don’t like politicians telling them what to eat, so probably if you want to promote a mediterranean diet it’s not helpful to have Jeremy Hunt telling everyone to eat it. But I think you do the best job marketing it yourself. I mean the quality of Italian food that you can get in the UK, now, is transformed compared to 20 or 30 years ago. But I think, what I can do is to encourage everyone to recognize that olive oil is more healthy than butter, that fish is more healthy than red meat, and Italian food is a great way to enjoy those things.
Jeremy Hunt, LondonONEradio Staff. Photo by Leslie Weir, LondonONERadio- BenTV
Last but not least: which is your favourite Italian dish?
My favourite Italian dish? I have absolutely no hesitation in telling you the answer to that. I have a small holiday house in Sicily and the “Antipasti” from Sicily, they are my favourite. I am sorry if you’re from the north of Italy, but they are much nicer than “antipasti” from the North. And my daughter favourite dish, without doubt, is Gelato, but for me it’s the “antipasti”.
The event had both an educational and charitable aim: in fact, the 20% of profits from the tickets sale will be used to help the people struck by the earthquake in Italy.
Luisa Liu LONDON– The local daily newspaper London Evening Standard have just launched a campaign to collect wasted food in order to give it to the hungry in London. It could be seem odd that in London, one of the richest cities in the world, many Londoners suffer from hunger and struggle to feed themselves and their families properly. And yet, every day hundreds of tonnes of surplus food are thrown away in our city.
That’s why Evening Standard chairman Justin Byam Sham and his wife Jane co-founded the Felix Project charity, set up in memory of their young son Felix, whose life was tragically cut short in 2014 at the age of 14. Thanks to this project the distribution of food -in order to make sure overyone gets a proper meal- becomes no so expensive anymore.
The Felix Project aims to collect the surplus food from food suppliers and to distribute it to local charities, so that healthy meals for hungry ca be provided. The project simply wants to see Good Food Go to Good Causes, Food for London.
standard.co.uk
Eventhough the Food was Campaign was lanched just yesterday, today Global banking group Citi becomes the first enterprise to support the project, making £ 200 000donation, in order to tackle food wast and hunger in London. This windfall will face Food poverty and Food waste issue.
You also can support this project: just donate food, money or become a volunteer to help with the Felix Project. Solving these challenges depend on your every singol action, however small it may be.
Three days of Italian food, drink and business, with the best producers exhibiting their delicious creations and the participation of the best Italian chefs in the UK
Welcome Italia is the event organized by the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the UK dedicated to all food lovers that wish to discover and explore the best of Italian Food & Beverage: aromatic coffee, handmade pasta, delicate extra-virgin olive oil, fine truffles, exquisite cheeses and much more…
As well as meeting the producers of the finest Italian excellencies, it will be possible to attend extraordinary cooking shows. The most famous Italian chefs in the UK will showcase their talent, recreating delicious and tasty recipes; Francesco Mazzei will hold a cooking demonstration and Danilo Cortellini, head chef at the Italian Embassy, will exhibit on the morning of Sunday 23rd. You will be able to find tasty recipes using Nonno Nanni’s soft cheeses and discover traditional dishes with chefs from the provinces of Novara, Perugia, Cosenza and Lazio region.
The first day (21st October) is a trade only day. It will be a unique opportunity for all Food & Wine professionals in London to discover new products and typical dishes. Moreover, it’s definitely the best stage for Italian producers to promote their business and get in touch with British importers and distributors.
On 22nd and 23rd October Welcome Italia will open its doors to the public, who will be able to taste and buy products directly from the exhibitors, recreating the atmosphere of a real Italian Market. Our 60+ companies come from all over Italy and include producers of wines, beers, organic olive oils, regional specialities, charcuterie and some very particular products such as hemp flour pasta and salami matured in red wine.
The first edition of “London Calling” has just wrapped up, fulfilling its aim to represent the high quality of Italian culinary excellence in Britain.
Four days full of events to satisfy even the most demanding palates: this is “London Calling”, the event that sparked the first week of September in the British capital, with the intent to “promote the gourmet food made in Italy through a tasty and multi-sensory journey, involving Italian and British importers companies in the B2B meetings “.
The idea stems from the intuition of Confcooperativa and Confartigianato of the Emilia Romagna Region and the need to facilitate contacts between foreign countries and small and medium-sized Italian companies, the ones who most of all have suffered because of the economic crisis, and who are now seeking redemption thanks to the high quality and craftsmanship of their products.
Here is the complete list of companies that have taken part in “London Calling”:
The young and dynamic team of INDIGO – International business developer, was in charge of the organizational part, and not only it garnered the support of some of the most interesting companies in the area, but it also increased the participation by going beyond the borders of the Emilia Romagna region, and involving some innovative factories from Southern Italy.
In the past days we had at LondonONEradio’s microphones one of the organizers, Daniele Catalano, who told us in detail the “London Calling” concept and gave us an insider’s perspective of the project; listen again to the interview on LondonONEradio.
To promote the Italian culinary excellence in the UK, the organisational team has given free rein to the creativity of the managers of the famous “Bacco”, Italian restaurant, who realized an ad hoc menu, to bring out the the maximum from the products, even adding some artistic twists.
Some of the courses of the “London Calling” dinner at Ristorante Bacco
Bystanders were able to enjoy the company of the producers, who have done their utmost to best explain the pursuit of quality of the raw materials and special processes used in processing their products, which were then tasted thanks to a six-course dinner, in which the Calabrian chef Andrea Librandi was able to give the right push to sponsored products, while enhancing the flavours of the interesting selection of wines.
The menu and wine list selected to represent Italian companies at London Calling
In short, “London Calling” … and Italian gastronomy answers!
LONDON – Evening Standard’s panel of editors, critics and experts compiled the annual line-up of the most influential people in London, celebrating progress and innovation.
The first place went to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, the son of an immigrant bus driver, who perfectly embodies the nature of London as the city of opportunity. The top 25 of the most influential people in London can be found below
Time Out Love London Awards 2016 open for nominations throughout September
Awards celebrate the capital’s great independent businesses
The Mayor of London supports Time Out Love London Awards 2016
London, 5 September 2016: A big celebration of small businesses is coming to the capital as Time Out, the trusted global brand for inspiring and enabling people to make the most of their city, launches its Love London Awards 2016.
Whether it’s the tiny bar with the smoothest martinis, the cat café or the quirky shop with rare vintage dresses – Londoners have lots of love for those hidden gems in their city. They can now get behind them and nominate their favourite local, independent businesses to give them the recognition they deserve.
Ahead of Time Out’s Love London Awards 2016, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan has revealed his favourite local haunts in the capital:
Tooting Lido – “It’s a grade II listed Art Deco lido, there’s freshwater in the swimming pool, it’s open 365 days a year. When the sun’s shining, it’s a wonderful place to go. My daughters love it.”
Tooting Arts Club – “They did a production of Sweeney Todd in Harrington’s Pie and Mash Shop which Stephen Sondheim attended – now they’ve taken it to Broadway! It’s a real example of the culture we’ve got in Tooting. I’m also patron of Polka Theatre in Wimbledon that does some great childrens’ productions.”
Battersea Park – “I’ve recently rediscovered Battersea Park. It’s a great park: you’ve got the Pagoda, the children’s zoo and they’ve just reinvigorated this lovely old display from the 1951 festival there. You can’t beat London for green space!”
Tooting’s restaurants – “It’s one of the big jokes in Tooting that I’ve never named my favourite restaurant so I don’t fall foul of the other owners. But our curry restaurants are great. Lahore Karahi, Spice Village, Masaledar are very good – great quality food, really reasonable prices, always a cheerful, smiley waiter serving you.”
Nominations for Love London Awards are open throughout September across five categories: bars & pubs, restaurants, cafés, shops and cultural venues. Voted for entirely by Londoners from October 6 to 31, the winners will be revealed at an Awards ceremony on November 14. Now in its third year, the Awards are part of Time Out’s commitment to support local, independent businesses. Over 20,000 nominations and almost 320,000 votes for local venues were generated across more than 90 London neighbourhoods since 2014.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “From Cricklewood to Croydon, Barnes to Barking, London’s local businesses are the beating heart of our city’s vibrant communities. I’m asking Londoners to get behind their neighbourhood favourites in the Time Out Love London Awards 2016. It’s an excellent way to show your appreciation of your favourite local shops, restaurants, cafes, pubs or cultural venues in each corner of the capital and tell the stories behind these hidden gems.”
Caroline McGinn, Editor in Chief at Time Out London, added: “Since 1968, Time Out has been dedicated to discovering and championing the best of the city. And best doesn’t always mean biggest. A genuinely brilliant neighbourhood pub, bar, café, shop, restaurant or cultural venue can make all the difference to your life in London. Londoners are always eager to tell us how much they cherish those unsung heroes. Our Awards are an opportunity to celebrate them and give some love back.”
Last year’s Time Out Love London Awards surfaced some unique small businesses that demonstrate the sheer creativity and boldness of the capital’s entrepreuneurs: from BOW WOW London dog boutique to Crouch End’s culturual hub, Art House Cinema. For food and drink, Vietnamese restaurant Cay Tre in Soho and Love & Scandal café in Waterloo came out top, with The Kenton in Hackney crowned best pub.
The Time Out Love London Awards 2016 is supported by the Mayor of London’s Office. Londoners can nominate between September 1 to 30 on timeout.com/lovelondon
The Mayor’s Office’s support for Time Out Love London Awards coincides with the #LondonIsOpen campaign which aims to show the world that London remains entrepreneurial, international, and full of creativity and possibility, while reassuring the more than one million foreign nationals who live in London that they will always be welcome. Supporting the Love London Awards demonstrates how every corner of #LondonIsOpen, to visitors, tourists and locals alike.
Are you looking for an alternative way to better know London?
Then Secret London Runs could be the right choice for you.
Why secret? Because you can explore the city in depth, through places usually unknown to tourists, beyond the typical London attractions. So even the most hardened Londoners who think to know London like the back of their hand, will soon change their mind.
These are places we can see every day, but how much do you really know about them?
Think about The Shard for instance, the futuristic skyscraper by the Genoese architect Renzo Piano. Did you know that the entire area between London Bridge and Southwark was actually an independent state for 500 years? Indeed, there was a separate structure of laws for this area that was under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Winchester. Here, around the ‘500, a series of illegal activities took place thus to call Bankside with epithets such as “District of sin” or “pleasure gardens.” Just later on and only in this area, even before the jurisdiction of the City of London, activities such as prostitution, fight between animals and the theatre (the most famous is the Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, of course) were regularized.
With Secret London Runs on Saturday 3 September, you will run for 10km through the city, searching of hidden clues among the streets of the capital to win the cryptic team challenge, the true highlight of the race.
londonist.com
Participants will in fact discover a hidden secret about the history of London after receiving a brief by a police agent from the 18th century. You will have to run the streets looking for witnesses, suspects and clues to solve the intricate puzzles in the shortest possible time.
Each team will be composed of up to four people. The location will be in EC1 area but will remain secret until the day before the competition, when experienced intelligence agents will receive a message stating the meeting place.
Obviously, the team that will unravel the mysterious secret will receive an award that will be announced the night of the competition and the following day via email.
All in the name of strict short secret.
For lazy ones, it is better to state that no one will be required to run! The race is much more based on mental agility than on the physical one and the winning team will simply be the one having the mystery solved faster.
So arm yourself with comfortable shoes and book your place on www.secretlondonruns.com.
