Source : Bruno Quinney |
Because Italian cuisine is about good ingredients , food like your mum or grandmother would cook .
has given him opportunities he would not have had back in Italy .
“ Especially where I come from [ in Naples ], it ’ s a tough city . You have to deal with lots of different things . I don ’ t have to ask anybody [ if I can open a business here ] or worry that someone will come [ to threaten me ]: that ’ s the government , the mafia , all of these players [ in Naples ] that you don ’ t have here . I can have a shop without shutters but in [ Naples ] it would not be possible .”
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Ciro wants Taste of Napoli to create an authentic Italian experience , although he admits the café ’ s products had to adapt for a less adventurous Bristol demographic . “ When we opened up , it was like you were in Italy . But [ British ] people only know cannoli , arancini , bruschetta – they don ’ t know lots of stuff . We used to do pizza fritta from Naples – [ even ] if you go to Verona , you can ’ t find that . Imagine [ the reaction ] in Bristol . It was very difficult .”
The balance between offering an authentic Italian experience and adapting to the British market is also something La Panza has had to find . The owner , Riccardo , moved to Bristol from Ancona in 2014 , singling out his love for British music as one of the reasons why he settled in the UK . Riccardo himself , with the chain hanging around his neck , nose piercing and slightly unkempt hair beneath the cap , could be a bassist in an indie band .
It is that same alternative flavour which has worked its way into the food at La Panza , with anchovy-infused hispy cabbage , Cornish crab pasta , and a sell-out duck ragu all bringing a twist to Italian classics . Riccardo has also been keen to maintain Italian tradition while using British produce . “ I ’ m a big advocate of using ingredients while they ’ re in season . With my family , we always go foraging . Here , this time of year , it ’ s about lots of greens , chards , cabbages .”
The same approach is lauded at Michelinstar restaurants , but Riccardo stresses that La Panza is deliberately far-removed from a fine-dining experience . “ La Panza ’ s goal was not to be too … posh ,” he says with a smile . “ We focus on the ingredients which should give you the good base of a meal . Because Italian cuisine is about good ingredients , food like your mum or grandmother would cook . You don ’ t try to make it more than it is , and I really like that way of cooking .”
Riccardo runs a seamless operation – and yet , there is one snag : he is struggling to find
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he staff . “ Before , every day someone would bring you their CV : some Spanish , Italian , Polish . But now you don ’ t get that . There ’ s maybe one Italian that comes to help out but everyone else is from England . When Brexit happened , a lot of Italians had to go back to Italy , so it hasn ’ t been easy to find staff . We still struggle these days .”
The difficulty for Italian businesses to find Italian , or EU , staff has become a problem nationwide . In April , The Guardian reported that Italian restaurants in London were struggling to find Italian staff amid post- Brexit regulations . As the salary threshold for skilled workers went from £ 26,000 to £ 38,700 , many Italians who previously worked in hospitality were unable to get visas and returned to Italy .
Carlo Lo Verde works at Pizza on the Park , a British-run business in the shadow of the gothic Wills Memorial building . Carlo , originally from Sicily , has been Head Chef since the business opened in 2021 and is one of five Italian employees at Pizza on the Park .
Carlo says Brexit has had a damning effect on staff recruitment . “ The number of migrants has decreased significantly , which makes it more challenging to meet new people from Italy . This has also affected our ability to find new chefs – we ’ ve been struggling for years to ring in talent .”
At Taste of Napoli , Ciro suggests the UK has completely cut itself off from the rest of Europe . “ You can ’ t really come to England anymore ,” he says . “ You have to do certain jobs to come to England . [ There are challenges ] for high-paid jobs as well . I have Italian friends [ working ] at the heart department at the Bristol Royal Infirmary – most of them are Italians that came before Brexit . They tried to employ somebody from Switzerland with an Italian passport , who is a very good doctor . The Home Office said no .”
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Source : Bruno Quinney |
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