Holy Cannoli – The Italians Really Are Coming
Passion and the love of what Valentina do oozes from the pores of Gabriella, third generation of this thriving Italian family business and soon to be manager of their sixth delicatessen and restaurant in Reigate.
I was invited to visit Valentina Deli in Weybridge to find out more about what Reigate foodies can expect when they open their doors at Easter in Church Street.
The minute you walk through the door you are immersed in a gastronomic Aladdin’s Cave. The shelves are groaning with olive oils, vinegars and sweet treats, as well as pastas, sauces, pickles and a very impressive array of wines, grappas and liquors. Grappa is the ubiqitous Italian moonshine and some are known to be pretty ropey and could act as paint stripper, however not all Grappa’s are the same. One very special bottle on the shelf is Sassicaia Grappa, A grappa produced from Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Distilled in small batches in a copper pot still and subject to a double maturation. Firstly being matured for four years in barriques before a six month finishing period in barrels previously used for Sassicaia, the famed Super-Tuscan wine. The price may make you wince a little though!
Next to the wines, centre stage, is a stainless steel fusti filled with Valentina’s own olive oil made from olives picked and pressed on the family farm in the village of Sant’Elia Fiumerapido, south east of Rome. The fusti perches grandly over the terracotta bowls of olives on the olive bar.
The deli counter has equal stage presence filled with Italian favourites all prepared in the Valentina kitchen by chef Massimo and his team. Gargantuan arancini sit snugly alongside pollo Milanese, lassagne, bean salad, stuffed peppers, green peas & pancetta and freshly made pestos. Adjacent is the fabulous selection of over thirty different types of cheeses. Featuring mainly Italian favourites but also the likes of French goats cheese, St Agur, Roquefort and Vacherin, Spanish Manchego, English cheddars and no fewer than eight different pecorinos including a cheeky little number with truffle.
Not to be outdone by the cheese, the charcuterie selection is equally impressive with fresh Tuscan sausages imported from Tuscany and a cacophony of cured meats; Bressaola, Coppa, Culatello, Lardo, Pancetta Coppata, more salami than you can shake a salami at, San Daniele, Parma Ham and Gabriella’s favorite Guanciale, which is Italian cured pork cheek, perfect for making Carbonara.
If that isn’t enough to tempt you then the Italian pastries surely will with their light pastry and various fillings of vanilla cream, coconut & vanilla, nutella, a rather delicious sounding sponge with chocolate and peach liquor plus they have gluten free choices as well. On the bottom shelf saying ‘eat me’ were some traditional Sicilian cannolis filled with sweet ricotta cheese. If you’ve never had one it’s a must that you try one. Once you’ve tasted one there’s no going back!
As we perused among the shelves and displays, with the buzz of very happy diners in the background, I asked Gabriella what she felt epitomises Valentia and differentiates them from other Italian offerings, “if you were to go to a small village in the south of Italy and you walk into a restaurant, this is the type of food you’d find. We do a beautiful calves liver dish, a pork belly dish and we have Capella Romana, my Grandmother’s dish of tagliatelle and meatballs which are wrapped in speck ham baked in a tomato sauce. We do things differently, not always the easiest way, we do things the ‘family’ way.”
The family are rather proud of what they do and quite rightly so which has also been recognised by gaining six Gold Great taste Awards 2013 from The Guild of Fine Food for their Fig Jam, Anchovy Fillets, Strozzapreti Pasta, Chestnut Honey, Colomba (a traditional Italian Easter cake) and their Pannetone, which I think is the lightest and best Pannetone I have eaten.
So Valentina’s is not only a delicatessen but a restaurant too, offering breakfast,light bites & lunches throughout the day and through to the evening. Many of the products you can buy from the deli counter are used in their dishes such as the Bresaola pizza of sliced bresaola with mozzarella & tomatoes, rocket, extra virgin olive oil and creamy ricotta cheese or the Bianca Valentina pizza with San Daniele ham, mozzarella, rocket, parmesan shavings and a black truffle dressing.
The menu is rather mouthwatering and I particularly have my eye on the gnocchi cooked in a wild boar ragu and of course Gabriella’s Grandmother’s Capella Romana. All Italians are passionate about family so it goes without saying that the bambini are not left out with a mini three course ‘set menu’.
Valentina Reigate will be a slightly larger delicatessen than at the Weybridge restaurant, it will have seating for forty at the rear and an Olive Garden Bar outside at the back. Valentina’s will be the place to go in Reigate should you wish to sip on Prosecco, nibble on olives, delight in meats & cheeses or buy truffle butter to borlotti beans.
Gabriella said, “we’re lucky to have Reigate and I am really looking forward to it.” By the look and sound of things it appears that Reigate will be lucky to have Valentina’s too.
