New Sliema Restaurant So Determined To Go 100% Local It’s Growing Its Own Grain
When Hammett’s Monastik pledges to offer people a fully local dining experience, it is ready to go out of its way to prove it really means it.
The new restaurant on the Sliema front says it is currently using 99% local produce, with flour being the only item they use that isn’t fully Maltese, with the grain used to produce it grown elsewhere.
However, even that is about to change, with Hammett’s Monastik teaming up with a local farmer to cultivate grain on their behalf, which can then be turned into flour.
“We are reviving a dead industry, as flour is not produced on the island at present,” the restaurant said.
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It’s a sign of commitment from restaurateur Chris Hammett that will be a shot in the arm for the local farming industry at a time discussion on Malta’s food security and the value we give local produce has intensified.
And the restaurant’s final work really goes to show that Maltese produce can more than hold its head up high.
These are just a few examples of some food to expect.
Kefir cheese generously drizzled with honey
Fermented broad beans on a broad bean paste
An elite version of the humble tuna salad, composed of smoked tuna and tuna eggs, added to potatoes and a dose of aioli sauce
A slice of crispy pork shoulder, cooked in roasted barbecue style
And these were just a few dishes that happened to be on the menu on a particular day, with other particularly eye-catching items on the menu including pork crackling, braised offal, braised beef shin, octopus and cuttlefish risotto.
Hammett’s Monastik is also big on fermented vegetables and even has a fermenting room smack bang in the middle of the restaurant… in fact, the restaurant’s name itself is inspired by European monasteries which used to pickle and ferment produce for the winter months, when little harvesting was possible.
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Some 98% of its fruit and vegetables are grown using organic practices, its cocktails are fully organic and even the meat is treated with respect – bought whole from local farmers, with every part used.
“When people think of Malta, farming may not be the first thing they think of… the island is drier and less green than other parts of Europe,” Hammett’s Monastik said.
“However, that does not mean that agriculture doesn’t exist and it doesn’t have amazing produce to offer.”
This is the fifth Hammett’s restaurant in Malta – following the Mediterranean diner at the ex Maċina in Sengela, the Asian fusion Gastro Bar in Sliema and the Meso-South American Mestizo restaurant in St Julian’s.
Cover photos: Hammett’s Monastik, Photo of grain: Stock image
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