This Maltese Chef Is Pushing The Sustainable Agenda With His New Mouthwatering Restaurant Concept AND It’s Getting The London Treatment, Too
As more and more kitchens all around the world try to find the freshest and most sustainable ingredients around, one Maltese man is doing his best to bring that promise to his tables.
Briju is the latest homegrown concept to hit Malta’s culinary scene, brought to us all by the hearty hands of Rafel Sammut, part of the brains behind the Pulled Meat Company.
The restaurant’s menu relies heavily on local produce, a challenge that Briju is willing to strive to conquer
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Sammut lays the law for Briju down firmly, telling us that “on a personal level, it’s my way of giving back to all the local producers and farmers that have shed so much blood, sweat and tears who are now struggling to stay afloat due to massive competition faced with foreign imports”.
The menu is small, but for a very good reason.
Each dish has been crafted for the purpose of packing as much flavour as possible using produce that compliments each other. Whether it’s in their anitpasti of confit olives, soaked in local olive oil with a simple garlic flavour running through, or their starter – the Briju ravioli – filled with Pwales’ own pumpkins and topped with fresh shavings of local pecorino ta Salvu u Marie.
There’s also a four-month-aged guanciale and a local prawn linguine, and for all the glory we could sing of the food it’s best you just take a look at it
Here’s their offering of that gorge-worthy guanciale in krustini form.
Here’s their take on the delicious Italian classic, amatriciana
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And if you’re afraid of the meat sweats for your main, here’s a local corn-fed chicken, rolled in bacon and stuffed with pork mince:
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And we have to give a shoutout to the farmers of Siggiewi for providing the filling for this scrumptious tart:
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And here’s that gorgeous linguini we told you about…
If that isn’t enough to get your tummy rumbling, there’s also an offering of lampuki carpaccio (dressed with a carob syrup), there’s a pork flank and belly and the unsung hero of meats: braised lamb.
And if that isn’t enough, there’s fresh fish available daily, too so we’d best keep praying for calm waters this winter so our plates can remain full.
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We’re not even done with this place yet, though – Rafel is soon heading over to London with the MTA for an evening of Maltese cuisine served at the London Esquire.
Rafel aims to put local Maltese produce at the forefront of the culinary scene both internationally and locally with his menu, which will be offered up at Briju for one night only with a limited 30 spots available, so if you’re looking to be one of the lucky few who’ll be savouring these local delights then get in touch with Briju and enquire.
The menu in London will consist of locally sourced lampuki, marinated in an Italian sweet and sour sauce balanced with capers and preserved lemons or a tomato tartar with a pecorino (Salvu and Marie back at it again) crisp.
The mains are to-die-for by the sound of things…
Consisting of an agnolotti dish, with that kick-ass pecorino from Salvu and Marie in a valley out in the limits of Żebbuġ, tossed in a reduction made from local black chickens (that have been raised specifically for this occasion – an old practice in Malta that doesn’t happen much anymore but sounds totally sustainable, y’all) and will be topped with a confit egg yolk and will be offered to vegetarians instead tossed in a butter and thyme emulsion.
The second course of mains will showcase a trio of local pork, particularly the pork flank, a cut that Sammut is proud to have given a place in the market here in Malta, and a dish of charred pumpkin crumbled with Gozo’s favourite sheep cheese and pomegranate seeds.
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Dessert will soon follow, with a Maltese liquor trifle with a duo of pastry creams, sweet ricotta all topped with dates and almonds.
In closing, Rafel told us that together with the Eqsuire event and the menu at Briju he “hopes to push the agenda of sustainable and local produce, and get people closer to our local suppliers”.