WATCH: Maltese Chefs Put Local Produce On The Menu At A Prestigious London Townhouse Event Last Night
There really is nothing better than fresh, local produce and this is, even more, the truth when in Malta. Rafel Sammut headed the kitchen brigade last night for Esquire magazine’s prestigious Esquire Townhouse event last night and brought some of Malta’s most prized dishes to life for a spread of famous heads.
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Chef Rafel Sammut, owner and head chef of Briju, delivered a gorgeous spread from the tailor-made Maltese menu
Explaining the inspiration behind his menu, Rafel informed the esteemed guests of Malta’s current fixation on importing goods and produce -resulting in the local industries suffering.
“Imported produce has taken over, so they are struggling,” Rafel says, “and this is our way of raising awareness.”
“We are doing the same thing in Malta, we’re cutting out imported produce,” echoed in Rafel’s statements on his new restaurant launch last month, where Briju’s stance is focally local, period.
Their menu for the night featured a trio of pork, sourced in Malta. Charred pumpkins, from the northern fields of Malta, crumbled with everyone’s favourite Gozitan sheep cheese – to die for.
The night was not only a chance for Rafel and his team to show off their skills with Maltese cuisine, nor was it solely to show off our amazing ingredients to the rest of the world.
This event was about proving that Maltese cuisine is capable of standing on its own two feet, and won’t be compared with countries that once influenced the islands.
Maltese cuisine is a fantastic mix of flavour and technique, many chefs back home in Malta are blending various influences from Europe and the Middle East with strong traditions of their own and the Malta Tourism Authority thought it was about time everyone knew this.
This event is just one of many of MTA’s marketing efforts in the UK, putting Malta across to an international audience on the fronts of sustainable cuisine and affordable tourism.
Furthering the identity forged through Malta’s foods, the meals themselves weren’t the only thing on offer.
Jeremy Cassar, CEO of Marsovin wines was also in attendance to provide the guests with the perfect wine pairing for each of the mouthwatering dishes.
Dining in the grand surroundings of the Music Room at Esquire Townhouse? Unforgettable. The evening sure did shape up to be a memorable evening for those at the table, who spent the night discovering Malta’s amazing food and culture.