The Taste of Something New

Interview with

Steve Vella,

Head Chef at Lord Nelson

In a recent interview with Forbes, Chef Carrie Nahabedian commented, “To stay relevant, you must challenge yourself, your team and this inspires the entire restaurant to be sharp. Change is what keeps clients coming back.” Indeed, Chef Steve Vella felt it was time for a change in Lord Nelson’s menu. It was a time for him and his team to develop a new menu which will challenge the taste buds of local and foreign food enthusiasts. His selection of new delicacies are impressive and reflect his rich culinary background. Each plate is an appreciation of local produce which is presented in various forms and with different combinations. The detail in each plate is breathtaking and highlights the complexity of tastes in each concept presented. Notwithstanding a very busy agenda, Steve took some time off to take us through the new menu and why it is worth a try.

What’s the key to reinvent an already popular menu?

Here at the Lord Nelson Restaurant, we are very much in touch with our roots; what makes the restaurant what it is today, our values, and essentially, our drive for creating something innovative yet delicious and exciting. We adhere to our core value of using only the freshest ingredients depending on what’s in season. In this way our patrons can rest assured that whatever their choice of dish is, they will be getting something that has been passionately thought over and created with the specific ingredients in mind. The ingredients themselves, together with our creativity and thirst for going that step further to create something unique, gives the dishes in our menu a sophisticated twist.

With which new ideas has the Lord Nelson’s menu been enriched?

The unique infusion of flavours and techniques which we use in our dishes is something we always pride ourselves with. Personally, flavour and technique play an essential role in the exciting process of coming up with a new menu every season. Take our Beetroot Spaghetti for example, the process involved to create this tasty delicacy is arduous but equally rewarding. The beetroot is first salt baked and turned into a fine purée. This is then mixed with dough made from flour to create the final spaghetti-like result. Also, when it comes to dietary restrictions, such as being vegan or vegetarian, one needs to go that step further and think outside of the box in

order to create unique dishes equally tantalising without compromising on taste or innovation; such as the rosemary polenta.

What are the ingredients that you will be focusing on?

Our spring/summer time menu tends to be lighter and more refreshing as opposed to the winter menu. Our new menu includes more varieties of fruit and vegetables, such as the sweet and crisp flavours in rhubarb or different types of potatoes. It is important to strike a balance between the more rich and hearty dishes we have in winter and lighter and cooler dishes in summer. What makes your new menu stand out of the crowd?

We thrive off the thrill from creating new dishes, using ingredients otherwise unthought of combining! By combining these unusual ingredients, the resulting innovative dishes set us apart from other restaurants. For example, one of our best loved dishes, the Pan-fried duck breast, is cooked and served with dates, anisette and pickled fennel, a mixture of ingredients not usually associated with this dish, yet works delightfully with the palate.

Does summer fit in any way in your new menu?

We have some exciting ideas up our sleeve for the summer season and we can’t wait for our customers to try them out! Some of our favourite summer staple ingredients will be on the list, including the fresh, butter-soft burrata cheese, as well as a nice infusion of seabass and prawn to tickle your fancy! And what’s summer without some delicious and intricate ice-cream-based deserts to close of a wonderful meal!?

Any recommendation from the menu for a fresh summer dinner?

I would recommend the Haddock which is poached and torched served with chorizo froth, crispy chorizo, puffed black rice together with guacamole purée. The chorizo gives the dish abundant flavour which goes down exquisitely with the Haddock while the guacamole purée gives the whole dish a fresh and crisp taste perfect for those warm summer days! Paolo Bonnici Ltd Marsa Tel: +356 21239363

www.paolobonnici.com.mt