Obsessive about extra virgin olive oil
Maurizio’s dedication to using and promoting extra virgin olive oil at La Locanda recently caught the attention of the Italian specialist olive oil publication, Oliocentrico. You can read the translated feature below…
“La Locanda” told by the chef and patron himself by Maurizio Bocchi Where: Gisburn Virtual home: lalocanda.co.uk “La Locanda” is a small family run restaurant located in the heart of Lancashire, in a small rural village, in Gisburn, a hamlet with the oldest cattle auction in England, dating back to the fourteenth century. Starting from the principle that Italian cuisine is based on simplicity, freshness and quality of ingredients, I tried to use everything that the area around my inn offered. With this logic, I was able to combine with the right coherence and harmony everything that Lancashire offered me with all the best that was possible to have from the small producers with whom I am in contact in Italy. This solution has been appreciated and recognized in all its value, so much so that “La Locanda”, in addition to being known for its authenticity in offering Italian cuisine, has also been awarded as a sign of the catering specialized in ethnic cuisine with the bronze medal at the Taste of England Awards, precisely for the use, within its own kitchen, of 85% of the products coming within the range of 20 kilometers. I am proud of this, as well as of the fact that I was the first non-English chef to be nominated “Chef Ambassador of Lancashire” for his contribution to the enhancement of the territory nationally and internationally. Not only that, I am also the first chef in England to use in a continuous and constant way, but also in an obsessive way, quality extra virgin olive oil as the main ingredient in the preparation of dishes, thus making myself a promoter and organizer of the first conference on EVOO in the UK, in 2013, in Manchester, involving British starred chefs, as well as schools, operators in the sector and the general public, hosting 34 producers from all over Italy with the patronage of the Ministry of Agriculture. This passion and obsession of mine for oil led me to review some fundamental recipes of Lancashire cuisine, introducing EVOO instead of butter.
Morecambe Bay Shrimps
in Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Ingredients
250 g Morecambe Bay cooked and peeled shrimps
250 ml “Laudato” extra virgin olive oil from Frantoio Gabrielloni
2 medium shallots, finely chopped
1 head of garlic
1g Cayenne pepper
1.5g paprika
3.5g mace or nutmeg.
Preparation
Heat a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic. Cook for a minute and add the spices. Cook for another three minutes, season with salt (preferably in flakes). Add the shrimps and mix gently, until the ingredients are incorporated together. Transfer the shrimps to jars and completely cover them with the Gabrielloni sisters’ “Laudato” extra virgin olive oil. Serve with warm croutons
