An Italian affair with Theo Randall and Piacere Modena

Showcasing his cuisine and products from the Italian city of Modena, Chef Theo Randall and Piacere Modena team up for an Italian feast at his London restaurant within the InterContinental Hotel.

A chunk of tomato just fell out of my mouth and onto my plate in front of everyone at the table. What a great first impression. I’m at Theo Randall’s restaurant in London’s InterContinental Hotel in Park Lane, sitting at the private dinner table with Piacere Modena ambassadors and more experienced London press. Thankfully, everyone’s distracted, except the journalist diagonally across from me, who noticed and gave me a “you fucked up, but we’ll keep it between us” look before digging back into the tomato-stacked bruschetta. 

I’d never heard of Theo Randall until I got the email about this dinner. He’s an English chef who specialises in Italian cuisine and gained a Michelin star during his time at The River Cafe in west London. Tonight, he’s prepared an Italian dinner using a spread of PDO and PGI Italian products thanks to Piacere Modena, a conglomerate of Italian producers and ambassadors who aim to protect these products. PDO, or Protected Designation of Origin, indicates that the quality of the products is exclusive to the territory where they’re made, whereas PGI, Protected Geographical Indication, signifies that the characteristics of the product depend on its geographical origin.

“It’s an honour for a non-Italian chef that cooks Italian food to be showing off and promoting these wonderful products,” Randall says, taking a moment out of the kitchen for a quick chat. “The Piacere Modena consortium is great, so this feels really special. We do a monthly regional menu at the InterContinental, so I’m learning all the time, discovering different regions. Tonight’s event shows Piacere Modena’s quality of ingredients. The region, Emilia-Romagna, is just rich with incredible things and the greatest number of PDO products in Italy.”

Guests were escorted to the restaurant’s private dining room and greeted with glasses of Lambrusco (PDO), prosciutto di Modena (PDO)  and a giant, gorgeous wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano (PDO) parmesan. 

After intros, some small talk, and a welcome speech from the VP of Piacere Modena, Claudio Guidetti, we dive into that tomato bruschetta, a simple and impressive starter, and a peek of the dinner to come.

The first dish, a light salad with thinly sliced courgette, rocket, parmesan, prosciutto and gnocco fritto – thin, fried, crispy Italian bread strips, similar to those wonton strips served at American Chinese restaurants, but better. 

Up next, three walnut-sized tortelloni stuffed with as much ricotta and spinach as possible, with a rich sage butter sauce. It was already a hit, but then Chiara, one of Modena’s friendly representatives, recommended adding a 12-year-old balsamic vinegar (PDO) drizzle to cut through the richness. What a small, but transformative, ridiculously fucking good addition. 

“Why did I eat lunch?,” asks a guest at the other end.

Then, tender guineafowls stuffed with Cotechino (PGI), an Italian pork sausage, hit the table, served over greens, carrots, turnips, salsify and leeks, and a sweet, light sauce. This is my first time tasting both guinea and cotechino and goddamn it’s good. So good, that a week after this dinner, as I currently edit – I stilI regret not clearing the plate. 

“Cotechino’s got so much flavour. When I tasted it with the guineafowl, it just worked so nicely. We then made a sauce with the Lambrusco which gave a subtle sweetness, and it worked with the vegetables, which were all braised with the balsamic. It’s almost like an agrodolce combination, which I love,” says Randall.

But alas, I needed room for dessert –  a rich, glorious torta Barozzi (like an Italian chocolate cake made with coffee and rum) with a scoop of ice cream and a handful of bold-red Vignolo cherries (PGI).

“The staff were fighting for these in the back”, Randall laughs while explaining the dish. 

For a second, the table is silent as each of us take a forkful of torta and ice cream, then pop one of those plump, red suckers in our mouths. Together, it’s a combination of cold, sweet, rich, juicy tanginess – a phenomenal finale to an already delicious and educational evening, and the final sign that I’ll be to walking some of this off on the way home.

“For me, Italian food is just a love affair that keeps getting stronger,” Randall says before I leave. “I just love Italy, and I love Italians and their whole philosophy of life. I don’t have an Italian bone in my body, but I’ll always say I have an Italian soul.”

To book, visit www.theorandall.com.
Theo Randall at the InterContinental is located at 1 Hamilton Place, Park Lane, London, W1J 7QY

To learn more about Piacere Modena and its products, visit www.piaceremodena.it