When Lorenzo’s Diner was named best Italian restaurant in Australia at the National Restaurant and Catering Awards in Sydney recently, it was not only an endorsement for restaurateur Lorenzo Pagnan, but his whole team.
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Pagnan was most excited for his young head chef, Jake Rosen, 27, after his food went up against the strongest field of restaurants in the 2013 Savour Australia Restaurant & Catering HOSTPLUS Awards for Excellence.
The annual awards are considered to be a dependable and authoritative guide to Australia’s best restaurants and caterers and are recognised as the most important and respected industry awards.
Rosen says he wasn’t expecting to win the title and was very surprised.
He only took over as head chef at the Wollongong restaurant earlier this year after being the sous chef for a year. He is fulfilling a dream of working for a chef who inspired him.
‘‘I always wanted to come and work for Lorenzo,’’ he says.
‘‘I tried a few times when I was younger but the timing was never right.’’
Now he has the opportunity he wants to make the most of it and learn as much as possible from such an experienced chef and restaurateur.
After growing up at Sandon Point, Rosen did his apprenticeship in Illawarra before heading overseas for four years.
‘‘I worked in Italy, Switzerland, France and England,’’ he said.
Rosen says he doesn’t have one particular style or signature dish but says his experience in international restaurants has helped him be recognised for his European-inspired cuisine.
‘‘Italian-French would be my style,’’ he said.
‘‘Where I was in Italy was really close to the French border. So there is a very heavy Italian influence. But...I have taken the French side on the presentation and make everything look elegant.’’
At Lorenzo’s, Rosen is largely responsible for putting the menus together and he says each one includes a mix of Italian and French influences, as well as flavours from other cultures.
‘‘They are very seasonal and I do one every six weeks. This one [which started last week] will run until Christmas, or eight weeks. We always do three entrees and three pastas so that equals a six-entree-style menu. And I always try to do a vegetarian, a fish and a meat.
‘‘I always like to hear feedback from the customers because they are what it is all about, especially in a place like this where you have a lot of regular clientele.
‘‘We want to make sure they are happy and they want to come back. That is what hospitality is about and we are in hospitality. We want to make sure everyone is happy and looked after.
‘‘I like using local products like local seafoods. I use all local suppliers, and a couple from Sydney for more European-style products.
‘‘I have a new line starting with a supplier down in Eden who has just opened up a nice seafood shop in Ulladulla and he is bringing me local produce fresh from the South Coast.’’
His team includes senior chef Luke Martin, Brooke Silk, first-year apprentice Matthew Giuliatio and Otis Wishart.
Rosen’s primary goal is to instil in his team as much pride in everything it does as possible and he says that results in consistency, which is important to keep customers satisfied.
The recent recognition and Rosen’s promotion have coincided with the introduction of a new lounge bar to complement the restaurant.
It has its own simpler menu, which flows nicely from that of the restaurant menu to make the running of the kitchen more seamless.
‘‘We just take many of the things we serve out there [the restaurant] and turn them into more of a bar-style snack,’’ he says.
‘‘On the last menu I was doing a pulled pork gnocchi and I ended up turning that into a pulled pork roll. We always use the same style of food and produce as the restaurant.’’
Pagnan says the bar allows him to give diners the option of having a few cocktails somewhere before or after their meal and creates a more relaxing atmosphere for patrons who want something different to a full restaurant experience.
‘‘What I really want in here is food you can eat either with one hand or one implement,’’ he says.
Pagnan says Rosen is a great asset to the business and he pretty much lets him run his own race.
‘‘The way we set up each menu is the way we have done it from day one and Jake has fitted into that,’’ he says.
‘‘He has obviously brought his own interpretation of things and that is good. If anything, we have become more Italian now than we were 12 months ago and I am really happy with that.’’
Pagnan and his team make a point of building relationships with their customers.
‘‘It is the little things that concrete the relationship, because it is a relationship,’’ he says.
Tagliarini all inchiostro – squid ink fresh pasta with prawns, calamari and chilli, in crustacean oil.
A selection from Lorenzo’s menu
Pane
• Bruschetta al’ aglio – two char-grilled bread slices with garlic and herbs.
• Bruschetta al pomodoro – two char-grilled bread slices (garlic and herb oil) with sliced roma tomato and basil leaves.
Primi
• Insalata caprese – buffalo mozzarella with heirloom tomato jelly, watercress and basil oil.
• Ham hock terrine with carrots, wrapped in prosciutto with mustard pickles and olive sourdough (pictured above).
• Risotto with veal stock, bone marrow and reduced marsala sauce.
• Lasagna with beetroot, goat curd and bechamel – baked layered pasta on a walnut cream sauce.
• Tagliarini all inchiostro – squid ink fresh pasta with prawns, calamari and chilli, in crustacean oil.
Secondi
• Cape Grim fillet (pasture-fed) with potato sarladaise roasted baby turnips and port jus.
• Cardamom-spiced chicken kiev with sweet corn croquette, poached leeks and chicken sauce.
• Lamb rump and backstrap with frizzy endive, grilled pear and goats cheese sala.
• Vitello al forno – roasted veal loin wrapped in prosciutto with peas, eschallots and asparagus cooked with pancetta.
• Pork loin cutlet on pickled red cabbage, apple and raisin compote with mustard seed jus.
Dolci
• Torta di Verona, toasted almond flakes.
• Lime pannacotta with spiced pineapple and coconut.
• White chocolate and macadamia nut brownie, mixed berries sorbet.
Lorenzo’s Diner, 119 Keira Street, Wollongong, phone 42295633.