Boboli is Getting Ready to Open!

Dear Wonderful Friends and Supporters of The Lighthouse and Boboli,
 
To say we are thrilled, relieved and over the moon at the Government’s recent announcement is an understatement . . . we cannot wait to get back to operating our wonderful restaurants.
 
Those of you who follow our progress and antics on social media will know that we have been keeping ourselves very busy.  

We are proud that we have managed to look after our team over this difficult time. Now, we are working hard to do our best as we proceed with this tricky period of starting back to work.  We will be training our staff so that we are all completely on the ball with regards to the regimes and requirements of us as service providers, ensuring that we are creating a safe and comfortable environment for both you, our lovely customers, and our staff alike.
 
Since May, we have been running a takeaway service out of Boboli.  This has been so well received and successful that we believe there will continue to be a need for this even after we reopen fully as a restaurant.  

There are still some essential works to be completed at Boboli before we can fling open the doors again.  So, our plan is to reopen Boboli on Thursday, 30th July and move the takeaway service to The Lighthouse. 
 
We feel that it will be too much to operate two outlets simultaneously under the new guidelines. The Lighthouse is a smaller space and will be more difficult to run whilst trying to observe social distancing etc.
 
There will be some of you who are, perhaps, not yet ready to eat out in a public environment, we'll therefore still able to provide for those people with takeaway from The Lighthouse, as well as serving those who are more comfortable with the dining out experience at Boboli . . .  so, we can look after all your needs . . . simples! 
 
In brief, we are here and cannot wait to see you all in whatever form it takes . . . at the table or via takeaway.
 
We’re not yet sure how the timings of bookings will work and exactly how many tables we will have, so if you would like to make a booking at Boboli, please email us and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

Ciao for now!

Sarah & Lino x

Passion for Pizza

Lino and I love to watch The Netflix series ‘Chef’s Table’; one episode in particular sought out the origins of pizza . . .  some people profess they come from the good old of US of A, even Dean Martin sings of a “Big Pizza Pie”. . . and that’s amore!!!

According to Italians, pizza originated in Napoli and Calabria, I dare you to argue the toss! 

And then there’s the argument of the toppings: what belongs and what doesn’t!

Pepperoni Pizza boasts spicy sausage on it, but pepperoni in this sense is an American spicy sausage. In Italy, pepperoni is a hot chilli pepper . . . there is not a sausage or salami called pepperoni in Italy, only in America.

At Boboli we have a much favoured Pizza, the Testa Rossa, our own version, with Salsiccia Picante, onions and chillies - very hot and spicy!!!

As for Hawaiian pizza, with pineapple and such, we dare not mention this in Lino’s presence, our chefs still share a joke over the time Freddie produced a Hawaiian version for Chef, and he jumped on it!!!! Not his favourite pizza at all!  

In our beloved Italy, I was amused to see the wurst sausage making an appearance atop a pizza, along with chips too! Even pasta Carbonara has been known to delicately arrange itself on a bed of dough!

In the end it’s all down to personal interpretations, taste and flights of fancy.  Lino endeavours to offer something genuine with the odd twist of fantasy, of course all based on wonderfully fresh ingredients and our own home-made pizza dough made with Sharpham Park spelt flour.

A Question of Flour, A Question of Dough . . .

If you chance upon Boboli Italian Restaurant first thing in the morning, not only will you find ‘Perfetto Caffe Italiano’, beautiful Biscotti and yummy Brownies, but also the chef busily preparing our pizza dough.

Did you know we make it fresh every day, from scratch? And in our efforts to keep it better than the rest we proudly use Spelt Flour from the renown Sharpham Park, who boast that they are the champions of British Spelt, and we certainly love the results. It really does produce a super tasty, healthy and organic dough, which in turn results in fabulously flavoured pizzas topped with our delicious ingredients. How can you resist?

Boboli bread is made from the same dough, giving it a yummy nutty kind of flavour, it really is something else!

The topping on the cake has to be our lunchtime Piadini; a pizza pocket of a sandwich, but oh so much more, stuffed with delicious fillings and accompanied by healthy mixed leaves and/or naughty fries.

From field, to flour, to Boboli. The best dough, the best pizza, the best bread, all on our doorstep!

Thanks to Sharpham Park, Lino and our clever chefs!

A presto,

Sarah x

Mirror Mirror On The Wall, Who Is the Best Restaurant of them All?

As The Good Food Guide launches it’s search for the Best Local Restaurant 2019, and chefs are set to flex their culinary muscles, I can’t help but wonder who decides and how they decide, or even how we decide who is the best restaurant.

In today’s culture we are all encouraged to be critics and the bitter truth is that critics thrive on the negative, it’s so much more fun to write and to read!

But what is it that the restaurateur seeks? Do we chase the stars and hanker after the accolades that may be bestowed upon us by the critics and the guides, or do we keep our heads down, focus on the quality, look after our customers and hope that the rest will follow?

We restaurateurs love to receive praise and recognition for our efforts but who knows the criteria that earns us the title of the Best!

Best Italian? Best Indian? Best Chinese? Best Seafood? In Kibworth, Market Harborough, Leicester or anywhere?

Is it about well-informed service with a smile, the well-researched wine list or the carefully planned menus featuring firm favourites as well as the extraordinary and creative?

Perhaps a combo of all of the above.

Of the guides and critics, we could wax lyrical for hours, but it is really the approval of our customers we most seek. Your recommendations are what really make the difference; it’s not about jumping through hoops to please the powers that be, but pleasing you, the diner, who lives down the road, and visits because you want to, because you like what we do.

The truth will out when the results are published, in the meantime we promise to do our best to be the best we can be to you and yours when you visit.

You can get involved in the selection process here.

A presto,

Sarah x