Leonardo Greco reveals how he wanted to deliver more with his first restaurant

 

SWINDON must hold some sort of record for the highest number of Italian eateries per head of population.

You simply can't take more than 20 steps without walking straight into a ristorante sign, dodging a pizzeria sandwich board or chancing upon a trattoria.

Only a chef on the wrong side of doolally would willingly pour his life's savings into yet another Neapolitan restaurant in the South West's own Little Italy, surely?

Well, Leonardo Greco, the man behind the new Leonardo Ristorantino had a plan to set his establishment apart from the herd. He would move heaven and earth if necessary (or travel to Manchester as it happened) to get his hands on the Holy Grail of Italian cuisine: the dry shells and strips spoken of in hushed and reverent tones in kitchens the world over, pasta di Gragnano.

"I knew what everyone else was doing and we couldn't just be another Italian restaurant in Swindon - we had to be different," says the 36-year-old chef, originally from Calabria in Southern Italy. "We had to give people better quality, and flavours. I knew about Gragnano; I had tried it back home but I'd never cooked it before. So we ordered and tried making it and it was fantastic."

Pasta has been made in Italy for thousands of years. The Romans called it laganum and the Arabs, who conquered the Italian south in the 9th century, itriyya. But it was not until the 16th century in Grangano near Naples that pasta became an industrial product. There were some setbacks along the way (famine, drought, and epidemics in the area each played their part), but by the 18th century, pasta di Gragnano began to travel beyond Campania’s borders to other parts of Italy. It did not take long for pasta to emerge as the country's signature dish.

Pasta di Gragnano is poles apart from the bog standard supermarket spaghetti or penne. To be granted the appellation the pasta must be produced in a legally defined area in and around the Bay of Naples. It is prepared by mixing durum wheat with the calcium poor water of the Monti Lattari. The dough is forced through rough bronze shapes and dried at low temperatures in the mountain air. The result is pasta with a suitably coarse surface able to absorb the flavour and liquid of the sauce in which it is cooked.

Conveniently, Leonardo and manager Rodney Diaz Gonzalez found a distributor in Manchester.

As far as they are aware Leonardo Ristorantino is the only place in Swindon serving the coveted Gragnano delicacy.

"People can taste the difference," says Rodney with a smile. "It's more expensive but it's so much better. When it cooks it doesn't dry and you could leave it for two hours and the texture would still be aldente."

Starting at the bottom as a dishwasher only to rise through the tight hierarchy of his native Italy's restaurants, Leonardo worked in Luxembourg for a spell before relocating to Swindon in 1998 and honing his technique at an impressive number of the town's Italian restaurants including Il Capricorno, Bottelino's, Fratello's and La Carbonara.

Harbouring ambitions of heading up his own restaurant, he swooped in when Rodizio do Brazil closed its doors earlier this year and assembled an international team, recruiting a Brazilian chef, Rodrigo Borges as his right-hand man and a Cuban manager.

Despite their distinct backgrounds, their passion for Italian gastronomy unites them.

Like most in the industry Rodrigo had heard tales of the elusive pasta di Gragnano but his first taste of the "Champagne of pasta" was in Leonardo's kitchen putting the final touches to the Campania-inspired menu.

"It changes everything when you try it," beams the 34-year-old who has totted up stints at Fabio's, Il Capricorno and La Dolce Vita since making Swindon his permanent home in 1999. "I'm so happy when people say they've never tasted anything like that before."

But it's not all about the pasta at Leonardo's. From meats to fish and seafood, the restaurant aims to put a fresh twist on classics.

"It's traditional dishes that have been tried and tested in the UK but we make them differently," says Rodney with a hint of pride. "We do deep fried mushrooms like other restaurants but instead of filling them with cheese we do it with cream of prawns. We also do seabass and scallops. We didn't want to come here and just sell Carbonara or Bolognese."

Rodrigo adds: "It's all cooked fresh, fresh, fresh. We are a smaller restaurant so we have time to make everything to order. Where I worked before you had to do everything so fast you didn't have time. I use my heart and passion and I can do my best now."

While the early days were tentative with many oblivious customers tripping up the stairs to the snug eatery still expecting to find a Brazilian all-you-can-eat Churrascaria in its place, word of mouth seems to have drawn a new crowd. Now foodies are knowingly trekking up the narrow steps.

"It's my first restaurant and I was nervous," admits Leonardo. "It's a responsibility. I'm not working behind someone else’s name anymore.

"We are trying something different. We've had compliments from the customers, they are starting to come back and that's the best part for me."

Leonardo Ristorantino is located at 188-189 Victoria Road, SN1 3DF. For more information or to make a reservation call 01793 490151, email info@leonardo-ristorantino.co.uk or visit www.leonardo-ristorantino.co.uk.