9 hours Ago
Fermento Contemporary Pizzeria was opened on Eastern Esplanade at the start of December by brothers Luigi and Marco Labate and close friend Gino Chirchiano. “We’re a new, fresh business and for our numbers to keep going up feels like a really good thing,” said co-founder and head chef Luigi. “I’m really enjoying talking with all of the customers because they’re so interested, asking for technical information about the pizzas and really enjoying finding out about the stories behind the recipes.
” Luigi has worked in some of Southend’s top restaurants, including a period as head pizza chef at the Roslin Beach Hotel. When he opened Fermento in December, the innovative restaurateur devised a menu packed full of classic dishes and “innovative” pizzas. In the three months since, Luigi has seen his creations go down a treat with his diners.
“It’s exactly how we expected it to be, and we’re having success with our more interesting pizzas too. “We’ve got one with chestnut sauce, another with basil bechamel sauce and even a carbonara pizza,” he said. For Luigi, pizza is a self-described “passion project” and he spends hours reading about the history and science behind the iconic dish.
He’s planning to keep the restaurant’s offerings fresh with an ever-changing seasonal menu, which he hopes will enable his guests to discover all new flavours. Luigi said: “By the end of March we should have our new spring menu, and are currently looking at what sort of dishes we put on there. “One of the new things that will be included in the menu is a pizza that captures the exact flavour of one of my mum’s famous pasta dishes.
“When she visited for our opening she couldn’t believe that we had replicated the flavour and she didn’t know how we’d done it. “I told her, it’s because I’m a chef!”.
