Restaurant Review - Essay Example

Boiled, Baked or Fried: The Kings and Queens of Hampton Court BY YOU Ambiance, glamour, and Italian-style hospitality. There are no better words to describe the charm and sophistication of Square Olive Italian Restaurant. Situated in a brilliant location near the river opposite the Hampton Court Palace sits an eatery with all of the flair of fine dining and the hospitality services of a comfortable family business. Opened in July of 2011, Square Olive Restaurant provides creative Italian cuisine developed by Executive Chef Carmine Ciampoli, with many of the quality food ingredients sourced directly from Italy. From the restaurant’s innovative entrees with porcini mushrooms, truffles and buffalo mozzarella, this impressive eatery provides a total Italian experience that will leave diners pleading for more. The décor and atmosphere of Square Olive is chic and fashionable, adorned with a blend of contemporary furnishings blended superbly with old-world Italian charm. It has become a fashionable hot-spot for tourists and hip local residents for its formality and dedication to old-world Italian cuisine. Square Olive also boasts a modern lung bar, a place to relax and unwind with friends or business colleagues in a less formal environment for those who appreciate a calmer and less starched atmosphere. Offering a wide variety of alcohol products and innovative Italian-style cocktails, Square Olive has something for everyone. Square Olive eatery provides cookery classes to the general public at a reasonable price, only £25 per head at a maximum of four people, providing quality meal preparation as a means to inspire attendees to savor the Italian experience right in their own kitchens. The reviewer in this article personally attended a cookery seminar with Executive Chef Carmine Ciampoli to experience the Square Olive sensation and learn about Italian-style cuisine from a master. Ciampoli first made introduction with the group, identifying the preparations required to produce fresh ravioli. The chef went through, in detail, the recipes, ingredients and measurements required after handing out aprons. The team was ready to make pasta! After combining the basic ingredients, Ciampoli offered two options for innovative fillings: pumpkin or spinach. The chef attempted to create an atmosphere of teamwork and democracy between all members, making the experience much like that of a family unit with inter-group discussion the focus of the cooking experience. Unanimously, the team decided on pumpkin and set about the task of filling the dough on the pasta sheets. The team discovered that in order to create beautiful and eye-catching ravioli, filling should be shaped into a uniform size. Ciampoli demonstrated the use of a shot glass to shape the dumpling figures by first laying it around the filling without having to cut through the pasta dough – instead shaping the ravioli. Throughout the entire experience of making fresh pasta, the executive chef identified Square Olive tricks of the trade to make the cookery experience more practical and by offering methods to make Italian cooking simple for even the most novice at-home chef. Ciampoli’s style of presentation and instruction was top-notch and made the group experience both rewarding and satisfying for those who appreciate homemade meals without a great deal of hassle or disorder. To the surprise of most of the class, the process of creating and filling pasta, due to Ciampoli’s excellent short-cut philosophies, was much easier to manage than expected and thus inspired this reviewer (and others) to inquire about other dishes the executive chef could make simple for even the most novice at-home chef. The Square Olive cookery class was well worth the small price tag of only £25 and would be a welcome experience for small or larger groups of four. Ciampoli, despite his effort to create group harmony, served as a formal representative of the entire Square Olive dining experience with the type of flair and panache one would expect from an Italian-cuisine master. Ciampoli reinforced that cooking is a total mind and body experience, not just about the ingredients and processes involved. By performing the cooking class within Square Olive, students were able to take in the décor and ambiance that would be expected during a dining or social experience at the eatery. It is not often that residents are given a tour of such a remarkable kitchen and given such high-praised attentive service prior to sampling the eatery’s tempting menu offerings. Simply for the experience of witnessing a professional chef in his most comfortable environment, the kitchen, the cookery class was well worth the time and investment to create stunning Italian pasta dishes. The Square Olive cooking classes take place every first and third Tuesday of the month and it is highly recommended that all residents in Hampton Court, and even outside of the local area, make time in their busy schedules to attend class and meet Carmine Ciampoli. This executive chef was both inspiring and humorous, creating an atmosphere that was stimulating and enjoyable for not only his excellent teaching prowess, but for his ability to draw in the students and make them feel right at home at Square Olive. After sampling our ravioli dishes we had prepared, every student in the cookery class was in an uproar in a sort of uncontrolled frenzy about trying the many different dishes offered at the eatery. If not only for the promotional angle of the cookery class as a quality advertisement for Square Olive, the cookery class brought a little of Italy into the hearts and minds of those who attended the seminar. Square Olive allows experienced and beginner chefs the experience of fine Italian cuisine at rock-bottom pricing. Situated across from the luxurious Hampton Court Palace, Square One provides both aesthetics and charm in an environment that serves both the casual and formal diner with all of the finesse of a well-constructed business model that exceeds in style and elegance. Square Olive and its proximity to the Hampton Court Palace with a stunning river view allowed all of the cookery class students to become kings and queens for a day and enjoy a bit of Italy with the reward of our own fingertips. Meeting face to face with Carmine Ciampoli should be on the top of every resident’s priority list. Read More