The Italians know something. It is not something that is finger-put-on-able, nor is it easy to define. It’s got to do with lifestyle and most people who've visited the country on holidays find themselves agreeing; Italians do lifestyle, they just do it better. For example, Italian men indulge heartily in both food and fashion without losing an ounce of their macho credibility (Italian football anyone? ).
Typical of the breed is Fabiano Mulas who, along with his business partner Paolo Sabatini, runs two Basilico restaurants in Oranmore and Clarinbridge. Employing a total of 40 staff between administrative, front of house and kitchen Fabiano appears completely unfazed by the responsibility, “If you love food like we do the work is a pleasure', he says.
Fabiano met his Irish wife, Valerie, in London and the couple spent some time in his home country, Sardinia, before arriving in Ireland in 2004 to manage the Osteria Da Roberto in Salthill. Four years later he and Paolo were ready to go it alone and heard about the an existing restaurant in Oranmore, attached to the Coach House Hotel, that was in need of new management. “We liked what we saw straight away and could see huge potential in the building,” he says. So a deal was struck and four years, and plenty of hard work later, the Basilico Restaurant, with its homely and somewhat exotic atmosphere is the result.
Again, typically, it was Fabiano's Italian mama who laid the foundations for his future profession: She grows her own vegetables and raises chickens and rabbits for the pot in their farm in the hills of Sardinia, while his father supplies the wine from his own small vineyard. Not to be outdone, Fabiano has plans to begin supplying his own restaurants with fresh produce, such as tomatoes, peppers and aubergines from poly-tunnels in the near future. When I enquire where he will find the time the answer could almost be predicted; 'When it comes to food nothing is too much trouble' he says.
So what about his clients? “Eighty per cent of our customers are Irish and we keep seeing the same people coming back again and again, so we must be doing something right. Irish people, especially the women, are very adventurous in their tastes these days, so we are forever experimenting with new dishes and trying out new ingredients. Luckily they have stuck with us throughout the adventure”, he says. Among the highlights are a venison casserole that will have you drooling and a range of fresh fish dishes that evoke the Mediterranean lifestyle like nothing else can.
And if all that wasn't enough Fabiano is an accomplished landscape artist whose paintings of Sardinia adorn the restaurant walls, transporting the diner to the secluded nooks and crannies of his native country and making you want to jump on the next available flight (after you've finished your meal of course ).
So, if it is true that Italian's “know something” then what is it, and are there any lessons to be learned for these straitened time we live in? Well for Fabiano Mulas it's that an appreciation of food is so central to our well-being that to be involved in its preparation and presentation is almost a spiritual act, one associated to home, hearth, health and happiness. From that point of view, as Fabiano attempts to create a little flavour of the Mediterranean in the villages of Oranmore and Clarinbridge, he already has a more than receptive following among the locals who have adopted him.
For further information and a weekly food blog check out the website at : www.basilicorestaurant.ie
