02-07-2018
The brigade that cooked a couple of weeks ago at Verdala Palace in Malta. This was a preview of Mark Weingard’s restaurant Esenzi, inside Iniala. The resort is to open in January 2019. Tim Butler (third from the left) is the American chef from restaurant Eat Me in Bangkok, 33rd in the 50Best Asia, and at Iniala hotel in Phuket, also in Thailand
We first visited Malta in September 2007. A few months after it entered the European Union, the gastronomic scene of the archipelago was still as arid as most of its land: patrons on the islands were too busy stuffing the teenage students who came here to study English. Or preparing mushed food that would suit the elderly’s teeth.
The wine industry was livelier, with a small group of producers – led by Meridana Wines, recently acquired by the Antinori family – who started to break the traditional lack of interest of the British for a product whose regulations, until not too many years ago, admitted the use of coloured paper to add white or red nuances.
The most interesting restaurant, among those that have started to liven up Malta over the past decade, is still to open. This will happen in January, on the edge of the fortifications of Valletta, a scenic view of the port and of Fort Saint Angelo opposite. This was a strong desire of Mark Weingard, a British entrepreneur with a film-like life. He survived three of the most tragic episodes of the past 20 years: 9/11 in New York, the 2002 bomb in Bali, the 2004 tsunami in the Pacific Ocean. In the attack in Indonesia, however, he lost his fiancée Annika Linden. The episode inspired Weingard to become a philanthropist, funding different organisations including the Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation, and an endless list of admirable projects.
Patron Mark Weingard with renderings of the project, still a building site. Behind him, Fort Saint Angelo
The future façade of the Iniala hotel, the location of restaurant Esenzi
The view from the back of the hotel
Butler, from Portland, in Maine, recently turned 40. Before arriving in Asia, he learnt the ropes in some of the most iconic restaurants in his country, fromMarcus Samuelsson’s Aquavit to Italian Michael Cimarusti’s Providence in Los Angeles, as well as Daniel Bouloud’s Daniel and Alto, in the Big Apple. Here he met his wife to be, from Thailand, and that’s why he decided to move to another continent 12 years ago.
Eat me is an imperative that perfectly fits the dishes served at the restaurant on Thanom Silom in Bangkok. They serve as many as 150 guests per day, which is remarkable given they’re only open in the evening. The place explores Thai raw materials, while using techniques and other ingredients from the rest of the world. The food at Esenzi in Malta will also be glocal, as we found out during a preview-dinner served at Verdala Palace, the summer residence of the president of Malta Marie Louise Coleiro Preca.
The table set at Verdala Palace
Chef Tim Butler, 40
Bretton Fabien Etienne, sommelier
To delight the future 40 guests, Butler is networking with fishermen and most of all farmers on Malta, which traditionally stands out more for its vegetable and meat recipes than for its seafood. Once a month, he’ll come to direct executive chef John Becker, who will stay here for 12 months in a row.
Oyster with sake ice, lime and coriander, a dish by Butler in the menu in Bangkok and, as of January, also available in Malta
Squid with brandade, bellota chorizo and piperade, a dish prepared at the preview dinner a couple of weeks ago
Of course there’s an Italian influence: Orecchiette with blue lobster, 'nduja and Thai chili
Orthodoxy and natural wine will coexist in a wine list of the restaurant which, as Weingard admitted, aims to get into the «World’s 50Best in five years’ time». Were this to happen in Malta, it would be exceptional.
Translated into English by Slawka G. Scarso
Gabriele Zanatta’s opinion: on establishments, chefs and trends in Italy and the world
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born in Milan, 1973, freelance journalist, coordinator of Identità Golose World restaurant guidebook since 2007, he is a contributor for several magazines and teaches History of gastronomy and Culinary global trends into universities and institutes. twitter @gabrielezanatt instagram @gabrielezanatt