‘People come looking for Paolo’s,’ Paolo sighs, settling back into his chair. ‘They see the restaurant is now called Camerino’s and walk on by. Many end up in Da Paolo’s down the road. Nothing to do with us’ He shakes his head and spreads his arms theatrically. You could say it’s his own fault, but perhaps not to his face. Changing the name of a very successful restaurant is bound to be risky, but aside from the odd confused customer going to the wrong restaurant the transformation has been a success. From being a great restaurant bearing the name of its owner it has become simply a great restaurant. Under its new name Camerino’s it is always busy and, word has it, very popular with the theatrical crowd. ‘Yes,’ grins Paolo, ‘we see a lot of celebrities, big names but here they know they get the peace to eat. It’s a friendly neighbourhood restaurant. No one is going to be so rude as to point and stare.’
It’s also an Italian restaurant, with a menu that’s a serious cut above the Trattoria food found all over Soho. Responsible for that is Head Chef is Valerio Doras who comes from the Veneto region of Italy, one with its very own and unique food culture. He’s just come up from the kitchen to have a chat, in the company of boss Paolo, who is also doing a bit of translating for us as Valerio’s English is a bit sketchy. That plus the remains of a lunchtime office Xmas party still carousing at 3pm makes conversation tricky. ‘How old are you?’ I ask Valerio as something of an opening gambit. ‘Italy,’ he replies. So we’re off to a flying start.
Toying idly with his coffee cup Valerio offers a brief background for himself. ‘I come from an area north of Venice,’ he tells me, ‘it’s a traditional area for cookery and game cooking is particularly popular with plenty of venison and wild boar plus there is lots of bean soups and gnocchi with cheese. Real filling food because you know it is cold there, all the time,’ he laughs fondly. ‘I came to London in 1995 to experience new things,’ he explains. ‘In Italy it was not stretching me enough cooking wise and of course it is seasonal, so for many months a year the restaurants in the area were quiet and there was almost nothing to do. A friend was working here in London and he told me to come over and that there was no shortage of work.’
‘Of course the majority of Italian restaurants here were all much the same, he continues. ‘I went to work at Locatelli but even then the standard was higher. Giorgio Locatelli was a chef who inspired me and I saw how he adapted his cooking by bringing in influences from other cultures.’ At Locatelli Valerio rose in a traditional way from the bottom to near the top in relatively few years before leaving to work at the then Paolo’s. Unlike so many chefs he has remained pretty much in one place and he is happy about that. ‘ Some owners have fixed ideas, fixed menus and they don’t want change. That isn’t the case here, Paolo is very open to change, to evolution and he trusts and supports his people. If that wasn’t the case I would not have worked here so long, it is a good partnership. Front of house and kitchen working together to create a good experience for the guests.’ Paolo across the table nods solemnly at this.
So what changed when Paolo’s became Camerino’s? ‘When we became Camerino’s we moved to a more seasonal menu,‘ Valerio says. ‘Paolo and I go to the markets every day to see what is fresh in and what is exciting. It means being at the fish market at 5 am, but that’s how it has to be if you want the best,’ he shrugs cheerfully catching Paolo’s eye who shrugs back, admitting the truth of the matter, which is that quality needs dedication. ‘It is so vital,’ he continues warming to his theme, ‘ you see the product, you handle it and if it’s no good you don’t buy it. Simple. If it’s a supplier coming in well, you can tell him that the product is not up to your standard but if you reject it then you have no product! Far better to have a choice and to decide what is good for ‘my kitchen’.’
Valerio is also a keen fan of our local produce, not for him sourcing ingredients from halfway around the globe. ‘The salads, the meats everything is from the UK, even the mushrooms the porcini which I can get from the New Forest and they are excellent and, of course, fantastic Welsh lamb and right now English lobster is just the best. I would rather not have it on the menu if it’s not available locally and fresh’ Of course, as he points out, some ingredients have to be brought in, such as white truffles, but overall the philosophy is to use what is local and least travelled and amending classic dishes to do that is quite acceptable. And as Valerio is keen to point out when it comes to fish he lets the market decide, basing the day’s specials on what he sees on the day.
For the specialities they rely on a trusted supplier who brings them a shortlist of what he as sourced, such as the best vinegars, oils and other items. ‘This is so helpful,’ Valerio says, ‘his judgement is excellent and all I have to do is pick my personal preference.’
And unlike some places, Camerino’s does not use dried pasta. ‘Oh no, ‘ says Valerio pursing his lips, ‘pasta, bread, breadsticks it’s all made here in the kitchen.’ You must have a lot of staff, I suggest. ‘No, no I do it myself! I work hard,’ he laughs, ‘I have four people in the kitchen and I have some machines like the pasta rollers and the vacuum cookers and the ‘food blaster’ which does it a lot of work making sauces. It gives me more time but it doesn’t replace my or my team’s skills. They do the donkey work and also maintain, in the case of the chill blaster, a good germ-free production environment.’
With its exotic décor, charming personal service from the ebullient Paolo and, of course Valerio’s excellent cooking, Camerino’s is that kind of ‘neighbourhood’ restaurant you always want to find but seldom do.
