An award-winning restaurant is celebrating 20 years of serving authentic Italian cuisine to the residents of East Lancashire and beyond.
Nestled in the village of Gisburn in the heart of the Ribble Valley sits La Locanda; a cosy cottage restaurant, full of original, rustic charm.
And this Christmas La Locanda owners Chef Maurizio Bocchi with his wife Cinzia are celebrating as they mark the restaurant’s 20th anniversary.
Head chef and Lancashire taste ambassador Maurizio was born and grew up on the banks of Lake Maggiore in northern Italy.
Here, he cultivated his passion for good food and traditional ingredients – foraging for chestnuts and mushrooms on woodland walks with his grandmother, and helping his mother, who every morning would knead the flour from the local mill and collect eggs from the hen house to prepare fresh pasta for lunch.
As a young couple, Maurizio and Cinzia moved to Lancashire in 1996 where Maurizio had the opportunity to further his education at Myerscough College in Garstang and advance his career at Carlo’s in Colne.
With the ultimate dream of owning their own restaurant, a walk in Whalley past an estate agent window would be where they first spotted their La Locanda. After extensive renovations, Maurizio and Cinzia opened La Locanda’s doors in 2003.
Today, its menu of handcrafted, authentic dishes showcase wonderful Lancashire produce along with the very best Italy has to offer.
Maurizio said: “For 20 years, my promise has been to create and serve a menu of Italian dishes passed down through generations to allow our lovely customers to immerse themselves into a truly Italian mealtime experience; giving a flavour of the culture, heritage, tradition and hospitality of the place we are so proud to call our home.”
Tom Pridmore, tourism officer at Ribble Valley Council, said: “The Ribble Valley is home to many award winning restaurants and, for 20 years, La Locanda has been providing truly unique culinary experiences with the finest authentic Italian food, served in a most charming venue.
“Twenty years of excellence, borne out of hard work and dedication. We feel proud to have La Locanda in the Ribble Valley.”
Regular diners Joan and Gerald Dickinson said: “Over the past 18 years wonderful memories have been, and are still being made at La Locanda - serving award winning Italian food where you are received and greeted with a very warm Italian welcome.
“Thank you to two wonderful people, Cinzia and Maurizio for bringing a taste of Italy to our North West of England for the past 20 years.”
La Locanda, was recently awarded with the Independent Italian Restaurant Platinum Award at the 2023 PAPA Industry Awards.
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