PAPA Awards: La Locanda, Gisburn, wins for second year

La Locanda has been based in Gisburn for 21 years, and was awarded with best Independent Italian Restaurant at the PAPA Awards, for the second consecutive year, as well as being highly commended in the Environmental Sustainability category.

The PAPA Awards are run by the Pizza, Pasta and Italian Food Association and celebrate businesses in categories ranging from best ready meal to best pizza chef.

Owner, Cinzia Bocchi, said: “It is a very happy day. When you win something, it is always nice.

 “To battle against the big companies is not easy and to be highly commended is not bad!

“And to be awarded for the second year in a row, it is not easy, the judge and the panel are very high profile, and we are very proud.”

Located in Main Street, Cinzia’s husband Maurizio, the sole chef, maintains his mantra of keeping everything traditional and looks to pay homage to not just the food, but the history, heritage and people that created it.

La Locanda, Gisburn (Image: Google Maps)

Cinzia says that the market is often convoluted with Anglo Italian cooking and sometimes it is not easy to make the distinction and recognise what the differences are.

She added: “We always go into the open to offer a very real and traditional without any iteration of the recipe.

“We never compromise on quality, we always stick to our philosophy to supply to our customers with amazing Italian food.”

Contestants for the awards send their profile and menu to the judging panel, who then come to inspect the restaurant.

A report is then compiled which highlights the areas which are performing well in the restaurant and areas which require improvement.

Cinzia continued: “It is nice because you can learn, and you can see where you are good and where you are bad and continue to grow.”

Having now been in the village for nearly 21 years, they will be hosting a anniversary party on December 8 with an opera singer to sing classical Christmas songs and for them to show off their creations.