Vallebona opens in Wimbledon Village
A taste of Italy in Wimbledon Village
Stefano Vallebona on his new deli and what’s on his Christmas table
Stefano and Naoko Vallebona have been supplying top London restaurants such as The River Café and Le Gavroche with their incredibly sourced produce for many years, and they’ve now opened their first ever high street shop. The Wimbledon Village store is housed in a grade II listed former fire station, and features a walk-in cheese and charcuterie maturation room, with over 50 types of cheese from 15 regions, a large collection of hand-selected wines, pastas, and antipasti.
Says Stefano: “It’s been a dream of ours for many years and many of our most loyal and regular customers are based in or around here. After such a tough year it’s an amazing way for us to see out 2020 and begin a new and, hopefully, less traumatic year. We also look forward to restarting our catering service as soon as we can.”
So, what will be on Stefano’s own table this Christmas? “Panettone of course! Our panettone is made by a family company based in Turin, who’ve passed their secret family recipe from generation to generation. All we know is that they use the richest Belgian butter, the finest Italian flour and natural yeast. It’s why the panettone is so incredibly moist – the best we’ve ever tasted. Christmas is also about sharing so gorgeous grazing boards filled with cheese and charcuterie are really important I think. Cheese is a seasonal ingredient so the type of cheese we eat over the festive time also makes Christmas for me. Toma Cacao and Rum is a blue cow’s milk cheese aged on the rind with crushed cacao beans and rum. Made in the Dolomites, it has a gianduja aftertaste and the producer reckons rum is the best combination with a blue. For me it’s really Christmassy!”
And on his radar for eating out locally? “South London is full of great places to eat out. Adam Byatt’s Michelin-starred Trinity in Clapham is faultless and, also in Clapham, Robin Gill’s fantastic Sorella. In Wimbledon, don’t miss out on Black Radish.”
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