The table is set – the team behind Ramsgate’s newest foodie offering: the Foreign Embassy

THE TABLE IS SET

Writers

Laura Nickoll and Lila Allen

A bbq feast on a sundrenched beach, a six-course supper celebrating asparagus season, birthday pop-ups in unusual locations – just some of the events from Ramsgate’s newest foodie offering, the Foreign Embassy. We meet the team

DAVE FRETTON

Dave Fretton’s childhood home in Devon sounds like one we wish we’d all grown up in, where trays of jam tarts greeted him home from school fresh from the oven, and cooking was always an occasion with meals bringing everyone together. “It all began with mum,” he says, “she was a great baker.” A knock at the door would result in everyone squeezing in to make room, with Dave’s school friends being regulars around the kitchen table for what he terms “embarrassingly healthy” food, all cooked from scratch, no burgers or chips in sight.

At 18, Dave left for London, propping up a course in graphic design with a job at Marco Pierre White’s restaurant, Mirabelle. Miles from his mum’s kitchen, here silence and discipline reigned. Learning the skills and science of the trade paid off: Dave went on to become sous chef at the Prince in Stoke Newington, moving on to the Princess of Shoreditch, where he was awarded a prestigious AA Rosette. But when his wife became ill, the gruelling 70-hour week lost its shine. At 29, Dave enrolled at Kent University and, while studying to become a social worker, continued to cook, running pop-ups around a communal table in Whitstable, inspired by Middle Eastern flavours.

It is his mum’s cooking he returns to when we talk about food that triggers memories and emotions, soulful food that sits in another realm to fine dining. “Her lemon meringue tart,” he enthuses. “The crunchiness of the pastry, and the sharpness of the lemon. But it’s also about memory. It’s either my birthday, or Christmas, and there’s family around. That’s special.” And in that lemon meringue tart you have the vision that a serendipitous meeting with Jo and Lorenzo just might result in an experience we can all enjoy.

LORENZO DI FRANCESCO

It would be a cliché to start Lorenzo Di Francesco’s food story with his Italian heritage, but that’s where he begins: “Food is everything. It’s my culture of course, everything happened around the table.” In particular, his grandmothers tables. His grandparents hail from a tiny village in Abruzzo, while he was born and bred in Rome. His father’s mother was “obsessed with food”, making pasta and bread from scratch. The tiny house brimmed with food. Lorenzo recalls the Christmas of caggionetti, an Abruzzo delicacy, fried and sweet, stuffed with chestnut purée. For weeks, the caggionetti were everywhere, behind any cupboard door even in the bedroom wardrobe, and tasted “incredible”. Hospitality – which translated as abundance beyond measure – was at the heart of the home (and Lorenzo is still too afraid to attempt the caggionetti himself).

Lorenzo began his working life in graphic design, building up a studio in Rome, but “ran away” from the city he loves passionately, and hasn’t stopped until landing in Ramsgate. From Thailand, where he ran a tattoo parlour, Brazil, India, Cuba, and a music tour of the Balkans (which involved a bus and an idea for a TV series), Lorenzo returned to London where he partnered up to run a restaurant in Wapping for three years. Then the opportunity arose to cook for the House of Peroni, a month-long event promoting Italian culture. Under Lorenzo’s direction, the festival offered “an edible cinema menu” inspired by the film The Great Beauty. The following year they asked him to design and build a restaurant, which he did, feeding 70,000 people across the month. His success creating memorable experiences which revolved around food landed him projects with Saatchi, Gucci and Harvey Nichols. Much like the Christmases spent at his grandmothers’ houses – albeit on a different scale. “I’m pretty sure they’d be proud of me,” he smiles.

Lorenzo, Dave and Jo photographed by Kent Mathews JO FOREL

Jo Forel’s earliest culinary memory is ripping heads off prawns as she sat on a wall at the age of seven in Calais devouring a bag of them. A child’s love of adventure paired with adventurous food is a theme she’s grown into. In 2018, Jo, Lorenzo and their two children, Olivia aged 4, River just 6 months, embarked on “an eating tour of the world”. The food quest propelled them through Asia, Latin America and Europe, staying with local families who taught them to cook local specialities. “The pudding lady” in the remote Lake District of Chile is fondly remembered, and River was weaned on Thai chicken curry and tom yum soup. Olivia’s abiding memory is eating skewered crickets in a Bangkok street market. Jo, who works as a copywriter and creative director in advertising, documented their travels in a blog, (littlewander.io). They returned brimming with food inspiration and the idea for a book that will offer child-

friendly recipes from every country, recognising a universal truth: kids can be fussy eaters wherever you live.

Growing up in Southall, West London, with a Swiss French mother, Jo was surrounded by different foods. She still has a penchant for Indian sweets (Southall is often known as Little India). As soon as she could, she began to cook, and became known for her homemade mayonnaise and chocolate mousse. She knew she’d met her match in Lorenzo when the pair bonded over a mutual love of Anthony Bourdain, and thought nothing of refrying last night’s pasta ragu for breakfast. With their world tour behind them, the family have settled in Ramsgate, having found a house aptly once (reportedly) home to the Brazilian Embassy. The Foreign Embassy was born: a family home where meals are always eaten together, a place where friends are regularly invited to feast, and the base from which has been born this new venture, bringing food and people together. The adventures continue. ►

THE FOREIGN EMBASSY

Your phone pings… you’ve been waiting for this in eager anticipation with an appetite to match… the location is revealed… and you know it’s going to be something special.

Taking the pop-up concept to another level, the team behind new culinary venture The Foreign Embassy are intent on creating encounters that saturate the senses – feasts that will always be about more than just the food. Jo, Lorenzo and Dave are full to the brim with fantastical ideas and wonderfully wild concepts as they talk about their desires to amplify and celebrate the act of communal eating. It’s quite a ride. At the heart of the enterprise is a friendship forged by a love of food and feeding. “Lorenzo and I always had this idea of doing something culinary, inspired by our journeys,” Jo explains, as she tells us how the three – all with similar creative backgrounds – bonded over shared leftovers from an epic Easter salmon feast; a matter of days after meeting Dave, “everything connected”. Their vision of bringing people together at a single feasting table, and their desire to inject the experience with a sense of fun and theatre alongside the intimacy of sharing food, started to take shape.

Each feast will have a unique theme and atmosphere, and will take place in a secret location in or around Ramsgate. “We have a lot of ideas,” says Dave. “Every banquet will be carefully curated. The feasts could be based on a single ingredient, seasonal produce, a particular cooking style, music, art or be inspired by a special venue… It’s a flexible concept.” “We’re not pretentious about food,” explains Jo. “Events will encompass everything from black tie to no cutlery. We’re going to have a lot of fun!”

Partnerships with the local community are key to The Foreign Embassy’s objective. Capitalising on the wealth of beautiful spaces in Ramsgate and the surrounding area, the trio are fostering collaborative connections with local businesses and are excited about championing Kent’s finest ingredients, from soil to sea. In terms of venues, Thanet offers an equal abundance of riches, from architecturally stunning heritage sites to orchards heaving with fruit, and some less obvious treasures that they plan to turn into temporary eating spaces. A sense of mystery is key: “We don’t want to give too much away.” Look out for teases and clues about their next event by following @the_foreign_ embassy on Instagram, and sign up to their newsletter at theforeignembassy. co.uk to find out more.

It’s a compelling proposition. Expect the unexpected, with the confidence you’ll be very well fed.

TOP LEFT: Pavlova party birthday celebration at The Boating Pool TOP RIGHT: Flame grilled sea bass for a supper club on the beach ABOVE: A six-course feast celebrating the humble asparagus

We cater for all food groups,

have a large selection of fabulous wines and cocktails/ mocktails, love dogs. Live music most Friday nights and Sunday afternoons!

Check our socials for special events

Eats’n’Beats Ramsgate eatsnbeatscafe

OPENING TIMES:

Friday 4-9pm | Saturday 12-9pm Sunday 12-4pm | Alternate Thursdays (check socials for details) CLASSIC DISHES LOCALLY SOURCED

COOKED TO ORDER

4-5 West Cliff Arcade, Ramsgate, Kent, CT11 8LH

Call to book on 01843 446558

or email info@marcpierreskitchen.com or book

online www.marcpierreskitchen.com