Chef Alba Rizzo is lending more than her signature to Brisbane’s newest restaurant, FIRMA Italian. The former Lombarda native shares her family’s long-held recipes, including Osso Buco, which she cooked every Sunday in her grandmother’s cucina (kitchen).
FIRMA Italian is a testament to the chef’s genuine love of Lombardy’s cuisine, a diverse region of many provinces and regional dishes. Wanting to “bring a small part of my home to Australia”, Chef Rizzo crafts dishes that are from her heart.
Chef Alba Rizzo
Shortly after opening, the chef spoke with us at a media preview at the restaurant in South Bank’s Emporium Hotel about the menu she has crafted. “Lombardy cuisine is all about simple, fresh ingredients and bold flavours,” says Chef Rizzo. I want to share the warmth and soul of my homeland through our food.”
Lombardy’s culinary heritage, deeply rooted in the seasons and traditional cooking techniques, is reflected in the menu. The risotto verdi is a vivid emerald in colour with stracciatella, rapini, candied lemon, and anchovies and is made with carnaroli rice grown by Meracinque – five sisters produce rice that as Chef Rizzo explained, “is difficult to overcook because of its outstanding texture”. (Mera is the shorthand of wonderful (marvellous) the nickname used by the 5 sisters as a child, cinque is five in italian).
The Firma Italian menu
“The osso buco is a classic Lombardy dish that represents the heart of our cuisine. It’s a labour of love, simmered slowly to achieve its melt-in-your-mouth tenderness.” Her grandmother’s recipe is topped traditionally with gremolata and served with wilted greens.
For pasta lovers, FIRMA’s homemade pork agnolotti is a must-try. This hearty pasta is filled with flavourful pork and mortadella in a butter and thyme sauce with the most quintessential of all Lombardy’s ingredients—Grana Padano parmesan.
Incorporating fresh, local Queensland produce from oysters garnished with finger lime granita and basil oil and Hervey Bay scallops gratinéed with Prosciutto di Parma and pecorino, the extensive menu goes beyond the classics. (Both are best paired with the Fratelli Giacosa Arneis 2022).
Much of the menu is designed to be shared, from the umami-rich spuntini of Sicilian olives filled with veal and pork to the 800g Bistecca alla Fiorentina “W Black” T-Bone [MB 5-6). Cooked on a hot stone, it’s served family style with bowls of shoestring fries with rosemary salt and Firma’s house mayo, seasonal greens and a red wine jus. (Best paired with the Podere La Capella Chianti Classico 2021).
The wine
While FIRMA’s carefully curated Italian cellar includes many wines that are not available elsewhere in Australia, cocktail drinkers are well served with both Negroni and Martini trolleys. The DOCG and DOC wines from Piedmont and Tuscany can be paired by the glass or bottle. Whether you prefer the bold richness of a Barolo or the elegant complexity of a Brunello di Montalcino, FIRMA ensures great wine is part of a memorable dining experience.
And when it comes to dessert, how do you choose between Limoncello baba with white chocolate mousse and the blood orange and mandarin sorbetto? Most diners love the theatre of tiramisú layered tableside from the Tiramisu trolley. The savoiardi are house-made the mascarpone is dusted with grated dark chocolate.
The origin of tiramisú is shrouded in mystery and too many restaurants putting up their hands to say they were first. La Beccherie in Treviso claims they were first to add it to their menu but I do like the story that it was first prepared for pregnant women, nursing mothers and babies to strengthen their constitutions in the 1950’s and 60’s. That’s why traditionally it never contains alcohol. Firma’s version stays true to the traditional.
There are $60 and $120 set shared menus, and Nonna’s Table is a private 12-seat dining room for special occasions.
