Two of the most experienced men in restaurant hospitality, on island, join forces. After more than ten years as Senior Sous Chef for Jamie Oliver at the much televised London restaurant ‘Fifteen’, Trevor Howard is bringing his vast experience and skills to The Calvani Group and joining forces with locally born and well respected restauranteur Marcus Calvani.
Trevor is the new Head Chef at La Cantina Restaurant, one of the island’s longest serving restaurants and the island’s leading restaurant using local produce, being the only restaurant member of Genuine Jersey.
At La Cantina Trevor has worked with Marcus to produce a new, modern & seasonal menu that focuses on high-end cuisine delivered in a fun, casual & sharing focused style. “For the first nine years, Fifteen was almost exclusively an Italian food focused restaurant, serving over 200 covers a day. As one of the senior management team, I worked closely with Gennaro Contaldo on modernising traditional Italian cuisine. I traveled around Italy meeting food experts and developing skills. It’s great to be able to put these Italian skills back into use again.” Trevor says.
Marcus, the Channel Island’s only graduate of the Cornell University School of Hospitality Management, the world’s leading hospitality school, has recently signed a deal with the Ports of Jersey to completely rebuild the food and beverage offering at St Helier’s harbour. Marcus’ concept ‘The Terminal GBJ’ a family focused, wood fired barbecue smokehouse, craft brewery, children’s play area, roof terrace and live music venue, will bring a number of new offerings to the island and put the harbour back on the map as a destination for both locals and travellers.
“Working for Jamie Oliver at Fifteen for the past ten years has been a fantastic experience” says Trevor. “Now it’s time for the next chapter, I’m really excited to have met Marcus and take on the executive chef role at The Calvani Group. Along with La Cantina’s progression, Marcus also has planned, what I believe are the most exciting restaurants and food concepts in Jersey. I can’t wait to be part of them and spread my passion for truly great food & chef development.”
The Calvani Group currently comprises of La Cantina Restaurant, La Cantina Wine Imports & Retail, The Terminal GBJ, Terminal Brewery, T&N Private Catering and The Jersey Royal Distillery Company. The group is currently working on a number of additional food and beverage concepts for Jersey as well as developing ‘Jersey’ produce brand awareness internationally, with export of locally produced high-end products. Their focus is to develop local hospitality students within their locations through training programs and apprenticeships.
Marcus says “with the island’s focus on the regeneration of a vibrant tourism industry and a new tourism marketing organisation set to take control, our growth strategy is all about selective, iconic site selection with concepts that serve both locals and tourists, with a focus on the utilisation of local produce. Fun, family friendly, great customer service, local & creative.”
One of the first changes to be made is the new menu at La Cantina; the pair have focused on seasonality, creating not only a separate spring/summer and autumn/winter based menu of their famous fresh pasta and sourdough pizzas, but a specials section of over 10 dishes, that can change as frequently as daily depending on the local ingredients they can source.
The menu is a true shrine to local produce with mouth-watering Italian offerings such as local hand raked razor clams with salsa verde, chickpeas, fennel, chervil and Amalfi pickled lemon or perhaps their carpaccio of pure Jersey beef, 28 day aged, cured and hand-sliced with homemade onion ketchup, rocket, pecorino and extra virgin olive oil will take your fancy?
We can’t wait to see what’s next from this perfect pairing!
