Our Street Food Residency at W12 Studios in White City is the place to be if you want some delicious yet dirty food to get a palate-party started in your mouth. One of our incredibly talented street food suppliers, The Piadina Project, has set up a pop-up kitchen there until March 4th and are serving from 12PM onwards each day. You’ll kick yourself if you miss it. We caught up with them on-site to learn more about this exciting Italian-fusion food business with a northern twist shaking up the flatbread scene…

SO, WHAT’S A PIADINA?

This was the exact question we asked ourselves as we made our way on the central line to W12 Studios. With a quick bit of googling we discovered a Piadina is a thin and crispy Italian flatbread, originating from the historical region of Romagna and traditionally cooked on a terracotta dish. This little beauty is usually made with flour, lard or olive oil, salt and water - simple yet effective, and the perfect encasement for the incredible array of flavours which can be placed within. We were expecting maybe a thinner version of a panini, or panino in italiano, but how wrong we were - as we were about to discover, piadinas are in a complete class of their own. Thin and flaky, yet crispy and delicious - our eyes were opened. Farewell trusty panini, HELLO PIADINAS. So where can you embark on this spiritual and eye-opening journey of flatbread discovery? The answer is: The Piadina Project.

ITALIAN (AND ALSO NORTHERN) CULINARY STALLIONS

It seems Jack Padoan - inspired founder and London chef - had a similar love at first bite experience to us. After a visit to Riccione in the heart of Emilia Romagna, he immediately knew that a new Piadina-strewn path lay ahead of him (praise be). The Piadina Project was born.

After realising London didn’t know what it was missing, Jack decided to fuse is own Italian heritage with his Lincolnshire roots by creating authentic piadinas with a flourish of northern charm. This fusion is refreshingly reflected throughout The Piadina Project menu, with an effortless combination of beautiful Italian produce and the best ingredients the UK has to offer. It’s honest, it’s hearty and you’ll never mistake a piadina for a tortilla again.

SHOW ME THE MENU!

The Piadina Project are out to treat you like a true Duca or Duchessa. Here’s a taste of what you could be tucking into on your trip to W12:

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS

Nduja mayo: A full 10. We begged them to bottle this and let us take some home. Smoky with a deep and slightly fiery afternote, even if this isn’t listed with your order, do yourself a favour and ask for some on the side.

The Friar: This is the winner, the essence of Piadina. Italian flatbread, buttermilk fried chicken thigh, double cheese, pancetta bacon, pickled cucumber, rocket and nduja mayonnaise - are you drooling yet? We have no idea how they have fried their chicken so perfectly but the contrast between the silky, fall-apart meat and crisp snap of the Piadina is just luscious.

Mozzarella Nuggets: Cheese porn quite frankly. Stunning and artistic cheese pornography. These panko fried buffalo mozzarella balls with pesto mayonnaise and Grana Padano are melt in the mouth fantastic - the guys told us they also contain a deadly secret ingredient. Try as we did, they weren’t spilling but you better understand whatever it was had us thinking about them all weekend. Come and try them to see if you can guess yourself - WE WON’T REST UNTIL WE KNOW!

HOW CAN I BOOK THEM?

Away from the residency, all of the food is prepared and served straight from a smart black market stall that can fit just about anywhere. If you'd like to serve your guests some delicious Italian-fusion food at your next event then book Jack and his epic piadinas for your event right here!