Part of the Meet New Mills project.
A Tavola: Meet Alessio, the Head Chef of New Mills’ iconic & authentic Sicilian restaurant.
Name of business:
A Tavola.
Where did the name come from?
At home in Sicily, we used to live in a villa that my dad built, by the sea. As kids we would play outside & when my mother wanted us to come in for dinner she’d shout A TAVOLA!- to the table!
What do you offer?
Traditional, authentic Sicilian food. It’s all made as it should be. I still have my mother’s recipe book – my bible! – which is full of delicious ideas from the Sicilian region. I make my own specials, & we do our own ice cream, but it’s all rooted in Sicily. We’re not an Italian restaurant.
How many people are in your team?
In the kitchen there’s myself & 4 other chefs, including my son, & a few kitchen porters. Front of house we have Nikki & around 13 staff, full-time & part-time. We happily have some great locals on our team.
How long have you been open?
4 years in New Mills, 9 previously in Reddish across 2 restaurants.
Are you from New Mills?
Not quite! I’m from near Palermo in Sicily. I moved to the UK 15 years ago, I had to learn English but I never really left Manchester after. I lived in Poynton & Stockport before New Mills.
What do you like about having your business in New Mills/living in New Mills?
As a chef it’s the ingredients- there is so much fresh, local produce available to me which is hugely important to our food. Living here, I love the scenery- the hills remind me of Sicily except there’s no sea! We have lovely local staff, & we’re very grateful for our great local regulars too.
Is there anything exciting going on at the moment?
We work seasonal so at the moment we’re working with a lot of garlic, asparagus in the specials. Later in the year we’ll have blood orange & fennel, for example. Delicious!
You can find A Tavola at 67 Albion Road, online at https://atavolanewmills.co.uk/, on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/atavola.newmills/) & on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/AtavolaNewMills). Â
