Chef Leno Lattarulo Simply Spanish
Starting his working career in a Spanish kitchen when he was 18, Leno became obsessed with the flavours and the culture of Spain and after completing school, he went travelling all over Europe.
When he came back to Australia, he realised no one was doing Spanish food in the authentic way he had experienced first hand and wanted to make it accessible to everyone. That’s when he decided to start a catering business specialising in Spanish dishes which today has evolved into three successful restaurants across Melbourne.
Continuing his passion to create authentic Spanish dishes, Leno is probably best know for his award winning Paella. Having won the International Paella competition in Valencia for best paella outside of Spain again in 2018, Leno continues to be involved in both the competition each year and also as part of the local judging panel to help promote authentic recipes worldwide.
“I use Moro because it’s consistent and it complements our authentic Spanish cooking.”
“I would say we would go through over 80 litres of olive oil every week. It’s funny because when most people travel to Spain, they realize how central olive oil is and how much is used, in the dishes over there to create the characteristics and flavours of the Mediterranean. They realize that there isn’t such a reluctance to cooking with olive oil and extra virgin olive oil either . A lot of people are surprised by that.
I am passionate about continuing this education as many people have become accustomed to a westernised versions of dishes like paella (much like pasta and pizza). For example, in Spain we don’t use Chorizo or much meat in Paella. We keep it very, very simple and almost dry.
Not one grain of rice sticks to another. If you want to try the authentic version you can come to our restaurant, we call it Valenciana.”
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Experience an informative evening with Chef Leno Lattarulo at our Moro Masterclass.
