About Us

The Valentina Story

 

Valentina was founded in East Sheen in 1991 where today, the Zoccola and Arcari families share their life-long passion for food and wine.
 

Our families hail from Saint Elia Fiumerapido, a small village near Monte Cassino southeast of Rome, where we have farmed the land for generations.  We still return home annually to harvest olives from the family grove for our own-label olive oil, and source our other fresh ingredients from the native soil.  Most of our vast range of products – be it in the delicatessens or the restaurants – are, born of tradition and original skills, directly from our humble beginnings in the Italian countryside.

We believe there is no substitute for evolution and our knowledge, expertise and passion for food and wine have been passed on through generations.  Valentina is our way of bringing an authentic taste of Italy to the UK  - to serve recipe dishes in our restaurants that have been handed down through the families.

Valentina, a name shared with the daughter of one of the founding families, is now a thriving business. The original delicatessen & restaurant, owned and run by the Zoccola and Arcari families, has now been joined by sister delicatessen/restaurants in Putney, Sevenoaks and Notting Hill Gate. Come and see us and join the family.

 

Valentina today

Today, the team, spearheaded by third generation family members, Fabio, Antonio, Marco and Carmine not only offer an extensive delicatessen range, including fresh hams and salamis, cheeses and traditional antipasti, but also a complete range of store cupboard essentials – as well as specials, cooked from the finest ingredients every day in our their own kitchen.

 

There's always something new to try, or an event coming up, so we look forward to welcoming you very soon!

 

 

Valentina Fine Foods in Guardian.co.uk

 

Four men and a pig: a lesson in Italian butchery

 

In the first part of our Italian pig butchery masterclass Tim Hayward, Bruno Zoccola and family break down the beast from snout to trotter.

 

Click here to watch the video

 

 

A family affair: Italian sausage-making

 

Tim Hayward and the Zoccola family turn some of the pig butchered last week into a variety of sausages, pancetta, coppa and guanciale.

 

Click here to watch the video

 

 

The Chestnut Harvest in Italy

 

Bruno Zoccola and Tim Hayward gather sweet chestnuts and visit a festival in Lazio dedicated to the varied delights of this now fashionable 'food of the poor'

 

Click here to watch the video

 

 

A Street-Side Taste of Southern Italy

 

Restauranteur Bruno Zoccola leads Tim Hayward around the stalls at a southern Italian market in Lazio, where the streets are lined with fresh produce and local characters.

 

Click here to watch the video

 

 

The Olive Harvest in Italy

 

With the exception of a couple of bits of new technology, the methods of the olive harvesters haven't changed in centuries. Neither has their pride in the finished product, as Tim Hayward discovers

 

Click here to watch the video