By Jennifer Ersalesi
Photo credits: Charlotte Ersalesi, Dan Meredith, and Kim Bogosian
On September 27th, Fiorentini Restaurant on Park Avenue hosted a special event along with the Rutherford Chamber of Commerce. In an effort to introduce the community to Rutherford Chamber of Commerce members and what members have to offer, the Rutherford Chamber of Commerce, under the direction of Dan Meredith, has paired up with various local businesses to host events that bring the community together. Brenda De Ieso, who owns Fiorentini Restaurant along with her husband Antonio De Ieso (Head Chef), explained more about the evening, “One of the reasons we wanted to host the Rutherford Chamber of Commerce was to have the community get to know us and the concept of our restaurant; most of our clients are from out of town, so this way a great way to meet people because not only we feel very proud to be in Rutherford, but it is also essential for us to be part of this fantastic community.”
Using a farm-to-table model, Fiorentini has a seasonal menu featuring food choices that are locally available. “We do not have a walking-in box freezer, and the farm delivers to us twice a week; we maintain everything fresh that way. We work with a company, Bone-In Food which exclusively supplies us as the only restaurant; they usually only provide direct consumers and work only with a tiny selected group of local farmers that use regenerative farming practices, which means they don’t use any chemicals on their soil. Therefore, the products we cook with are 100% natural; one of the farms is Lima Farms, a family operated in Hillsboro, NJ.”
Fiorentini opened on November 18, 2021. They are excited about their 1st anniversary and have many great things prepared for that week.
The fall menu features some of their most requested items, such as the Seared Octopus and the handmade Tagliatelle bolognese, all made in the house with Italian flour daily. Brenda told TIR, “Of course, we incorporate all the season’s crops, like beets, parsnips, and honey nut squash. We brought back the Farm chicken and introduced the venison, which to our surprise, people love it.” Click here to view their current dinner menu.
“Our whole concept is based on sustainability, which reflects the material we utilize to furnish our restaurant as well as our packing and even our glassware which are recycled from wine bottles, we are part of the Green Team in town, and we hope to keep bringing awareness to the community and other businesses about how many sustainable practices we can all do within our own,” Brenda and Antonio De Ieso explained.
To watch a video directed and produced by Matt Ackermann and his team of young talent about Fiorentini, click here.
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