CIBO Espresso to overhaul its menu to return to its Italian heritage
The brand is undertaking the most ambitious menu change it has attempted since first opening its doors over 15 years ago.
With a focus on handmade, artisan products and locally sourced ingredients, the new menu will feature over 60 new dishes and promises to return CIBO to its heritage as a destination for authentic Italian fare.
General Manager of CIBO Merissa Collins said the new menu will be available first in South Australia, the birthplace of Australia’s first premium coffee chain.
“CIBO was known for amazing Italian food that was handmade on site. We have very much made a conscious decision to return to our roots and once again make that delicious, authentically hand-made food that we were known for,” Collins said.
“We have recruited one of the best specialist chefs in the world to manage the development and rollout of the new menu and we’re really excited by the magic he’s created in the kitchen. Jack Brennan has worked in culinary product development for over 14 years, including five years under the tutelage of Gordon Ramsay, who gave him the nickname The Enforcer – which, when you consider that’s coming from Chef Ramsay, is impressive!”
Brennan said his years of experience working for some of the UK’s most well known food brands had given him the perfect training ground for driving quality and consistency in the CIBO offering. But he said the thing he loved most about developing the new menu was his passion for flavour and the beautiful local produce South Australia had to offer.
“For a chef from London I can tell you, starting the journey with a tour of South Australia’s most renowned specialty food producing regions was a tough gig but someone had to do it and I was willing to take one for the team!” Brennan said.
“It’s been an absolute delight to get on the road and visit our olive oil producer in the Willunga Hills, our pancetta and veal producers in the Barossa – where we also source tomato chutney from the amazing Beerenberg Farm in Hahndorf. I then cruised across to sample cheeses from La Casa and Lavera in Adelaide, tasted Murray Valley smoked bacon and fresh eggs from the Adelaide Hills. The variety and quality of fresh produce coming out of South Australia is just incredible – it’s some of the best I’ve tasted anywhere in the world – and it’s made it an absolute delight to craft the new CIBO menu.”
Brennan said he had worked with the local kitchen, introducing new techniques learned from the likes of Chef Ramsay.
“We’ve been able to improve the quality and flavour of our food using new techniques, such as our house-made mayonnaise made with local oil and eggs and hand-made by South Australians,” he said.
“We also used a blend of Australian flour in our home-made baked bread and developed beautifully crafted Napolitano, béchamel and pesto sauces to age-old recipes. Another significant change we have introduced is we have decided to stone bake all our pizza bases to lock the flavours into the crust.”
Brennan said he was looking forward to sharing his new recipes with South Australians at the launch on April 27.
“South Australia is where CIBO was born so it’s a lot of pressure. This is the place where I really need to impress because South Australians really know good Italian food,” he said.
“I have poured a lot of passion into the menu and lain awake at night thinking about the flavours in these recipes so I can’t wait to share them. I hope South Australia loves them as much as I do.”
Over 60 new handmade dishes are available on CIBO’s new menu, available across South Australia from April 27.
