A Fresh Attitude

A Fresh Attitude

“We want to teach kids that fish don’t have sticks, chickens don’t have fingers, and buffaloes don’t have wings..” Jason

Those are profound words that speak so much truth and they are the words and feelings of the owners, Jason and George of the Italian House located in London, Ontario.

It is refreshing and heartening that not only do these charming gentlemen make their products using local and fresh ingredients, make most of their foods in-house such as roasted chicken, roasted mushrooms and their sauces, they also care about our children’s eating habits and education towards food.

"...you should compare between fresh and frozen...We worry the kids don't know the difference..." George

George, with two daughters of his own, worries about children not knowing the difference, and how important that difference is, between fresh and frozen food. He comes from a family in Jordan that, like many of us born and raised here in Canada, appreciated and cooked with produce fresh picked from the garden and prepared with the hands of love, his grandmother’s in particular. His father had a large farm that provided for them and he remembers his mother and grandmother preparing food fresh everyday. When he came to Canada 6 years ago he realized that most people live in cities here and no longer grow their own food. He quickly decided that the lessons he learned at the supper table as a child would help him help others learn just how important eating fresh can be.

Jason, a culinary graduate from Fanshawe College, also has a firm belief in eating local and fresh—for taste, health and economic reasons. Supporting local farmers is big with these guys and they use local meats and produce and even go so far as to use Ontario parmesan cheese. They have recently discovered a Hydroponic grower of produce they hope to use over the winter months to keep their fresh and local 'mandate' in action. Jason's work experience in fine dining establishments has served him well in the joint creation of the recipes they use as well as sourcing suppliers. He used to operate a pizza business in Grand Bend at the Pinery Antique Flea Market where he met a lot of great farmers and people who 'got it' and decided to transfer that to London.

"...got attracted by the lure of money...went with a big corporation that paid well and then hated my life for six years..." Jason

He is scathing in his opinion of the BigBusiness pizza restaurant he worked at as they mass produced their product. There, the freezer and microwave were king. I dare say only two good things came out of that experience—his desire to operate his own responsible 'empire' and his meeting George.

1440 Jalna Blvd, London, ON

They are both working long hours--at least 90 hours each--and it is paying off. The neighbourhood knows they are there and the community is coming in. It took a little while at the start, mainly due to the inferior restaurants that occupied the spot before them. They recounted a story of watching people leave the variety store next to them with those mass produced, plastic wrapped sandwiches and the "79 cent hot dogs; nice, hot and freshly frozen" as George puts it. They couldn't stand it one day and George went out and started handing out free pizza slices. One taste and now they come to them. Various businesses and employees in the area come in all the time now, with no regrets. 

While it is not easy beginning your own business, they have been lucky with the support of their families and friends. George's wife promotes them whenever and however she can: writing and posting ads, word-of-mouth advertising and Jason's girlfriend comes in to help out 16 hours a week--just so he can spend time with her. Quality time with families in situations like this is hard to come by and both understand the importance of quality time--especially George with his two children. What little time they have, he tries to make it a good time together. 

Edit: Jason would like me to add a bit more to credit his lady, Jenny lee, with inspiring him to work as hard as he does and to thank her for the long hours she works in the present (and helped in the past at Grand Bend), to make his dreams come true. She is a hard worker herself putting in 60+ hours a week between three jobs. 

Through various friends they have access to some Italian grandmothers for ideas that Jason tweaks to make it their own. They have plans to introduce a Bolognese sauce for their calzones and quite possibly some fresh pasta. With their homemade tomato sauce, the Alfredo,(made with real butter and cream, Jason hastens to add) and the soon-to-come Bolognese,  fresh pasta is sure to be a big hit. George has a plan for Donairs and has a secret blend of spices he wants to use...as a cook myself, I knew better than to ask what that secret is!  They would also like to expand into internationally influenced pizzas as London has a vast multi-cultural makeup that they would like to showcase. So stay tuned for some international fusion pizza! I know I'll be the first in line.

These are not guys to rest on their laurels. They both have goals in mind for the future and one is to open another restaurant in North London. They realize that to keep their products local and fresh they have to match their growth with the farmers' ability to supply them. They would like success but not at the cost of compromise. Sadly, we have all seen companies go out of business for numerous reasons: wrong locations, unable to compete with bigger companies for business and expanding too quickly. Jason and George both seem to understand those pitfalls and are working hard to avoid them.

Now, I have personally tried a few items on the menu board like their big seller, the Chicken Alfredo pizza, which is sinfully delicious, their regular pizza with my favourite toppings: roasted cremini mushrooms, roasted red pepper and smoked bacon strips and their caesar salad. Given time I am sure I will make my way through the whole menu but the next item I will go for is their Muffaletta sandwich or maybe their second big seller, the Meatball. That particular gem is also their personal favourite with it's homemade foccacia bread and handmade meatballs, made of course with Ontario meat. In our house, we have adopted the 'Wednesday night is pizza night' theme and all because of the Italian House. Pizza is all the food groups represented in a delicious package--just have to make sure I share it with the other pizza lovers in this house. Sigh, it's a hard life.

The Italian House Pizzeria

Website: www.theitalianhousepizzeria.com

Location: 1440 Jalna Blvd, London Ontario

Phone: 226-663-2797

"We make it fresh in house from local farmers and suppliers"

"Brothers" George and Jason, proprietors 

Got a party coming up? Want to serve your guests GOOD food? Check out the Italian House for your catering options. Support a local business and please your taste buds at the same time. It's a win-win situation.

Present Promotion: Free soda with sandwich purchase. Feeling hungry yet?