THE SWEETEST LEMON
The Weekend Australian Magazine, May 2002Story HELEN O'NEILL Photography RUSSELL SHAKESPEARE
Only a certain kind of lemon will do for Libero De Luca. "With the thick skin," he explains in melodic Italian-Australian lilt. "It has to be a lemon that's not dry, because we only use the skin, the very fine zest. Every lemon we have to do by hand, no machine, otherwise we get the white rind inside and it gets bitter. So we do it all by hand, 300 kilos of lemons by hand."
How many lemons is that? The 68-year-old pulls a face. "I don't know. A lot of lemons."
He needs them for Ambra Limoncello, his version of a traditional Italian liqueur that may be only three years old but has already become so trendy he's had the ABC, Channel 7 and SBS visit his Adelaide factory to, as he puts it, "help me peel lemons for their show[s]".
But there is more to De Luca than his thick-skinned lemons. A veteran of the South Australian food scene, he arrived in Australia from the Amalfi Coast when he was just 19, one of many who left Italy after the war in search of work. Despite his mother's emotional requests for him to return, he made his life in Adelaide, opening Toto, the city's first pizza bar, in 1962. He sold it three years later when pizza bars started springing up like mushrooms.
He open the Billy Bunter bistro and continued innovating, introducing his diners to baby squid. I bought two tonnes from Kangaroo Island at 20c a kilo," he recalls. "I had a long bar, where ... I put fresh calamari for nothing. People say, 'Oh, we use that for bait', then after a bit of time they like it. Then I put it on the menu. With new things you've got to educate, make people try. But Australian people, they have the will to learn."
By 1992, DeLuca was on to Da Libero - restaurant number four - and in need of a rest. He holidayed in Italy and noticed that Limoncello, a sweet digestif, was all the rage. He vowed to introduce it to Australia but before he had the chance, another company started importing. Luckily for him, the imported product didn't take.
"I said, 'I'm not going to give up', so I went back to Italy, worked one place four weeks for nothing, eight hours a day. I would have paid anything to work there. First they said no, then I showed them my Australian passport. They said, 'Okay, you can come.' Then I worked another place for six weeks, different system, different company."
He came home and started experimenting. "[The] Italian one is 33 per cent alcohol, mine is 25. Over there they treat it like grappa, very strong, and Australians don't like that ... too strong for them. Too sharp." It worked. In just three years he's expanded his liqueur range to include orange, strawberry, and chocolate with orange; his wares are stocked in Liquorland, Vintage Cellars and David Jones, and sold in Singapore. Asked if he's thought about exporting to his homeland, he laughs: "No. I don't want to do Italy. Too cheeky."
When he talks about trying to crack the lucrative Hong Kong and British markets, the topic of DeLuca's family pops up. Perhaps one day his son might consider taking on the family business, he says, finding some photographs. "That's my son. He is a most handsome-looking boy. Tall, six foot. Very, very good at business, too."
Looking back, DeLuca seems amazed he lasted so long in the restaurant trade. "I should have left five years earlier, 35 years is a long time." That said, he wouldn't change things. He reels off celebrities who have eaten at his venues and the list takes in everyone from John McEnroe to Tina Turner. "I even had prime ministers in my restaurant - Hawke, Keating, Whitlam and Fraser," he says proudly.
"You know, before I started Limoncello I was going to retire. I don't need to work for money, I work more for hobby, more because I am still fit. I don't want to stay home... I can't resist new things. And I enjoy it. When I don't enjoy any more," he waves his hand dismissively in a gesture as old as the Amalfi Coast itself - "then I go. But only then."
Twist 'n' Shout
Inside Out Magazine, April 2002
Limoncello is a sweet but superbly refreshing Italian liqueur made from lemons. Ambra Limoncello, a local version by Adelaide's Limoncello Australia, is as good as any Italian product. Keep it in the freezer and drink small shots, or add a dash to a gin and tonic along with an extra twist of lemon - a drink that I like to call Death in Venice. Ambra Limoncello costs $34 per 500ml or $17 per 200ml, from David Jones nationally 13 33 57; Liquorland nationally (02) 9748 5666; and Vinatge Cellars nationally (02) 9748 5666. Limoncello Australia also makes Fragolino (strawberry liqueur) and Chocolatino (chocolate, orange and cream liqueur). Contact limoncello Australia, Goodwood SA (08) 8357 7744, or visit www.ambralimoncello.com.au.
Aussie Lemons Behind Liqueur
Food Management News, October 2001
Kevin Howard
Retired Adelaide restaurateur Libero DeLuca went to the Amalfi Coast of Italy on a holiday, not realising that it would mean his return to the workforce.
Instead of spending his retirement sunning himself at the beach or working in his garden, he became besotted with Limoncello liqueur and a desire to make it back here in Australia. This refreshing Italian liqueur is made by a number of producers in Italy and sells well because of its refreshing taste and attractive appearance.
Knowing that Australian lemons are even better than those of Italy, and that they are grown in an area of virtually no pollution, DeLuca came back and started experimenting with local fruit from the Riverland.
Convincing his friend Paolo Nocella to join him in his venture, DeLuca set up Limoncello Australia (08 8357 7744).
To make sure he understood how Limoncello was made, he returned to Italy to the company which produced the Limoncello liqueur which appealed to him the most. He worked for six weeks, 12 hours a day to learn from the experts.
The result of his excursion is Ambra Limoncello, a succulent and refreshing Australian version of the traditional Italian liqueur, packaged in stylish frosted and clear glass bottles. At 25 per cent alc/vol, Ambra Limoncello is a little bit higher in its alcohol content than many imported products.
This means it can be successfully stored in a freezer without it solidifying. Great for summer cocktails, mixed with Champagne or sparkling wines, it makes a wonderful aperitif and poured over ice cream, it is the ultimate in sauces.
A cream version of Limoncello, a strawberry liqueur called Fragolino (made from Chandler strawberries) was served at the recent Fine Food - South Australian breakfast. A mandarin and orange blend are also available. The typical cloudiness of the product gives freshness and adherence to the original formula. The very slight sediment occasionally visible at the top of the bottle disappears once the bottle is shaken and once again, is a guarantee that only fresh, natural ingredients are used in the manufacture of this product.
The Ambra factory is a distinctive yellow building on Goodwood Road, Adelaide, with a showroom in which the cloudy lemon liqueurs are arrayed in an assortment of unusually shaped bottles on perspex display shelves. DeLuca has imported these sleek, ice-glazed bottles from Italy, along with his exclusive bottling equipment. In the back rooms of the factory, the liqueurs are made in large 800-litre stain less-steel fermenting tanks.
The unsprayed Riverland lemons from Simarloo Growers have to be skillfully hand-peeled promptly on delivery - for the skin must not be allowed to soften or dry out at all. The whole secret lies in the freshness of the oil in the skins. The juicy part of the lemons is used. Using the rinds of plump Lisbon and eureka lemons, DeLuca steeps them in grape alcohol from the Barossa Valley in stainless-steel infusion vats. Every two weeks, some 300kg of lemons arrive from the Riverland for processing; these are lemons that were still on the tree the day before. The fruit is handpicked at the point of ripeness when the zest contains the optimum level of oil. Skins are infused in pure grape alcohol for a specific time, then mixed with a syrup of spring water and sugar with 'a few secret' ingredients.
Citrus fruits are the revolutionaries of the food world because, in the culinary process, they activate change. Their versatility plays an integral role; the skin, seeds, juice, flesh, blossoms and leaves all contribute to the chemistry of food. The lemon, cumquat, orange (navel, valencia, seville and blood), clementine, mandarin, grapefruit (ruby and yellow), pomelo, lime (Tahitian and Kaffir) and tangelo all play a major role as flavour enhancers.
Some have specific, short seasons and must be pounced on to take best advantage. The gorgeous blood orange appears briefly at the beginning of spring, as does the bitter seville (its juice is perfect for cooking and the whole fruit for marmalade), mandarin and clementine in early autumn, cumquat and rangelo in winter and pomelo in autumn and spring. Navels are best in winter and the valencia shines through the warmer months.
As well as being a rich source of vitamin C, lemons and limes are used raw or preserved in many cuisines to balance the richness of food, to preserve or to add a lift to a dish. Limes come from more tropical climates and is an essential ingredient for Asian-style flavours in food, to give the right sour/acid balance and for depth and intensity of flavour. Kaffir limes are essentially used for their zest.
In North Africa, lemons and limes are preserved in salt and their own juice to give a pickled taste to foods they are cooked with. Their colour and firm shape are retained in the liquid, but their potent acidity is changed, as is their taste. They are used with aromatic spices and herbs to provide an antidote to the richness of meat and the oiliness of fish and olives.
For a different taste sensation, try to get your hands on some Limoncello, an Italian aperitif. FMN gives it a five star rating!
A Hobby No More!
World Stage SA Exhibition - The Advertiser, September 22, 2001, page 62
After 35 years in the restaurant business, Libero DeLuca, pictured, started making the Italian liqueur limoncello as a "hobby".
Now the "hobby" has evolved into an expanding business, with sales across Australia and markets opening overseas. Limoncello is a trendy Italian liqueur which has its origins as a grappa-like after-dinner digestivo.
The rise of the Goodwood-based Limoncello Australia Pty Ltd is one of the shining food-and-beverage stories to be showcased at World Stage SA. Tastings will be held of Ambra Limoncello, as well as Ambra Agrumello orange liqueur, Ambra Fragolino strawberry liqueur and Mr DeLuca's latest offering, Ambra Chocolatino chocolate and orange liqueur.
"Ambra Chocolatino is a beautiful product which will do well," he says with passion, but it's limoncello which is the core of the business. It is made from the peel only of Lisbon and Eureka lemons, specially grown and harvested in the Riverland to Mr DeLuca's strict specifications.
The factory is in a handsome yellow building on Goodwood Rd, superbly appointed with a showroom in which the cloudy lemon liqueurs are arrayed in an assortment of unusually shaped bottles on perspex display shelves. Mr DeLuca imports the sleek, ice-glazed bottles from Italy, along with his exclusive bottling equipment. Out in the clinically pristine back rooms of the factory, the liqueurs are made in large stainless steel fermenting tanks.
"We started making limoncello in 20 litre batches - now its thousands of litres. The growth has been exciting," says Mr DeLuca, who for years ran Da Libero restaurant on The Parade, Norwood.
His product is sold all around Australia and exports have opened to Singapore, with negotiations under way with the United States and Hong Kong. "I have three employees here plus three (salesmen) interstate but I'll have to employ more," he says.