Bristol hospitality ‘legends’ celebrated in new photo series

A new series of photos celebrates the suppliers, customers and traders that make up Bristol’s hospitality industry.

The series of black and white photos line the walls of the Bianchis Group’s latest restaurant, Pazzo, on Whiteladies Road, and are a testament to the group’s connection to the city’s hospitality industry.

Alongside photos of chefs, deli owners, and restaurant and bar managers, the series also nods to the Bianchis group’s favourite clothing shops and businesses in the city.

The photos were taken by Stefano Ferrarin, a staff member at Pazzo studying photography. Bianchis co-owner Dominic Borel shared the photos with Bristol24/7, explaining their connections to him and his ever-expanding team.

Raj Soni, managing director of RS Wines

“Raj has been delivering wine from Europe and around the world to Bristol independents for over 30 years. He’s an old romantic when it comes to wine and delivers us exactly what we need. We’ve got a lot of respect and admiration for him.”

Jeff Knights

“Situated mostly on Stokes Croft, Jeff Knight sells the Big Issue. Jeff puts his head into Bianchis for a glass of water and a little bowl of pasta. His ongoing positive energy and mentality adds to our day as well.”

Steve English, Cooshti

“Steve from Cooshti works with a lot of English and Bristolian designers. If there is anyone that delivers a dress code for Bristol it’s definitely Mr English and the crew from Cooshti.”

Elliott and Tess Lidstone, BOX-E

“Eliot and Tess remind me of our operation on a smaller scale. We run our business via six couples. Eliot and Tess, a couple foundation, execute a fantastic and well-cared for product, and we also do loads of work together for Caring in Bristol and Night Shelter.”

Pete Sanchez-Iglesias, Casa, Paco Tapas

“When we first opened Pasta Loco, Pete brought a lot of his front of house and chefs back in the day for an experience there. We were a little bit overwhelmed with how this Michelin star chef would choose us as role models in the industry. We’ve done some collaboration as well for different charities.”

The Licata Family, C&T Licata and Sons

“The famous family of Picton Street and their incredibly delicious deli, has been around for decades. Ben’s dad, Mike Harvey, and my dad, Carlos Borel, also had very small shops on Picton Street over 30 years ago now. We relied on them a lot when we were building Bianchis, to supply us with Italian goods.”

Raja Munuswamy, Nutmeg

“We’ve worked quite closely with Raja on developing his business. He’s a very kind and gentle soul, and a successful businessman. A lovely human being who really knows his stuff when it comes to proper legit Indian food. Being that I’m half Indian and Ben’s father was also born in India, we don’t stray too far away from Indian food.

James Koch, Gallimaufry

James Koch from the Galli keeps the independent music scene alive in Bristol. The Galli is a cornerstone of live music and a place which has a wonderful balance of locals, musicians, creatives, and students as well.”

Shona Graham, Emmeline

“Mother of Bristol. Shona got me started in Cheers Drive with Josh Eggleton in 2020, where we ended up cooking and prepping meals for 400 homeless people a day. Shona runs Emmeline, a cornerstone of cafe culture on Spike Island. She’s also the head of our CIC Team Canteen.”

Lorne Kramer, Under the Wings Productions

“Lorne is a good friend of ours. Now he’s running Wing Productions, and I’ve done a bit of work with him myself decades ago. It’s important that younger people with aspirations have a good role model.”

Sam Sohn-Rethel, Mevalco

“Sam is one of Jo Harvey’s ex chefs from the old Bell’s Diner days to the Bellita days, so he’s had a huge impact on Jo’s culinary growth, and is now a representative of Mevalco which are fine Spanish imports that we use quite a lot in our restaurants.”

Marti Burgess, Lakota

“Marti came to our attention years ago when Bell’s Diner became empty. Marti is part of Lakota as well and we birthed the brand of Pizza Bianchi in the car park of Lakota. We started the movement Bristol Food Union back in the day when Marti was a strong voice with us all. She’s a fountain of knowledge, and a powerful woman.”

Josh Eggleton, Pony Chew Valley

“Josh is one of our dear friends and co-founder of Cheers Drive and Breaking Bread. We do loads of similar things, we both have a huge workforce and are completely like minded with what we want to deliver to Bristolians in the South West. A lot of people get him a little bit mistaken because he’s got so much going on in his brain. But he’s an incredible human being and an inspiration.”

Will Clincard, Parlez Clothing

“Will is a Bristolian fashion designer with a focus on street culture, graffiti artists, skateboarding, BMXing and so on. He’s doing a great design for our new restaurant. He’s based in St Werburgh’s which is where we grew up.”

Penny Warner, Team Love

“Penny is another founder of Breaking Bread and a queen of Team Love. Penny keeps Tom and Dave in line. She’s always giggle and a legend that keeps a smile on her face and keeps us in check.”

Simon MacDonnell, Papadeli

“Ben and Jo Harvey have worked with Simon in the past at Papadeli. He joined us climbing up the mountain to raise money for Caring in Bristol. Simon is another really gentle and kind soul, looking out for the community and all of his staff. He’s probably one of the best delis in Bristol.”

David Pavon, El Colmado

“Amazing Spanish produce, wicked customer service, really colourful personality and deli, if anyone is on the Gloucester Road strip and doesn’t go into it and see the colours, feel the atmosphere and smell that delicious food, you’re missing out.”

Tom Beswick, Popti and Beast

“Tom supplies us with incredible meat, the best we get our hands on. It’s not cheap but we pay for what we get. When we are feeling special we slap this on the menu to let Bristol experience what Tom’s eye has pulled out of the butchers.”

All photos: Stefano Ferrarin

Read next:

• Pazzo, Whiteladies Road: ‘It’s hard not to go crazy for Pazzo’ – Restaurant review
• Hospitality leaders and friends embark on charity climb
• In photos: Eatdrink24/7 has officially launched

Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast: