Qualitaly_122

APR. MAY. 2021 VIII in 1888, in part of his work The Twilight of the Idols. The phrase has become commonplace, but never before has it been so appropriate as in this period and, above all, in the story we are about to tell. We have lived, and are still living, in an unprecedented historical moment. Our category has paid perhaps one of the highest prices. And yet, there are those who have never given up hope. And we want to tell you a story of resilience and great tenacity. That of Gabriella Ieraci, owner of the ‘Bistrot del Castello’, a restaurant located right at the foot of Rivoli Castle (Piedmont) which, by force of circumstance, has had to give up the flow of tourists (and therefore of customers) that have been populating the charming restaurant for almost 10 years. But Gabriella did not lose heart, as she has always done in her life ... You have a very compelling entrepreneurial story. Shall we tell it? I was born and raised in Turin. My parents had moved to Turin from Calabria. Mum worked in a factory, Dad was a fruit and vegetable merchant. At the beginning he only did markets. Over the years he also bought a small shop. I remember that when I was 6 years old I was already behind the fruit and vegetable counter. After my studies, when I was 14, I officially started working with my father and my brother, who was a little older than me. I was lucky enough to be born and live in that environment. Today, thanks to that experience, I am able to recognise a good, fresh product from one that should be avoided. You didn’t immediately become a caterer... Not really. Around the age of 18, I started working on my own in a bar in Rivoli (where we currently have our restaurant). The bar experience was very important for my business. There I learned a very important concept to apply in this job: to always be available to customers, to know how to pamper them by satisfying their requests. After my experience at the bar, I did a bit of everything: I organised fashion shows, owned a clothes shop, drove for a transport company for nine years and was a representative for a furniture company. Finally, I joined ‘Carpisa’ (a famous leather goods brand) where I managed 13 shops for almost three years. It was a great experience, but at a certain point I felt I had to stop. My brother and I both had jobs that took us all over the world. We heard that they were selling the ‘old’ bar in Orbassano... and that was that. We bought this bar and ran it together from 2008 to 2010. It was a bar and diner that also had a kitchen, which I took care of in part, along with a cook. In 2010, due to a series of misunderstandings with my brother, I had to start from scratch. Together with my partner (who used to work with us at the bar) we decided to change area. We were offered the management of a (seasonal) restaurant in Dolcedo, a small village near Imperia. The restaurant was very nice: an old stone mill with a beautiful terrace overlooking the river. A place frequented by German and Russian tourists. Once the season was over, we started looking for a new restaurant (near Turin) to take over and we came across ‘our’ castle. At first, I wasn’t so convinced. But then my partner persuaded me and, in 2012, we bought Bistrot del Castello. And you are discovered as a lover of cooking... When we were running the restaurant in Imperia, ‘Anima golosa’, the chef we hired brought out my culinary skills. I’ve always loved being behind the cooker, but doing it in a restaurant was taboo for me. I was so scared of having to prepare for several people at once. Claudio (the chef) was my teacher, my school. In a very short time, he taught me how to organise the kitchen and to trust myself. And I went on like this, doing my own thing, coming up with dishes and combinations. The initial line was set by you. Today there is an executive chef who runs the kitchen... When we took over the ‘Bistrot del Castello’ we changed everything: the furnishings, the colours of the walls... We tried to make it cosy and refined but affordable for everyone. When customers come in, they have to feel at ease. Of course, in the early days it was always me in the kitchen and, even now, I am still very present. In 2018 a young chef arrived to join me, Alessio, who had had a little experience in starred restaurants. He was already working in a restaurant in our area; I proposed him, and I am very happy to have him with us because today he is like family. We study the menus together; he is quite autonomous but always under my supervision. I need to have time to take care of the purchases, look after the staff, follow the communication through social media, and deal with the administration. We also have a lady, Adriana, who is our handyperson in the kitchen; she keeps everything in order because the space is not huge. She’s a fundamental collaborator for me, she’s been with us for years. We also had a third person, an assistant chef, Davide, but with the pandemic, we had to give him up in the hope that, when work starts again, he will be able to come back and work with us. And then, of course, there’s Mimmo, my partner, who looks after the reception and the dining room. Ours is a Mediterranean cuisine with influences from Piedmont, but also from Calabria (because of my parents). I love the south; I love the Mediterranean ... Tell us about the relationship with suppliers... I have a lot of suppliers, but I have had the longest relationship with Noval MAGAZINE