‘Our family history is still going strong’

Like Francesca Contini in Edinburgh, Matteo Giovanazzi spent his first months at his uncle’s popular Caffe Parma in Glasgow’s west end sorting out the fundamentals. Appointed head chef of the family restaurant in October 2019, his uncle Stefano advised him “to go ahead and do what I had to do”. For Matteo, 33, that ►

► meant creating his own brigade of six chefs. He retained two and recruited four, including John Bagley, who had worked with his father Sandro at La Parmigiana – the famous Glasgow restaurant founded by his grandparents. “So our family history is still going strong,” he says.

Matteo is the fourth generation of the family business. His great-grandfather opened the Philadelphia fish and chip shop in the west end on arrival from Italy in 1930 (although he had first come over before the First World War).

In 1978, his grandparents Angelo and Maria opened La Parmigiana in Great Western Road, where their son Sandro, Matteo’s father, became head chef and Stefano general manager, and Matteo started cooking there at age 16.

La Parmigiana became the city’s oldest Italian fine-dining restaurant still in the hands of the original owners until it was sold in 2017.

His uncle Stefano went on to launch Paperino’s restaurants where Matteo worked while studying for his hotel and hospitality degree at Strathclyde University. Stefano sold Paperino’s and opened Caffe Parma in 2015.

“My being here is a natural progression,” says Matteo. “Caffe Parma is very different from La Parmigiana – we do 160 covers a night compared to 60 at the old place – but in many ways I’m taking it back to the same ethos. My dad was head chef at La Parmigiana for a long time and had a very refined style of cooking. I learned so much from him.

“I’m going right back to basics using what I learned from my family, and using all the oldest family recipes such as proper slowcooked ragu and good stocks.

“But it’s not just recipes; it’s loads of things, like techniques and ways of doing things that were instilled in me. Although my dad’s retired I call him if I need anything. It’s fantastic.”

During the second lockdown, he started takeaway and home delivery, which gave him the opportunity to refine the menu – and to test his new staff’s commitment.

“Everyone was furloughed but we did takeaway boxes for special events like Valentine’s, Mother’s Day, Easter Sunday. It was a whole new discipline. You had to be extremely organised, and sourcing and preparing just the right amount of ingredients so you didn’t have leftovers was a real challenge.

“It was also strange not to see the final dish on the plate. I reckon it’s been a good way for my brigade to find their feet. It’s brought us closer together.”

The menu has been reduced for reopening. He reckons this flexibility is one of the advantages independent restaurants have over the Italian restaurant chains.

“There’s also a huge trust factor. People eat here at Caffe Parma who know each other from La Parmigiana. A kind of ‘I kent your faither’ thing. And younger diners want provenance of ingredients and authenticity of cooking. They’ve been able to travel to Italy freely and know what’s real and what’s not.”

Looks like the secret to longevity after lockdown is to keep it in the family.