A family affair
Australia’s coffee king shares some (well-caffeinated) memories.
“I started to taste coffee at four years old, which would probably horrify a lot of people today,” says Les Schirato. For the Vittoria Coffee CEO, who’s recently overseen the brand’s 60th anniversary, coffee has always been part of his life. Even the family car smelt of it, a scent that lingered after his father delivered beans to clients. Yes, Schirato’s father worked at Vittoria Coffee, too, and Les himself began his first proper stint at the company a week after finishing school.
He recalls buying “a very flashy suit” from Sydney menswear store, Mr John, for his first day at work in 1971. “Many years later, Mr John [Hemmes] from the Merivale Group ended up becoming a close friend and client of mine. And today, of course, we deal with his son Justin,” says Schirato. “It’s funny how life moves forward.”
It’s been ages since the CEO has had to unload Vittoria containers with a forklift – and a lifetime since he followed his dad on customer calls. When Schirato started at Vittoria, he remembers the Australian coffee scene being the domain of Italian delis and espresso bars.
“In the early years, they didn’t want me to sell espresso-style coffee, they wanted a milder coffee,” he says. Nevertheless, he persisted and Australians caught up.
“Nowadays, everyone’s a coffee expert,” he says. “The more tattoos and piercings, the more you look like a pirate, the more you’re supposed to know about coffee. I’ve been in the industry for 40 years and I’m still learning so much. But I don’t look like a pirate!”
Coffee runs in the family: wife Luisa was the daughter of one of the company’s co-founders, son Rolando is managing director and eldest grandson William is a coffee-school grad who makes lattes – despite being eight. “He’s the youngest barista we’ve got.” vittoriacoffee.com