A taste of England in Italy
A restaurateur whose efforts to open a British eatery in Italy is being featured in a six-part television series wants to put Nottinghamshire produce on the menu.
Mr Vito Cataffo (59) the owner of Via Italiano, on Stodman Street, Newark, can be seen in Channel Four’s Dolce Vito — Dream Restaurant.
Camera crews followed him until his restaurant Passion — so called because he is passionate about Italian and British food —opened in Bologna on June 26.
Mr Cataffo is looking for suppliers of local produce to contact him.
He also wants to invite chefs from England, and in particular the Newark area, to work in Passion for a few months.
Mr Cataffo said if they performed well there, he would work with them to open a restaurant on their return to England.
He believes there are many talented people and lots of good-quality produce that he has not yet come across.
Mr Cataffo said he wanted to thank the people of Newark.
He said: “If it was not for Via Italiano we would not be where we are today. The customers have been so supportive.”
Mr Cataffo said Dolce Vito came about after the transformation of the former Edlin and Son saddlers shop into Via Italiano was featured on the BBC property programme, Homes Live.
Mr Cataffo was asked by a television company if he was interested in doing another project.
He said he had an idea to take the best of British food to Italy.
IWC, an independent television production company, produced the series for Channel Four.
Camera crews started following him in 2007.
He scoured Britain for the best produce including Lincolnshire sausages, Scottish salmon, Cheddar cheese, chutney, mustard and pickles.
He also visited Florence, Rome, Naples, Milan and his home town of Benevento in southern Italy while searching for the perfect site for the restaurant.
The building he selected was the home of a multi-billionaire in the 14th Century. More than 20 years ago it was the first British pub in Bologna, the Rose and Crown.
Mr Cataffo bought the property in March, started renovations on May 1, and the restaurant opened on June 26.
Starters include ploughman’s lunch, spare ribs, prawn cocktail, and carrot and coriander soup.
On the main course menu is fish and chunky chips with mushy peas, fish pie, cottage pie and steak and ale pie, and roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.
Fillet steak is proving particular popular.
Desserts include bread and butter pudding with custard, apple crumble, and a cheeseboard.
Mr Cataffo said there was not one Italian wine on the menu, but unfortunately there were no British ones on it either.
He said he looked hard for a British wine but they were not up to scratch.
Mr Cataffo said the restaurant, which seats 96, was fully booked and included regular customers.
He employs four chefs, six waiters and two bar staff, and a general manager.
They are all Italian but wear bow ties and serve customers the British way.
Mr Cataffo said making the programme had given him an insight into the media world and he had learnt a lot.
Mr Cataffo said it took him away from his core business and there was a lot of pressure on him to complete the project on time. He said there were many early starts and lots of travelling but he would do it all again.
He said he was working on an idea for a Britain’s Got Chefs programme, similar to Britain’s Got Talent.
Mr Cataffo, who lives in Lincoln, also owns two restaurants in Lincoln and is working on opening one in Sleaford.
Dolce Vito is on Channel Four on Thursdays at 8.30pm.
Mr Cataffo can be contacted at www.vitocataffo.com
