Wales Farmer 14 FEATURE February 2013


IN THE KITCHEN: From right, Grace Vasami, Gino Vasami, Tony Vasami and his partner Maja Rzeczycka and daughter Maria. Family brings ataste of


Italy to Welsh heartland Venturedriven by passionfor goodfoodand ruralWales


Ceredigion with his familyto farmin1946. Antonio pur- chased Hill View farmfor £1,000 and started offwith just 18 acres and four milking cows.Overthe generations the familyhas gone from strength to strength and expanded the familybusiness to three holdings. “When my son Tony came


APASSION for good food and alove of the Welsh countryside and its peo- ple are the driving force behind an Italian family- run restaurant in the


acres


heart of Wales. Gino Vasami, whofarms 110 at Rhydgoch farm,


Ffostrasol, near Llandysul, Ceredigion, converted the old milking parlour and set up the


“


La Calabria restaurant forhis son Tony in November 2003. Gino’sfather Antonio was


captured by the British in the siege of Tobruk, North Africa, and brought to aprisoner-of- warcamp near Ffostrasol at Henllan. While in captivity Antonio worked on farms in Ceredigion, falling in love with the land and its people. On his release he went back to Italyfor ayear,but returned to


My heart and way of life is here in Wales. Wales is just fantastic –apart from the weather.”


Gino Vasami


back to live in Wales after work- ing forbig chain hotels in London, he helped me on the farm, butIcould tell thatfarm- ing wasnot reallyinhis heart so Iasked him what he wanted to do and he reallywanted his own restaurant,”said Gino. “So we sold Hill View farmin


2000 and invested the money in the restaurant. Iconverted the old parlour on my ownand only sought help with the roof. “It took me about three years


to finish the job.Itisthe best thing we ever did and we have just celebrated our fifth anniver- sary.” Tony and Gino farminpart-


nership with Tony Hack and his wife Arlene,ofnearbyGlasfryn farmand, using their ownmilk, the familyproduce ice cream fol- lowing an old Italian family recipe forthe restaurant. They have established morethan 20 ice cream flavours. All of the produce from the farmisused in the restaurant,


with the animals being taken for slaughter in Tregaron. Gino’s greatnephew, Steffan Hack, has also purchased some Charollais sheep,whose lambs will be on the restaurant menubyEaster next year. In the summer months the


familyalso grow herbs and veg- etables in the garden thatare used in the restaurant, including chilli peppers and artichokes. Gino wasfour years old when


he came to live in Ceredigion and had to return to Italyfor his military service.Itwas during this time thathelearnt how restaurants were being run in Calabria, asouthern region of Italy, and this is howheruns the restaurant together with his wife Grace,55, and son Tony. Gino added: “The waythings


grow in Calabria, it is with sun. Youcan taste it, youcan smell it. The food is just great. Iwanted to bring this passion and the flavours of ItalytoWales fora long time. “The restaurant is going from


strength to strength, butifit weren’tfor the local people here in Wales we would not be able to keep the place going. Their sup- port since we opened the restau- rant has just been fantastic. “I go back to Italyonce ayear


as my wife Grace still has family over there, butmyheart and way


For the latest Wales farming news: walesfarmer.co.uk “


The way things grow in Calabria, it is with sun. You can taste it, you can


smell it. The food is just great. Iwanted to bring this passion and the flavours of Italy to Wales for along time.”


Gino Vasami


of life is hereinWales.Wales is just fantastic –apart from the weather.” Tony Vasami previously


worked at the Regents Park Marriott Hotel in Swiss Cottage in London prior to 2003 forfour years as food and beverage man- ager looking after the bar, restaurant, room service and banqueting departments. He said: “It wasabusy 305-


bedroom hotel in the heart of London. As it wasclose to the Emirates Stadium we had many football teams staying therelike Man Utd, Blackburn, Newcastle Utd and also the England crick- et team when they playedtheir test matches at Lords.itwas an amazing experience butIwant- ed to come back to Wales. “Beforeweopened the restau-


rant Ihad help from Farming Connect to prepareabusiness plan and obtain valuableinfor- mation about the tourist econo- my in west Wales.


“The interesting thing forme


at the time wasthat, although the standardoftourist accom- modation in west Wales was high, places to eatwerevery poor and the first choice of restaurant to visit morethan any other wasanItalian. “Astherewerenone in west


Wales at the time,Ithought I had definitelyfound alittle niche in the market. With my knowledge of the industry and my mother’scooking skills I thought we would do well.” Gino added: “My wife Grace


is the driving forceinthe kitchen and she does all of the cooking. The restaurant can nowseat70 people and it is because of her cooking people come here. “The sauce is the most impor-


tant thing when it comes to cooking Italian food. My mum did the sauce the old-fashioned wayand she taught my wife. And this is howGrace still cooks in the restaurant.”


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