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Ciro Philobes,
La Vecchia Ristorante,
Toronto, Ont.
By Gary Lipovetsky, President of MenuPalace.com
 Ciro Philobes knows from authentic Italian. While honest, rustic Italian fare is among the hottest cuisine styles in Toronto right now — with many Canadian-born chefs creating menus that embody the way people eat in the old country — it’s the only way Philobes has ever known to eat. In fact, the 50-year-old restaurateur owned a popular restaurant in Italy for years, and his current Toronto restaurant, La Vecchia, has served authentic Italian food since the very first day it opened, 15 years ago. It’s been busy ever since.
MP: How did you get into the restaurant business?
CP: My brothers Massimo and Fillipo and I actually grew up in the business. Back in Turin, Italy, we had a restaurant, also called La Vecchia, which we ran for a long time. That’s how we started out.
MP: Ah, Torino — where Juventus plays. I won’t make any soccer jokes, as I know Italy was sent out of the World Cup yesterday.
CP: That’s OK. They played bad and they deserved to go out.
MP: What regions of Italy are reflected in your menu?
CP: In our restaurant, we offer a mix of cuisine from both northern and southern Italy, and we serve a lot of homemade dishes.
MP: How different is it owning and operating a restaurant in Toronto versus one in Italy?
CP: We try to do the same exact thing here as we did there, but one of the main differences is that we had way more pizzas on the menu there. We had 60 pizzas on our menu in Turin, and here, we only have 12.
MP: There’s such a huge emphasis on rustic and authentic cuisine in Canada right now. Is this something you’ve focused on from the start at La Vecchia?
CP: Absolutely. We do a lot of homemade pasta sauces. We have fish that comes into the restaurant fresh, every day. By 9 p.m., it’s all gone — we don’t have freezers here. We’re known in the city for serving the freshest food.
MP: What are some of your most popular dishes?
CP: We have 14 different pasta dishes, and we also offer whole wheat and gluten-free varieties. Our customers were asking for it, and we care about our customers, so we put them on the menu. Of course, all our sauces are made from scratch, and we’re famous for our risotto. We have 15 different kinds of risotto, and people come from all over the city to eat it. And, because risotto is so delicate — where even one extra minute of cooking makes a lot of difference — we always make it to order. Our tiramisu is also very popular. In fact, we won Best Tiramisu in Toronto in 2008.
MP: Do you serve any offal? Things like sweetbreads, testicles, tongue, et cetera?
CP: We don’t serve it at La Vecchia, because I don’t think our customers would understand it, but I love it. Now, we still prepare some unusual dishes, like liver, and people really like it.
MP: Is your chef, Aurora Stranges, from Italy?
CP: Yes, she’s from Calabria. In fact, she’s very well-known as a chef. She does a lot of shows on TV, and there have been many stories written about her. But most important, she knows how to cook true, authentic Italian food.
MP: Do you believe in using local, seasonal ingredients when you can, in addition to the authentic products you can only get in Italy?
CP: We use as much fresh and local ingredients as possible, and we also use Canadian-made products when we can, as long as they are high-quality. But the most important thing is the taste. If it’s not the right taste, we won’t use it.
MP: How does Italian food in Toronto stack up against what’s going on in the old country?
CP: There are a lot of great Italian restaurants in the city. I am not like those restaurant owners who never give credit to anyone else. And, I know that when guests come from Italy to La Vecchia, they love the food, especially our homemade gnocchi. People call me in advance when they hear that my gnocchi special is on, because by 9 p.m. it is already run out.
Also, with Italians, the most important thing is the espresso at the end of the meal. If the espresso is not good, then the entire meal is bad. I care so much about our espresso, I make my own blend using three kinds of beans. I play with the machine every day until I get it perfect.
MP: What’s it like owning a business with your brothers? Do you fight a lot?
CP: No, we get along very well. In fact, we used to own two other restaurants in Toronto, but it is such a busy life to be a restaurateur. So now we just have La Vecchia.
MP: It is indeed, especially if you have a family.
CP: I don’t have a family, but I’m working on it. [laughing]
MP: Looking back at your career, do you have any regrets?
CP: I love my job and I wouldn’t change it, but it takes a lot of work. I would do other things if I could, but I know there’s no time for me to get it done. I am very passionate about it this business, and believe me, once you work in it, you might leave — but you will always come back. |