A Bit About Myself I was born and raised in the beautiful Gulf of Naples, Italy. My parents moved to the south from Friuli. So I was raised with both northern and southern cultural influences. I may as well be two different nationalities! For close to 20 years I was fortunate to live in a country house in Castellamare di Stabia (Naples) surrounded by the agricultural splendor of the area and in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius.   I came to Canada in 1970 at the age of 19 and started to work and train as a cabinetmaker. For the next 28 years I worked through the ranks of the furniture business as worker, foreman, manager and, eventually, president of my own company. While doing this I relaxed in my spare time studying, collecting, making and tasting wine. And cooking, something that has always been an integral part of my life.    Changing Career Gears   Woodworking may have been my career, but wine and food was my passion and eventually I chose to follow my heart and make my passion a profession. The next few years were filled with a variety of jobs where I gained valuable experience in the world of food and wine. This period was the opposite of luxury but still one of the best times of my life. I eventually did land a position in the wine business and this role allowed me to sample the latest and trendiest food and wine in the vibrant city of Toronto. But I found, as I got older, that I was drifting away from the new and trendy and back to the simpler, fresher tastes I remembered from my childhood in Italy.

A Homage to My Mother, Marcella Bean  In fact, it was the memory of my mother that inspired me to actively create simple food. She was a farmer at heart and believed that if a recipe had more than three or four ingredients it was too busy. She had a garden, raised various animals and cooked professionally in her younger years and when we moved to Toronto we made space in the backyard for a vegetable garden just like back home. I started to duplicate her recipes using the memories of the wonderful aromas of her cooking as a guide.   Cooking Gets Closer   In my spare time I started to create and lead cooking events specializing in authentic Italian regional recipes. It was easy; it came naturally using my mother’s example. I was having so much fun I added a little singing to round off the experience. The most successful events have always been my hands-on pasta making and sausage making team-building workshops. The participants make pasta and sausages using only Old World tools and methods…no food processors or other machines. The emphasis is always in the ingredients. I still go to great lengths to get original products from Italy…farina doppio zero, DOP San Marzano tomatoes…whatever I can uncover!

Warming Up to Slowing Down In the back of my mind I always thought that I naturally followed the Slow Food movement’s principles and guidelines. After all, I cooked from scratch; I got the best ingredients imported from Italy, and never rushed my meals…it takes a long time to do this! And it does not get any slower! So I decided to support and join the Toronto Convivia of Slow Food.  Well, what a surprise! There was a lot to it… and it wasn’t just for the elite! I have learned that the Slow Food philosophy is all about saving our race and planet, returning as much as possible to feed ourselves in a natural, sustainable way, to make sure that the farmer, artisan, grower can survive without being exploited. As a member I learned that it is about helping and supporting the farmer, the grower, the real people that work the land that in turn feed us with natural wholesome products. I realized that my mother and my family and friends were following the Slow Food conventions without even knowing what the Slow Food movement was. Keep things simple. Buy what is in season and buy local! It is the natural and sustainable way.   I incorporated this new understanding in my eating habits and cooking events. To make original Italian recipes just like my mother did and my paesano are continuing to do.   And so…ONTALIA   I put a name to a philosophy that would incorporate my passion for thing Italian with things grown and produced locally: ONTALIA “Italian Roots in Local Soil” and a union of Ontario and Italia. My recipes are authentic Italian, the ingredients are the freshest Ontario has to offer.   I have not touched a table saw or a drafting board in over ten years. My new tools are all in the kitchen and the old 1970 classical guitar is now also part of the whole experience.      I hope you can join me on this culinary adventure and I encourage you to bring the Slow Food principles into your own home.   Ciao!   Angelo