… Conversations with Local Businesses
The food scene across Glasgow is thriving and nowhere more so than in the West End. Anne Marie Hillan took the opportunity to chat with Stefano Giovanazzi, the owner and inspiration behind Caffe Parma on Hyndland Road, and to head chef John Liddell, about their culinary journey and what makes this family run Italian restaurant just so special.
STEFANO GIOVANAZZI
If you have ever been in Caffe Parma, named after Parma the hometown of Stefano’s mother Maria, on Hyndland Road, you will have met Stefano who owns and runs this popular restaurant. Why? He is usually there – always smiling, greeting diners, and working alongside his team.
Caffe Parma is a West End institution first opening in 2015 in collaboration with the long-established Western Tennis Club. But Stefano and his family have been at the heart of West End Italian dining for decades. As we spoke, I realised that Stefano and his family have been feeding me and my friends and family my whole life.
Stefano has a rich Italian culture and food heritage which his grandfather brought to Scotland from the town of Borga Val di Taro in Italy arriving here before WW1. This long tradition of providing Italian food in the West End of Glasgow was continued by Stefano’s father, and then by Stefano and his brother, who were born and brought up in the West End
The more mature of our Westender readers will remember the first Paperinos Restaurant on Sauchiehall Street, which was followed by Topelinos and The Big Blue at Kelvinbridge. Kelvinbridge was already the site of the original family fish and chip shop Philadelphia and the Glasgow Italian favourite La Parmigiana. Then in 2005 Stefano and his brother opened Paperinos on Byres Road which was the scene of many happy family meals for me, not to mention birthday celebrations and end of term feasts during my children’s younger years.
Directly connected to the tennis club, the restaurant is open seven days a week from eight till late. Caffe Parma is the most versatile of venues. It is the perfect spot for a morning coffee or convivial breakfast. It is amazing for a family birthday lunch as it suits all generations and caters for all dietary requirements, but it’s also fantastic for a romantic or special occasion meal as the food, especially the seafood, is amazing. And with its outside terrace it is unbeatable in the summer for alfresco drinking and dining.
Recently I saw a lovely wedding party celebration taking place between the outside terrace and the inside restaurant with the finest of food in fantastic relaxed sociable surroundings. It is a terrific venue for such special occasions.
Stefano is rightly immensely proud of this restaurant and it’s obvious that he values his team and says candidly that Caffe Parma’s success is due to the whole team effort. His manager Rachel has been with him since 2005 in Byres Road and she was and is the drive behind the amazing breakfast and brunch menu. His sous chef John Bagley started working with Stefano’s dad when he was 15 and his head chef John Liddell has worked with the family extensively since 1994. With that loyal team around him, his ambition in opening Caffe Parma was to give diners and patrons the amazing fine dining Italian experience of La Parmigiana but in a more relaxed community-based family friendly environment.
Stefano and the team have drawn from all his family’s experience in the restaurant trade in Glasgow and have brought it all together in Caffe Parma where the happy and loyal clientele include all ages; the happily retired; celebrating families, and fine diners. It is a perfect blend of La Parmigiana and Paperinos! For Stefano, Caffe Parma is very clearly not just a business, it’s his second home, his team are his second family – this is a labour of love, and it absolutely shows. Stefano I have no doubt that your grandfather and father would be incredibly proud.
JOHN LIDDELL
John Liddell has worked with Stefano and his family in a number of their restaurants since 1994. His background is very different from Stefano’s. Growing up in the Gorbals, he did not have any Italian heritage, nor did he have a family background in the restaurant trade. But at the age of 16 he secured his first job in The Spaghetti Factory restaurant on Gibson Street and a career in Italian cooking and cuisine was born.
John did not go to cookery school or college. He learnt his trade and culinary skills from demanding work in Italian restaurants in Glasgow, gaining enormous experience and lifelong friends and mentors in those intense kitchen environments. After The Spaghetti Factory, John worked in L’Ariosto on Mitchell Street, the restaurant which prided itself in being the first Italian restaurant in Glasgow. Although this was an invaluable experience, John recalls that the atmosphere and working environment was just too intense.
He then spent a period working in Glasgow favourites such as O Sole Mio on Bath Street and in La Riviera on Dumbarton Road. In 1994, he joined Stefano and his family working in Topelinos on Sauchiehall Street. There he worked with and was inspired by, the then head chef, Peppino, who he says was a massive influence on him and remained a mentor and friend for many years.
At one point John left to join the team at Jamie Olivers restaurant, but there he was unable to create or develop any of his own dishes or menus. By this time John had seen the menus created in some fabulous Glasgow eateries and he knew he wanted more freedom to create his own menu.
John continued to gain enormous experience and ideas in different restaurants but jumped at the chance to become back to work with Stefano as Head Chef in Caffe Parma.
John and Stefano clearly have an excellent relationship. Stefano is clear that his team inspire him and challenge him to make Caffe Parma the best. John is equally clear that Stefano allows him the opportunity and freedom to develop the menu and create and introduce new dishes. John states that the food scene in Glasgow is exceptionally vibrant and imaginative. He believes chain Italian restaurants are not what Glasgow diners want. Glasgow diners want authentic and innovative Italian cuisine. And John is determined to keep challenging himself to provide that in the West End.
So, what are John’s favourite dishes? Well he recommends his risotto, the lemon sole, the lobster pasta. Oh… and the cichetti, which are the Venetian small plates that Stefano introduced to Glasgow.
There is a team of 12 in the kitchen working with John to keep the menu fresh and exciting but also ensuring that firm favourites are available. They will even make you a birthday cake. Speaking to John, everything on the menu is recommended – and rightly so!
John is immensely proud of his Gorbals working – class background but totally acknowledges that if it had not been for that first job in the Spaghetti Factory his life could have taken a hugely different path. His introduction to Italian cuisine, his hard work and the inspiration and experience he gained in all these legendary Glasgow Italian restaurants has resulted in him now creating his own amazing menu and being part of a team in a cracking West End location!
Luckily for me, the restaurant is just five minutes from home. And having had the opportunity to learn more of the journey of both Stefano and John, it makes me even more of a fan. The success of Caffe Parma is the result of decades worth of hard work. Lucky us, to have Stefano, John and Caffe Parma right on our doorstep here in the West End.
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