the ‘ambassador’ of Italian gastronomy in Curitiba

Would you do it all over again, capiche?

Erminia Caliceti is a kind of ambassador of Italian culture and gastronomy in Curitiba. Listening to her tell stories, from her arrival in Brazil with her family, at the age of 14, in 1963, to the opening of her Caliceti di Bologna, in Batel, is like a lesson in authentically Italian culture and customs. Between various ‘ecco’, ‘capiche’, ‘piano piano’, ‘va benne’ and the characteristic hand gestures, she tells how she conducts the enterprise that began in October 1972, following every detail closely. All with the more than luxurious assistance of the brothers Alberto and Pompeo. Her dedication to her work and her undeniable contribution to Curitiba’s gastronomy makes Erminia one of the honorees of the Bom Gourmet Award 2023.

“My mamma, it was she who had the courage and daring to, instead of putting her hands in the dirt, as the Veneto people of Santa Felicidade did, getting her hands dirty, and to this day we continue this tradition”, he says, while shows a newspaper page with a photo of his mother Onelia Caliceti, whom he mentions several times in an hour of conversation.

It was the lessons from Mamma, who was not very complimentary, that helped make the restaurant a reference not only in food, but also in Italian culture. Dona Onelia made a point of, for example, teaching customers that the dough was not raw, but rather al dente, the right spot to savor it. Or advise that the huge noodles made and served in the restaurant should not be cut, but rolled with the help of a spoon. Something she did gently and politely, even against her husband’s wishes.

A restaurant in the palm of your hand

Erminia takes care of all aspects of the restaurant. She knows exactly where everything is or needs to be. She arrives early (she lives in the townhouse attached to the restaurant), monitors the entrance and the first movements of her team, currently with 30 employees, she knows every detail of the kitchen. She wants to know if glasses, bowls, cutlery, napkins are all in order, if anything is missing, if the salon is ready to receive customers. To avoid missing anything, she leaves a notebook on a table next to the bed where she writes down issues to be resolved the next day.

Erminia did not marry. She dedicated herself to the family business and, at 74 years old, remains firmly in charge of the restaurant’s kitchen with an enviable disposition. The brothers take care of the administrative part. “It was a big sacrifice, ‘ma’ would do it all again,” she says.

An Oscar winner and a young mayor

Dedication to work generates results. In addition to its recognition on the local gastronomic circuit, Caliceli di Bologna received an Oscar winner in 1998. When he was in Curitiba that year to film “Oriundi”, a feature film by Brazilian director Ricardo Bravo shot in the city, North American actor Anthony Quinn liked to go to the restaurant in the afternoon, accompanied by his Italian wife. “We talked a lot,” recalls Erminia. Another personality welcomed by the restaurant was Ricardo Pasquini, professor emeritus at UFPR and pioneer in bone marrow transplantation. And, at Ristorante Bologna, even before Caliceti, it was the young mayor Jaime Lerner who was seen eating meals, which increased the restaurant’s fame.

“I’m like my mother, with few words, but with the intention of always doing better,” he says. Of everything she likes most about work, which mixes with life, Erminia cites the garden, located at the back of the restaurant, where she relaxes while taking care of the plants, accompanied by the German shepherd Frida. She also likes to teach. “I would like to transmit everything I know, teaching how to do things in the best way.

Service

WHERE: Caliceti di Bologna – Alameda Dr. Carlos de Carvalho, 1365 – Batel
PHONE / WHATSAPP: (41) 3223-7102
SERVICE: Monday to Saturday (closed on Tuesdays), from 12pm to 2pm and from 6pm to 11pm; Sunday, from 10am to 3pm.
@calicetidibologna