They call him the Godfather of elevated Italian cuisine—in a good way. Since 1969, Umberto Menghi has been setting the standard for Italian fare on Canada’s West Coast, thanks to his ever-popular restaurants, five best-selling cookbooks and “The Elegant Appetite” cooking show, which was broadcast across Canada. He also runs a prestigious cooking school in Tuscany, where he’s mentored generations of new chefs, and has helped facilitate the importing of fine Italian products to Canada. In recognition of his work in helping to promote and preserve Italian heritage abroad, the Tuscan-born Menghi earlier this summer received the prestigious Order of the Star of Italy from Italian President Sergio Mattarella—officially making Menghi a Knight of the Order of Italy. And it all started from a little yellow house on the edge of downtown Vancouver.
We caught up with the legendary chef and restaurateur while his was on vacation in Italy—“I was just working in the vineyard here to help make wine,” he notes—to chat about how palates have changed since he first came to Canada, what makes for a good restaurant, and what he can’t leave Italy without eating.
Tell us a bit about your life growing up in Tuscany—did you first start cooking at home, with your family?
It was great growing up. I would hang around the kitchen, helping my mom cook Tuscan-inspired dishes. Living on a farm—my dad was a farmer—we had a big garden full of fresh vegetables. We ate very well at home, so I was always interested in food. Eventually, I wanted to see what it was like to work at a local restaurant, and then later, wanted to see what other food was out there in the world. So I convinced myself, my mom, and my dad that I wanted to go to cooking school. They were both happy for me.
Calamari at Giardino.
Where did you end up training, both in and out of Italy?
I wanted to travel—I loved feeling free. And I wanted to learn, not just in a kitchen, but also in a dining room with guests. I ended up training at a hotel restaurant school for three years, and then was sent to work at different places; I worked in Milan for a little bit, then the coast in Tuscany. I always wanted to travel the world, too, and that’s when my mind was made up to explore and perhaps come back one day to teach.
After I got my diploma, and specialized in Tuscan food, I went to France. I read books about France, about the great chefs and the food. I worked at La Poularde in Grenoble, then at Hotel Thermal in Aix-le-Bain. Then to Jersey Island at the Pomme d’Or to learn English. I was really excited. Then over to England for a short stint at the Queens hotel in Eastbourne.
What brought you to Canada first—and then to Vancouver?
While I was in England, the government of Canada House in London advertised a job posting for the 1967 Montreal Expo. I applied, got an interview, and they told me I was perfect—and bought me a ticket to go to Canada. I arrived on a cold, cold evening in Montreal. There, I got a job at the Queen Elizabeth club for the Expo, then went to work at a ski resort, Mont Tremblant. In the spring, I decided to go to the West Coast, because my original plan was to go to San Francisco, Los Angeles, and then to keep going to Japan and Asia and back to Italy. However, my dreams basically stopped on the West Coast.
When I arrived in Vancouver, I had just $7. I was broke, and found a job three days later at a small hotel—where the room was $7. But that job took me to my next job at the Hotel Vancouver. At the time, it was owned by the same company that owned the Hilton in Montreal, where I had also worked. I started in the kitchen first, then got out into the dining room, and was preparing a lot of dishes, including carving. I was able to apply my hotel school learning.
You ended up staying, so what was it about Vancouver that you fell in love with—what made you want to stay and open a restaurant there?
It was spring in Vancouver and beautiful. I liked the waterfront. But I ended up working across the street from the historic, now famous Little Yellow House, and when I saw it, I knew, that was it—I wanted to open a restaurant there. I didn’t know how at the time—I had no money—but those were my dreams.
I ended up meeting the owner of the house, who was a designer for wedding dresses. He told me he loved Italians, and we formed a deal. I saved money and was also talking to regulars at my job, at the Panorama Roof at Hotel Vancouver. They loved my idea and said they could help me if I wanted. From there, I opened a restaurant in the Little Yellow House called Umberto. It was my first restaurant. The food was Tuscan—classic, original recipes, but lighter food that Vancouver didn’t have yet.
I was wondering about that—what was the Italian food landscape like when you arrived in Vancouver some 50 years ago? Could you find authentic dishes—or, if not, what were the choices like?
Early on in my time in Vancouver, I had a sandwich one day on Robson Street at a little cafe. It was a spaghetti sandwich—which was a “Wow” moment, as I had never heard of a spaghetti sandwich before! So I ordered it, and it was basically toast with Chef Boyardee on top. I looked at it and it gave me so much energy because I thought, if this is what Vancouver considered Italian food at the time, it pushed me even more to want to open my own Italian restaurant.
What was the response like when you finally were able to open Umberto?
When I first opened Umberto at the Little Yellow House, I had about three dishes. I went to the butcher and got some shanks and made osso buco out of it. Then I went to Commercial Drive to Oliveri to get some fresh pasta. We served tortellini alla panna, green fettuccine with spinach and gorgonzola, lasagna, and cannelloni. Everybody loved it! My only problem was I only had one waiter and wasn’t licensed, and my guests wanted wine. So one night, I went into the middle of the dining room and said, “I don’t have a liquor license and don’t have money to buy wine or liquor.” I asked someone in the middle if they wanted to go to the nearby local liquor store that was open until midnight to get some—and someone got up. They got two cases of Beaujolais, some white, and served it to the full room.
Squid ink pasta at Giardino.
Later, you became even more beloved for the restaurant Il Giardino. Tell us about that place.
Il Giardino was the third restaurant I opened. I wanted to exactly express the dishes of the Italian regions of Naples, Pisa, and Florence. The simplicity of food was very important to me because as an Italian, we never experience all these running sauces that cover the taste of food. It is a veal scallopini, for example. And many of my guests had never had it before.
We brought in lots of game and meat (my second restaurant was more seafood-focused), and lots of British guests visited us as they love game. We had this stuffed breast of pheasant with beautiful wild mushrooms. We made sure our dishes came with vegetables that you didn’t have to order separately. Other signature dishes included a quail with grapes sauteed for a sweet and sour taste that was very popular, and rack of lamb with fennel.
The response was fantastic when it opened. It was also one of the first garden restaurants in Vancouver. People at the time didn’t really dine outside—and the liquor board didn’t want to give you a license, because people could see others drink outside—however, people loved it, and it was at the time a new style and concept.
Why did you end up closing Il Giardino in 2013—and then opening up the new version, Giardino, in 2015?
After more than 35 years, it was time to close, a financial decision. (Ed Note: The Little Yellow House—whose official name is Leslie House—became a heritage landmark, thanks to its designation as one of the oldest homes in the city. It was recently moved from its original location to help protect it from a condo tower development that is going up on that site.)
However, two years later, we were able to find a location just up the street (we moved from street number 1382 to 1328, and we kept the same phone number) to a place that also had space for a garden patio in the back. Also, many of our regulars were asking us if we would open again. They all came back as soon as we opened Giardino
How is this new incarnation different from the original, which is so legendary in town?
It’s a newer space, with high ceilings, and is on one level. But the DNA of the original is there—the intimate feeling, the warmth, and it is filled with artwork and has a garden patio with the pink tablecloths outside. Many of the past staff returned to the new Giardino, including GM Bobby Copiak.
We have dishes of the day—fresh seafood is very important—and we have things like stuffed Dungeness crab with spinach, a Florentine recipe, with some sauce and baked gratin. This dish is something we had at Il Giardino. Other popular dishes include squid ink pasta, Bistecca alla Fiorentina, linguine alle vongole. Before, seafood wasn’t as popular, but these days, everyone enjoys it.
Inside Giardino, Umberto Menghi's standout Italian restaurant in Vancouver.
Do you source any products or ingredients from Italy?
We have the best Parmigiano cheese, mozzarella from Puglia, Italian tomatoes, well-aged prosciutto, salami, and olive oil, including one we produce ourselves from Villa Delia, the hotel and cooking school my family owns. And, of course, Italian wine. We also get things locally, and BC has much to offer, from beets and potatoes to all the greens and herbs. Seafood, of course, is great on the coast, such as BC spot prawns, salmon, halibut, and more. Everything is available here.
Over the course of your career, you’ve owned and operated some 14 restaurants. What do you think are the key elements to a successful restaurant?
Three things: ambience, service, and food. If these three things don’t stay together in one dish, then you don’t have a restaurant. So you’re going out—that’s the entertainment. People want to feel welcome, feel good and feel the energy in the restaurant. We’re lucky that many of our staff have been here a long time—they are recognizable—and many of our customers often end up dining with other customers they may know or have seen around. It’s the complete experience.
And why does Italian food resonate so much with North Americans, do you think?
Because there is a large selection, a variety, and there is a simplicity to it. And, Italian restaurants have pasta—I haven’t found anybody who doesn’t like pasta, from babies and kids to adults.
You’ve run these iconic restaurants, written many cookbooks, been made a Knight—what’s next for you? Is there anything new you want to do?
I’ll tell you what’s next for me—retirement! I want to continue to enjoy life, to spend time in Italy at Villa Delia, spend time in Vancouver. Every time I look at the sunset here in the countryside of Italy right now, it’s inspiring.
What are some of your favorite places to visit while in Italy—and what are some things you can’t leave without eating?
I’m usually in Italy twice a year—usually at the end of spring or the beginning of the summer, and I like to come back in the fall as it is beautiful, and has a totally different approach to food. And the weather is still very good. Of course, I love visiting Villa Delia, and I like the coast—like Capri, and Naples. I go to Florence for the Bistecca alla Fiorentina—rare, grilled, charcoaled—and then love a pasta that my sister at Villa Delia makes. Then I go to the coast for seafood, such as red snapper done in the oven with thinly sliced potatoes and cherry tomatoes, and a broth. Enjoy it with some wine!