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Angelo
Giovanazzi Obituary
Angelo
Domenico Giovanazzi was widely acknowledged as one of Glasgow's
finest Italian restaurateurs - no small feat in a city renowned for
its Italian cuisine - a status reinforced by the fact that, only last
week, La Parmigiana, the restaurant he founded on Great Western Road
in 1978, was named the city's best value for money.
Angelo was
born in Cowcaddens, Glasgow on 9th April 1935. His father, Giovanni,
had emigrated to Scotland before the First World War from Borgotaro,
a small town in the western Apennines in the province of Parma. After
the war, Giovanni opened a fish and chip shop at St George's Cross
called Philadelphia, named after the American city to which his
brother had emigrated. |
In 1939, on a
family holiday to Italy, four year old Angelo and his mother found
themselves stranded in Italy, unable to return to Scotland due to the
outbreak of the Second World War, whilst his father managed to return
to Glasgow to run his fish and chip shop. Angelo and his mother were
to remain in Italy until 1947.
As a young
adult, Angelo followed in his father's footsteps, helping out in the
family fish and chip shop. Following his father's death in 1954,
Angelo took over the running of the family business at the age of 19.
It was around this time, on a holiday in Italy, that he met Maria
Cacchioli, whom he married in Borgotaro in 1956.
Angelo's first
son, Sandro, was born in Glasgow in 1957. A daughter, Loredana,
followed in 1961 and Stefano, his second son, was born in 1966. Both
his sons followed in their father's footsteps and have been running
the family's restaurants for many years. Angelo proceeded to open a
fish and chip shop on Great Western Road in 1967, which still
operates to this day, next door to La Parmigiana.
When it came
to food, Angelo's philosophy had always been to use the best quality
produce, based on the firm belief that it is only by using quality
ingredients that good dishes can be prepared and served. His motto
was 'if you wouldn't eat a dish yourself, then don't serve it up to customers.'
Paperino's, a
pizzeria, opened in Sauchiehall Street in the winter of 1991.
Although the atmosphere is less formal than that at La Parmigiana,
the philosophy concerning the requirement for quality ingredients
remains intact. The success of the original Paperino's led to the
opening of a sister restaurant, Paperino's West on Byres Road last summer.
Throughout all
his catering ventures, Angelo stuck consistently with what he did
best - traditional Italian food. Everything on his menus - from pizza
to fillet of beef - was freshly prepared. Many of these dishes are
traditional Italian recipes which have been passed down through
succeeding generations of the Giovanazzi family. Perhaps that helps
explain why La Parmigiana and Paperino's are so popular amongst
Glasgow's Scottish Italian community and Italian tourists in search
of some genuine native cuisine.
Indeed, La
Parmigiana is regularly lauded by Italian newspapers and often cited
as one of the best Italian restaurants outside Italy. So much so
that, whenever an Italian club or national football team plays in
Glasgow, La Parmigiana is invariably the first port-of-call for
Italian journalists to indulge themselves in a protracted post-match
analysis over a fine wine and a delicious meal. Such has been the
popularity of La Parmigiana that it is now the oldest Italian
restaurant in Glasgow still remaining under its original ownership.
Angelo was
immensely proud to be presented with a Medaghia D'oro, a gold medal
awarded to him on 15th July 2000 by the mayor of Borgotaro out of
recognition of his invaluable role in the promotion Borgotaro, the
region of Parma and its products, abroad.
Although in
failing health, Angelo took great pleasure from his attendance at the
first communion of his two granddaughters two weeks ago. He died of
heart failure at the age of 71 on 3rd June and is survived by his
wife Maria, his sons Sandro and Stefano, daughter Loredana and nine
grandchildren. He is fondly remembered as a family man, who doted on
his grandchildren, and a gourmet who lived life to the full and
enjoyed the best that life had to offer.
Angelo lived
for many years in Bearsden, where all three of his children have also
set up home. His funeral mass is on Friday at St Andrews Church,
Bearsden. His remains will be interred, according to his express
wishes, in Borgotaro.
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