Chef Armando Varlotta had to get over one hurdle, then another, and another — and then along come Covid.
But the hospitality bug never went away and he is now doing what he likes to do.
Armando Varlotta closed his popular Armando’s Kitchen restaurant last year after a tumultuous time. First an electrical fire destroyed the kitchen in 2017. Then there was disappointment with what the landlords would rebuild, followed by a wait of 13 months to reopen.
Then Covid-19 arrived, cutting a swathe through the hospitality industry.
The stress involved was too great and Mr Varlotta stepped back from full-on hospitality to work a couple of days a week at Carrick Winery’s Cellar Door.
However, he missed the people, especially the regular customers he had built a rapport with, and cooking, he said.
"Over the winter I got a little bit bored. I missed the interaction with people."
At Armando’s he had made a lot of friends. It was a place people came together, he said.
His newest venture, La Bogetta, in Ripponvale Rd, near Cromwell, opened last month with two business partners — former Armando’s colleague Wendy Denholm and Chris Kimm, who owns the building the shop is in.
The former Ritchie’s Gully General Store had been closed for some time and Mr Varlotta, who lives close by, watched it deteriorate and thought he could do something with it.
An upscale deli unlike anything else in the area, they sold ready meals, fresh pasta and sauces all made by Mr Varlotta in a commercial kitchen across the road from the shop. His gnocchi, his signature dish, would be available once again as well as pizza bases, which he had been making for Cellar Door.
There was also imported Italian meat and cheeses, glorious coloured dried pasta and oils sitting alongside the best of local preserves, honey and sweet treats.
"Having this place, it brings people together. It’s nice to interact with people again ... cooking was a big part of my life and to be able to do that again, in a less stressful way, is definitely a bonus."
The space would be available for event hire, Mr Varlotta said.
