[…] by the love impell’d, that moves the sun in heav’n and all the stars

Catering that welcomes you in the family rather than a family in catering: the multifaceted project by Stefania Milano and Franco Virga savours of Vucciria, of the art of sharing, of sensitivity to space and people. From Palermo to the stars with love.

Who knows whether it is the sea that unites them, the saltiness of the Cala or the seductive scent of the alleys on which their world overlooks. Whatever it is, it is magic meant to continue, whether called Gagini, Bocum, Buatta or Ajamola. The secret is to bring people in "an elsewhere”. The secret is not to have secrets, never lie. The secret is to experience the territory and its resources with a free spirit, love good cuisine without the tight meshes of a certain gourmand approach, made up of incomprehensible dishes, tablecloths hanging down to the ground and stilted waiters next to the table. The secret is to love and have fun. 

So, is it true that the first chef of Gagini was Franco, isn’t it?S

F: "Well, that was definitely a carefree moment! We must have thought that "restaurant" meant one in the kitchen and one in the dining room. We were perfect – or so it seemed to us – but it took me two days to throw the pans in the air, discovering a much more articulated planet." A constellation rather than a planet...

S: "A constellation of expectations, sacrifices, and course changes not always painless. We change the tack every day. We try to read the times and people while remaining free from ‘precooked’ dogmas. Travelling, observing and keeping your heart open can teach you that people – just like us – need sincerity to understand what’s on their plate, to be welcomed just as you do when you receive friends, with affection, solicitude and care. To make people feel comfortable, you have to give them space."

F: "And then there’s the soul of spaces. Places have their own soul. Once you find it, it enlightens your ideas: Bocum was a sporting house, a place where people entered and forgot what was outside. We still want people to forget what is outside once entered. Same at Buatta, where, instead of hiding memories, we pulled out all of them. The memory of desired, necessary trips, round trip, and that's why we want you to breathe art at Gagini, which remains a laboratory of beauty. We’ve been looking for light, openness and air in the new renovation. We can't wait to reopen just before Valentine's Day.

S: “This is typical of Franco. He dreams, he plans while I’m more rational. I try to objectify the project. I immediately fell in love with Gagini, embarking on the adventure. With Buatta, it took longer for me to ‘see’ it, while he loved it immediately. This is how iconic places were born, perfectly integrated into the city yet different, each with its own character, as in a love story in which one partner does not change the other but, if anything, one embraces the other.

S: "To us, the hug is that of Vuccir a, an incredible, varied and equal space, capable of changing while remaining true to itself, to its identity. In recent years, we’ve been affected by many changes, even risky, and yet we’ve remained stuck on an idea. Are we talking about the lockdown? Because it is already the second time I have heard the two-year period 2020/2021 has turned into opportunities...

F: Well, yes, one third of our long-standing employees have changed their lives, professions, jobs. Their changes have left room. We were able to reflect and have other experiences. We searched for renewal and found opportunities: some chefs, who were still hireable because of the pandemic, arrived. We wanted them and welcomed them. The star wouldn’t have returned in Palermo after forty-seven years without them and other crucial investments... all in all a favourable situation.

S: “The guys [of the staff, ed.] say it too: alignments of the stars, a particular planetary alignment that releases energy. And then, they, our staff, with whom we share professional but also emotional growth journeys: the result? Motivated people who are hand in glove with our project. The lockdown was terrible but it gave us a new ground where cultivating sprouts, people who gave a boost, favouring some evolution. I’m convinced that this year will be spring...

Are you a family?

S: ”We are a good team, yes, a family. Beautiful, capable, interesting people surround us, and we care for them. The coaching paths are a stimulus and an opportunity for knowing and meeting with each other: learning and individual growth. I think that the ability to relate to others stems from self-awareness, which is indispensable to being authentic. And we want it to breathe in our restaurants. We want people to feel the belonging and our presence even when we’re not present. 

Does the company help couples or vice versa?

Couples split up when they don't have a project, anything to build, especially when they meet each other as adults. Without a project, they flatten out. We started by nurturing dreams and testing ourselves by learning from each other. I have absorbed a little of his volcanic spirit, while he a little of my rationality, and together we are still curious. We want to do and learn. We are united by the love for travelling, for everything that is not trivial, ordinary, and we try to bring it into our work. That’s how Bocum was born, starting from the Latin “cum” and the idea of sharing. Even Ajamola – which is one of the propitiatory songs of the tuna fishermen and which Salvo Prezzemolo suggested to us [company pride, ed.] – is a choral song of encouragement and communion. Because, after all, the soul is there, in the taste and joy of being together. Cooking is seduction like catering: it‘s no longer merely "cooking". Now, people who go out to eat don’t do it out of need. At home, we would have all the tools to eat well. If you go out, you want something else. You want something good and healthy indeed, but also a meeting, a hug...

Love in cooking (to quote ourselves... ed.)?

S: "But also cooking in love, that's how we met eleven years ago. Saturday night, the rain was falling in torrents, one of those evenings that I-won’t-go-out-even-if-Brad-Pitt-passes. Instead, a friend of mine insisted and took me to him. I found him there, behind a kitchen counter we still have, who was cutting vegetables and inventing a dish with what he had in the pantry. And from there, I discovered an extraordinary man full of ideas, of desire to live. It was a ‘reflection phase’ for both. We were back from a previous life experience, questioning ourselves what to do in the future. It was a beautiful summer, and then he decided we had to do something together and took me to Gagini. I felt embraced. I put up little resistance. It’s him who keeps busy in the kitchen. At least, I cook resources, but I have a good palate. I let myself be seduced and, from there, the rest came. And now? Well, we’ll keep travelling, maybe towards the sea. Maybe we’ll leave the Vucciria. Or we’ll take it elsewhere. We have the suitcases, and love as well.