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...Go while there are still some tables left...(more) 
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| Sunday Express 12 March, 2000 Julie Bagnoli, 32 Joint owner of Palmiro in Manchester “Stefano and I married six years ago, and running a restaurant was our dream right from the start. We’d ask each other what we wanted from life and we’d both say: ‘Oh, wouldn’t it be nice to….’ Stefano had been an oceanographer in Naples, but gave it all up to become a restaurant manager in Hong Kong. I worked out there too, in marketing, for companies including Benetton and AT&T. I loved corporate life. I had an office overlooking the harbour, lots of stamps in my passport, and work gave me a great sense of achievement. But there’s a point at which most companies ask too much of your integrity, and then they lose my respect. When we had our daughter Alessia, who’s now two, everything changed. She wasn’t planned, but after she was born it just felt like a good time to take a year off and retrain – as a chef. Our fantasy started off by imagining the tinkle of glasses, the gentle background of music and nice conversation. The idea was to open a place for people like us, people with kids perhaps, who’ve gone past the bar scene and want somewhere friendly with good service, where they treat children like people, not like noise pollution. We wanted to do an Italian restaurant decorated in a Thirties modernist style, with none of those clichés like the 2ft pepper grinder. Manchester seemed like an ideal location. There were very few good restaurants when we moved here – it was like the Eastern Bloc. Now all the big chains have moved in and the restaurant business here is really booming, but no one is doing something like ours. We got help at first through Business Link, a government scheme that helps small companies. When we presented them with our business plan they couldn’t believe how well thought out it was- they’re used to people with completely half-baked ideas. Now we’re almost ready to open. We’re just putting away our overalls and doing the finishing touches. We’re delighted with the place. We live above the restaurant and at last we can relish not being surrounded by the chaos of builders. I am going to do the cooking and Stefano is going to work front of house. The idea is that we’ll be as close to Alessia as possible. We recently invited some friends up to eat here and she was running round the restaurant as happy as can be. We all feel very much at home here – and really hope that it will become a similar kind of focal point for all our customers. I know it’s going to be hard work. It’s surprising how physically demanding working in catering is- you’ve got to be fast and accurate. But the combination of catering and looking after my daughter has definitely made me physically stronger. Whatever the difficulties that lie ahead- and I know there are plenty- I can’t help being excited by the future. All I need to think about now is who I’m going to invite to the launch!” Back |