Jane Edmanson
JANE EDMANSON: There was a time when plants like artichoke and Basil and food like ravioli and minestrone were considered incredibly exotic. Now, they’re just part of our everyday lives and it’s all thanks to Italian immigrants – like Mario and Maria Vigano. They came here, to the outskirts of Melbourne, in 1934 and they set up their farm and they brought with them the culture and the food of Italy.
Their granddaughter, Patricia O’Donnell is a well known Melbourne restaurateur and the story of her grandparents Mario and Maria is also the story of Melbourne’s vibrant food culture.
PATRICIA O’DONNELL: They came because my grandfather had clashed with Mussolini’s fascista in Milano where the family were and he’d had a few run ins and his mother was told it was dangerous and so off they went, but Australia, I think, was just almost an accident because they knew a few people here – maybe it was easier to get on the ship – I’m not entirely sure.
JANE EDMANSON: This farm supplied an astonishing variety of fresh produce to their Melbourne restaurant, Marios and was also the family home for more than 30 years.
So this was the original sighting for the old vegetable and fruit garden?
PATRICIA O’DONNELL: Yes it was and then the fruit trees were further down, next to….closer to the river.
JANE EDMANSON: And how important was this site to Mario?
PATRICIA O’DONNELL: Well it was incredibly important because it was the real Italian style of life – the self-sufficiency, the garden-to-plate, the seasonal stuff – you cook with what is at its best – because the thing about seasonal food, as you know, is that it’s not only that…well these days you can get it all seasons, but it’s only at its best in its real season.
JANE EDMANSON: Yes and the essential ingredients of an Italian restaurant were here.
PATRICIA O’DONNELL: Yes, it could be grown here and the essentials that you actually couldn’t buy – things like artichokes, eggplant – melanzana, zucchini – which surprisingly enough wasn’t easily available.
JANE EDMANSON: What was Melbourne like back then?
PATRICIA O’DONNELL: The city would empty after the 6:00 o’clock swill, so it would be completely empty.
After the war came the big immigration of Italians from the rural areas and they used to arrive, obviously very bewildered at the docks. Grandmother used to send down bowls of spaghetti to greet them and that wave of Italian immigration completely…was really the transformative one because they set up businesses and then of course the businesses, a lot of them, were about recreating their culture. Recreating their own meals and so on.
I’ve never got over the fact that the only olive oil you could get was in little brown bottles from the chemist.
JANE EDMANSON: One of the Italian chefs brought out from Italy by the Viganos in 1960 was Pietro Grossi. His son Guy Grossi is now an internationally renowned chef.
GUY GROSSI: I’ve still got that work contract at home that they struck that deal.
PATRICIA O’DONNELL: Was it fair?
GUY GROSSI: Ah, you know what? It was absolutely fair. The fairest part was that he paid all his travel expenses as long as he worked it off in salary!
JANE EDMANSON: Guy believes this farm and the Vigano family contributed immensely to the diversity of modern Australian culture.
GUY GROSSI: This farm, at that time, was probably one of the great, significant properties where there was that home-style, Italian hospitality.
I think with food, from a culinary point of view and I think you can take lessons in life out of this as well, to actually grow something out of the ground that hasn’t been tampered with and to keep it as fresh and as pure as possible, as the cook, that’s sometimes is the greatest challenge.
JANE EDMANSON: The Vigano family owned this farm until 1966 and in the early 2000’s it was threatened with demolition. Fortunately, community action intervened to preserve it and now, it’s heritage listed so it can provide a lasting reminder of the rich contribution that Italian immigration has made to Australian food and culture.
PATRICIA O’DONNELL: They bought an alternative life that was quite different from the life of Australia at that time and it was a fabulous alternative. It was alternative of hospitality, of gardens, of food and it was quite glamorous too.
GUY GROSSI: If you visit most of our major cities…and it’s not just the Italian culture – it’s an eclectic, wonderful culture, that’s made our country so vibrant and so wonderful. You can dine out for 30 days of the month and not hit the same cuisine twice, if you like in a city like Melbourne. It’s just fantastic.
COSTA GEORGIADIS: What a fantastic contribution Italians have made to our Australian lifestyle.
Now I’m here at the Intensive English Centre in Chatswood where recently arrived immigrant children come to learn English. The space behind me where they’re working doesn’t look like very much at the moment, but it’s the beginning of what’s going to become a school and community garden.
Sophie over in Adelaide has found a school where gardening is at the very heart of the curriculum.