With 12 million kids already fed, Sir Bruno is working towards 15 million.
Few in America embody the American Dream more than Chef Bruno Serato.
For nearly four decades, this internationally famous Anaheim chef has been telling his life’s story. Ok, well maybe not his entire story.
“I’ve been telling people my story for decades,” he told ENE in a recent heart-to-heart interview. “But not too many people know my full life story,” he said.
Every morning when he’s in town, Chef Bruno is in the kitchen at 5:30 a.m. to make sure the kids get a hot meal. Courtesy photo
Serato is the Executive Chef of the famed “White House Restaurant” in Anaheim, where presidents have eaten, and where a table reservation promises a culinary journey that reflects Serato’s extraordinary life.
Sir Bruno Serato, Executive Chef, owner of “The White House” in Anaheim.
Just this week, Sir Bruno Serato, often recognized nationally for his humanitarian work, received the “Angels on Earth” award from Angel Light Academy, a nonprofit founded in 1995 by Julia Wilmot and her husband, retired Brig. Gen. Richard Wilmot.
The organization recognizes “individuals who demonstrate exceptional leadership and service to their communities.”
In a reflective mood, Serato said during the interview that he was born in France, where his parents had gone after the war to pick potatoes and beets, having left their home in San Bonifacio, near Verona, Italy. The family was poor and had gone hungry. Bruno said he grew up wearing hand-me-downs from the neighbors.
“I wore clothes from people across the street,” he remembers. “I ate pasta every day because it was very cheap for mom and dad, and leftover bread and milk at night was my dinner.”
“I tell people, ‘I’m lucky’. I was lucky enough to be poor, and to grow up that way,” he said. “But guess what? I had no idea we were poor, because we were happy.”
Chef Bruno filling the plates before the 4,000 meals per day head to the delivery vehicles that will deliver them to hungry children. Courtesy photo
As the awards stack up, the memories of growing up poor drive Chef Bruno even harder.
A huge banner hangs over his dining hall proclaiming “12 million meals” have been served to hungry children in the greater Southern California area.
Every morning, even before leaving on long trips to get awards, Chef Bruno is up at 5:30 a.m. and can be seen working in the kitchens to ensure the daily delivery of 4,000 meals made for hungry children.
“We serve an average of four thousand meals every day,” he says. “I’m positive I’m the only restaurateur in the country doing that, and it put me on the map around the world,” Serato said.
What truly carried him onto the world stage came in 2011, when CNN named him one of its Top 10 Heroes of the year — an honor celebrated that December on the internationally televised “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute,” hosted by Anderson Cooper.
Bruno truly knows “The Power of Pasta.” So much so, he used it to name his recent book.
Courtesy photo
The same year, People magazine named him a “Hometown Hero.” Overnight, a local chef’s quiet mission became a national cause.
Twelve million meals and counting. And, he said, “This is only the beginning.” Serato has started paying the first and last month’s rent to move families out of Beach Blvd. motel rooms and into apartments. He has helped 280 families so far.
“You change their lives,” he says, referring to the poorer families, “and you give dignity back to the parents.”
Serato even built a hospitality academy to teach motel teenagers a trade. It was what his mother would have wanted him to do.
To provide him with a better life, Serato’s parents arranged for him to come to America in 1980, arriving with about $200 in his pocket. He lived with his sister in Walnut, California, where the only job he could get was washing dishes.
But for Bruno, it was like hitting pay dirt. He landed a job at La Vie en Rose, a famous Italian restaurant in Brea. “The only job they could give me was dishwasher. I was the most excited guy ever, because I had a job.”
“In two days, I was a busboy, and after one year they promoted me to waiter,” he said. Bruno knew his customers like the back of his hand. He loved his customers, and they loved him back.
“I tell people even now that I know what I do in my job, and I was very good. Nothing to be proud about, just to say: I was very good, a waiter.”
So good, in fact, he had plenty of job offers. He turned them down. “I decided to stay instead. Do I care about the money? I want to be happy.”
He was promoted to maître d’ as the business flourished, and so did Bruno. His instinct- happiness over money, people over paper- would define everything that followed.
When the owners of the famous Anaheim White House Restaurant decided to sell, many in the community thought Bruno Serato would be right to carry on the tradition.
Serato remembers the first encounter with Jim Stovall, the owner of the White House, who presented Serato with an offer to become owner of the treasured institution.
“I told Jim, ‘I don’t have any money,’” said Serato, recognizing he had turned down better-paying jobs to stay happy at La Vie en Rose.
Serato at the Vatican for a blessing from the Pope.
But Stovall was not deterred.
“He (Stovall) shook my hand and said, ‘That’s real honesty. I’m going to help you.’ A week later, I was inside the restaurant.”
“You know that was the good old days, when people would sell horses and cows on a handshake? That gentleman, Jim Stovall, with no more than a handshake, gave me the restaurant,” said Serato.
Since then, the awards and accolades of the man who started as a dishwasher in America are as numerous as his good works.
In addition, his invention of “white chocolate mashed potatoes” and the dish’s rave review in The New York Times only boosted his notoriety.
“I invented white chocolate mashed potatoes by mistake,” he says with a modest smile, “but it tasted good, so we put it on the menu.”
In 2017, Serato gathered his story and included forty of his recipes in a memoir, “The Power of Pasta: A Chef’s Recipe for Life.”
Suffice it to say, his stature and his star have risen to astounding heights. His restaurant has served two American Presidents, Carter and Bush; superstars like Madonna, Gwen Stefani, and Andrea Bocelli; a long list of community leaders; everyday families; and honored patrons.
The Italian immigrant is a true-believing Catholic who was knighted by the President of Italy and blessed personally by Pope Francis.
His mother, Caterina, came to America to visit her son in 2005, says Bruno, and during the visit, she asked to visit the Boys and Girls Club.
Feeding more children in the restaurant. Courtesy photo
There, she watched an eight-year-old eat a bag of potato chips and learned it would be his only dinner; the boy lived in a nearby motel, Bruno remembers.
“She turned to me and said, ‘If he doesn’t have dinner tonight, why don’t you feed him pasta?’” Bruno went back to his kitchen, cooked, and returned to feed the child.
“That was the first time, and when Caterina’s Club was born. It was the first club, first kid, first city, first location.” His now-famous Caterina’s Club was born that day in 2005 and has since served 12-million-plus meals to children.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about her,” said Bruno. “Not a day. I never saw her angry with anyone. I never saw her say no to anyone.” So rarely does anyone see Bruno say no to helping.
“Ninety-nine percent of the time I say yes.”
Serato says he is so committed to helping the poor that he sometimes feels guilt for what he has accumulated. So much so that he spoke to a priest.
“I said, ‘Father, sometimes I feel guilty when I eat a filet mignon or a little caviar, knowing so many poor people are out there.’” The priest’s reply: “My friend, never feel guilty if you never forget the people who need you.”
The road hasn’t been smooth. In February 2017, a fire tore through the Anaheim White House, nearly destroying everything and threatening to end his career. At the very least, it cost him a second million-dollar mortgage.
Serato said Sophia Loren called that day because she’d seen it on the news. Heartbroken and stunned, Serato said he summoned the courage to rebuild, knowing the children needed him more than he needed to move on.
He rebuilt, reopened in 2018, then weathered COVID.
In a statement, Serato responded to this week’s latest award, the “Angels on Earth” Award, again indicating that he has not forgotten those who need him.
“I am more than honored to receive the Angels on Earth award alongside these other distinguished recipients,” said Serato, who was recognized with Eric Halvorson, Lynda Bergh Herring, Heather Krohn, Jonathan Chia and Nadia Khodadadi, as well as youth honorees King Vo and Tarun Raj.
Sir Bruno Serato receiving the “Angels on Earth” Award this past week.
“I know each of us works hard in our respective areas to be of service to our fellow community members, and our real reward comes from knowing we are making a positive difference in their lives.”
From poverty in Europe to dizzying heights in America, Sir Bruno Serato has seen it all.
After three decades of White House ownership, the restaurateur is a bit more reflective.
Chef Bruno Serator gives an award to one of the volunteers for their dedication to Caterina’s Club. Courtesy photo
“After thirty-nine years,” he said, “I’m still here, so I must be doing something right.”
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Serato’s Anaheim White House Italian Steakhouse is housed in the historic Truxaw-Gervais House, a 1909 mansion listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The restaurant offers an extensive menu of Northern Italian cuisine, including prime-grade steaks, fresh seafood and a wide selection of pasta dishes. Its extensive wine list, attentive service and elegant setting combine to create an extraordinary dining experience.
Dining and Cooking