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Otago Daily Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
A slice of Italy in Dunedin's St Clair
By Tess Brunton of RNZ A Dunedin seaside suburb is becoming a haven for Italian expats and foodies alike. It all started with a desire to bring authentic woodfired pizzas to the shores of St Clair more than a decade ago. When Katrina Toovey took over The Esplanade back in 2012, she wanted to embrace the history but thought it was time for a new identity. Less a Kiwi pizza restaurant and more an authentic slice of Italy. But she had no idea the business would help to create a thriving, Italian community. "Almost has been a happy accident and kind of an organic growth so when I did take over, I decided that I wanted to do woodfired pizza and I thought who better to do that than an Italian," she said. Since then, she has helped to bring about 40 or so Italians to Dunedin, saying there was also a stream of people who floated through on working holiday visas as well as a strong foundation of people in the community. This year, she opened two more businesses - Piccolo Bar and Sorella Gelato - both a short stroll away from The Esplanade and St Clair beach. "Sometimes I do look at it and I think 'how did this happen?' There's a whole community of people here including now children who've bubbled up through this business and through finding something that they like in the city and work they enjoy and a supportive environment," Toovey said. Restaurant manager Luca Capece moved over when his best friend, who's a pizza chef, got a job at The Esplanade in 2013. It changed his life. He met his partner there and they now have two kids. "I'm feeling at home here and ... we have a small community, Italian, but what I really enjoy and I was shocked how the Kiwi community treat us. They see us like a family," he said. Capece said it had been a joy being able to speak Italian with other staff and get a taste of home - with a recent staff dinner featuring a traditional polenta dish from his hometown. "When you eat polenta, it brings up all the memories from when your mum was cooking it and you were enjoying it. I come from a big family, we are 10 of us so I remember this big table and then we have some cheese, we have some polenta. It's beautiful," he said. When Esplanade maître d' Vanessa Sanna moved to Dunedin with her Kiwi husband, she knew no one. She started scouting for good Italian food and came across the restaurant. "That was amazing the day that I step in for the first time, where I heard Italians talking to each other so I said 'oh my gosh, this is my place' ... I really missed the little Italian community and being so far away from home," she said. She applied for a job there and has been working there for nearly 10 years. She loved how they shared food after closing, saying it helped to make Italy feel a little closer. There were now about 30 people in their Italian community and they met up to eat and catch up, Sanna said. "This Italian community is growing, many people come see us because they really enjoy this little Italian corner," she said. "It feels like we are in a little Italian coast and you can have your Italian drinks, your Italian food and your Italian gelato, like that's just the cherry on the cake." Gelato maker Marco Adinolfi moved to Dunedin to bring his creations to Sorella Gelato. He wanted to leave Italy for a different lifestyle and was surprised to find an Italian community here. He hoped his wife and two daughters would join him in a few months time, and said there were plans for a feast to welcome them to the southern city. "Every Italian conversation with friends and family, it's about food. All the time my mum or my dad call me 'what did you eat?' It's the first thing so Italian connection with food is very important," he said. He has been trying to combine his knowledge and love for Italian gelato with some New Zealand flavours including a popular scoop inspired by pumpkin pie. "Every flavour I make it's very seasonal. I don't like to use flavouring, chemical flavouring so everything is made by me," he said. He loves clams and discovered he could find wild clams on local beaches. "I go almost every week with my shovel to dig clams," he said. He usually cooked spaghetti with clams for his lunch or dinner most weeks. Katrina Toovey was grateful for the Italians who had uprooted their lives to move to Dunedin and shared their cuisine and culture with the city. "The flavours, the smells, it's all like home and it's all familiar so ... it's like an anchor in a new community and they gravitate towards it," she said. "It makes perfect sense to me, it's kind of what I might do myself when I travel - want the new experiences and then just want the familiar."
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
A slice of Italy in Dunedin's St Clair
Katrina Toovey has helped to bring about 40 or so Italians to Dunedin through her St Clair businesses The Esplanade, Piccolo Bar and Sorella Gelato. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton Katrina Toovey has helped to bring about 40 or so Italians to Dunedin through her St Clair businesses The Esplanade, Piccolo Bar and Sorella Gelato. A Dunedin seaside suburb is becoming a haven for Italian expats and foodies alike. It all started with a desire to bring authentic woodfired pizzas to the shores of St Clair more than a decade ago. When Katrina Toovey took over The Esplanade back in 2012, she wanted to embrace the history but thought it was time for a new identity. The Esplanade in the Dunedin suburb of St Clair. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton Less a Kiwi pizza restaurant and more an authentic slice of Italy. But she had no idea the business would help to create a thriving, Italian community. "Almost has been a happy accident and kind of an organic growth so when I did take over, I decided that I wanted to do woodfired pizza and I thought who better to do that than an Italian," she said. The woodfire pizza oven at The Esplanade. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton Since then, she has helped to bring about 40 or so Italians to Dunedin, saying there was also a stream of people who floated through on working holiday visas as well as a strong foundation of people in the community. This year, she opened two more businesses - Piccolo Bar and Sorella Gelato - both a short stroll away from The Esplanade and St Clair beach. "Sometimes I do look at it and I think 'how did this happen?' There's a whole community of people here including now children who've bubbled up through this business and through finding something that they like in the city and work they enjoy and a supportive environment," Toovey said. The Esplanade restaurant manager Luca Capece moved to Dunedin for an adventure with his best friend, but now lives here with his partner and two kids. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton Restaurant manager Luca Capece moved over when his best friend, who's a pizza chef, got a job at The Esplanade in 2013. It changed his life. He met his partner there and they now have two kids. "I'm feeling at home here and ... we have a small community, Italian, but what I really enjoy and I was shocked how the Kiwi community treat us. They see us like a family," he said. Capece said it had been a joy being able to speak Italian with other staff and get a taste of home - with a recent staff dinner featuring a traditional polenta dish from his hometown. "When you eat polenta, it brings up all the memories from when your mum was cooking it and you were enjoying it. I come from a big family, we are 10 of us so I remember this big table and then we have some cheese, we have some polenta. It's beautiful," he said. The Esplanade maître d' Vanessa Sanna says there's now about 30 people in their Italian community. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton When Esplanade maître d' Vanessa Sanna moved to Dunedin with her Kiwi husband, she knew no one. She started scouting for good Italian food and came across the restaurant. "That was amazing the day that I step in for the first time, where I heard Italians talking to each other so I said 'oh my gosh, this is my place' ... I really missed the little Italian community and being so far away from home," she said. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton She applied for a job there and has been working there for nearly 10 years . She loved how they shared food after closing, saying it helped to make Italy feel a little closer. There were now about 30 people in their Italian community and they met up to eat and catch up, Sanna said. "This Italian community is growing, many people come see us because they really enjoy this little Italian corner," she said. "It feels like we are in a little Italian coast and you can have your Italian drinks, your Italian food and your Italian gelato, like that's just the cherry on the cake." Gelato maker Marco Adinolfi says he tries to combine his knowledge and love for Italian gelato with some New Zealand flavours. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton Gelato maker Marco Adinolfi moved to Dunedin to bring his creations to Sorella Gelato. He wanted to leave Italy for a different lifestyle and was surprised to find an Italian community here. He hoped his wife and two daughters would join him in a few months time, and said there were plans for a feast to welcome them to the southern city. "Every Italian conversation with friends and family, it's about food. All the time my mum or my dad call me 'what did you eat?' It's the first thing so Italian connection with food is very important," he said. The Esplanade at St Clair in Dunedin. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton He has been trying to combine his knowledge and love for Italian gelato with some New Zealand flavours including a popular scoop inspired by pumpkin pie. "Every flavour I make it's very seasonal. I don't like to use flavouring, chemical flavouring so everything is made by me," he said. He loves clams and discovered he could find wild clams on local beaches. "I go almost every week with my shovel to dig clams," he said. He usually cooked spaghetti with clams for his lunch or dinner most weeks. Katrina Toovey was grateful for the Italians who had uprooted their lives to move to Dunedin and shared their cuisine and culture with the city. "The flavours, the smells, it's all like home and it's all familiar so ... it's like an anchor in a new community and they gravitate towards it," she said. "It makes perfect sense to me, it's kind of what I might do myself when I travel - want the new experiences and then just want the familiar." 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NZ Herald
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Dunedin Welcomes New Wine Bar Piccolo From The Team Behind The Esplanade
Two great new openings bring a taste of Italy to St Clair. St Clair, already home to one of Dunedin's best-regarded restaurants, has just welcomed two new neighbours. Sorella Gelato and Piccolo have opened side-by-side on Forbury Rd, offering a casual yet considered approach to Italian food and drink. Piccolo is a wine and salumi bar with a concise, interesting list of local and Italian bottles, a sharp edit of cocktails, and snack-friendly dishes like pizzette, croquettes and zucchini flowers. Wine is available by the glass or bottle, and takeaway options (including pizza!) — like vermouth — are sold from the fridge near the door. Next door, Sorella is a traditional gelateria led by Marco Adinolfi — ranked among the world's top 100 gelato makers — who prepares a fresh line-up of flavours each day in the onsite lab. The menu spans both gelato and sorbetto, with a focus on seasonal, all-natural ingredients and a generous non-dairy selection. Take-home tubs and gelato cakes are also available. The two new venues are the latest from Katrina Toovey, who also runs neighbouring Italian restaurant The Esplanade, which is a favourite with both locals and visitors, and No 7 Balmac in Maori Hill. 'In Italian cuisine there is a real emphasis on quality and tradition, the art of doing things well. There is also a culture of meandering and strolling through a neighbourhood and really enjoying an environment. These are all things that I know are important to our area, and for us it's about building on this. 'For some locals that might look like dropping into Piccolo for a glass before dinner at The Esplanade, or maybe it's getting a gelato with your kids on an afternoon stroll, and getting yourself a nice bottle to take home afterwards. We're curating quality options to cater to everyone,' says Katrina. The new wine bar and gelateria have been designed by Cheshire Architects, who are also responsible for The Esplanade's excellent interiors. Piccolo is a refreshing break from pared-back hospitality fitouts, with a fun use of colour and lots of art lining the walls. Choose from a cosy leather banquet by the window or sit at a colourful high table on a funky mushroom-like leather stool. 'To me, St Clair feels spacious, bright and open — we wanted to reflect that in what we've built here,' says Katrina. 'It's about offering a few different ways to enjoy the area, whether that's a scoop of gelato after a walk or a glass of wine before dinner.'
Scottish Sun
29-04-2025
- Climate
- Scottish Sun
Scots flock to park & beaches to bask in sizzling temperatures – and it's set to get even hotter TOMORROW
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) SCOTS flocked to parks and beaches across the country as they basked in temperatures as high as 23C. There were long bright spells yesterday and today, with the BBC forecasting another 15 hours of sunshine tomorrow. 4 The country enjoyed long bright spells yesterday and today Credit: Michael Schofield 4 Many cooled off with a dip in the sea amid soaring temperatures Credit: Michael Schofield 4 Some flocked to The Meadows in Edinburgh to relax Credit: Andrew Barr 4 Many were seen sunbathing at Glasgow's Botanic Gardens Credit: Tom Farmer At Portobello Beach in Edinburgh, families were seen topping up their tans while youngsters cooled off with a dip in the sea. Others chose to relax at The Meadows or Glasgow's Botanic Gardens. The bar manager of The Esplanade in Portobello, Amey Kate told The Scottish Sun: "In Scotland we don't really get a chance to see that much sun, so once the sun comes out everybody comes out. "We have been busy since this morning and people have been drinking quite a lot which is good for the business. "People have mostly been ordering beer and cocktails". One beachgoer said: "I'm lucky I'm not working this week so I'm probably going to be out in the sea with my paddleboard. It's completely flat, there's never no breeze here." Other punters chose to tuck into ice creams and fish and chips with the beach quickly filling up. Aberdeen is tipped to become the hottest place in Scotland tomorrow, eclipsing 2025's highest temperature so far, the 22.7C seen at Aboyne in Aberdeenshire on April 10. But yet another record could fall if April's sunshine total outshines the current record holder from 2021. The Met Office say we need 27.1 hours of sunshine over the final three days of the month if we are to match the 124.5 hours seen during April four years ago. SUN CREAM MISTAKES Weather experts say the mercury in Glasgow is expected to touch 24C tomorrow and the Borders town of Kelso may see 23C. Met Office Chief Meteorologist Jason Kelly said: "Thursday looks set to be the warmest day of the week, with temperatures climbing notably above the seasonal average. "Overnight temperatures will also be very high in places. It's possible national and station records for daytime and overnight temperatures may be broken. It's not certain that official 'heatwave' criteria will be met, even in the south. For Scotland, the temperature has to soar above 25C for three consecutive days before a heatwave can be declared. April got off to a flying start, with sunshine appearing right on cue on April 1. Tomorrow, parks and gardens will be in great demand again as the country ends the spring month on a high. Families may wish to dust off the barbecue before temperatures here take a dip on Thursday. Forecaster Alex Deakin of the Met Office said: "It is pretty warm and it's only going to get warmer as we go through the next few days. 'Warm nights are likely later this week. It's another fine and sunny day again on Wednesday. "Temperatures, come the afternoon, will be higher than Tuesday's values, with 27C possible in the capital but many areas will be over 20C.'
Gulf Today
17-04-2025
- Business
- Gulf Today
Healthiest Greek yogurt brand in the market
David Subotic, over the years, has made a career via managing projects that span from Mega Resort gaming developments in Asia to equity positions in the US. However, the diversity of his acclaimed and distinguished ventures further grew in 2012with greek yogurt as the centerpiece through Go Greek Yogurt. Go Greek Yogurt started in Beverly Hills, and the idea came from his wife, Tanja Subotic, who had the strongest of desires to bring authentic Greek yogurt to California following a considerable time spent in Greece. But she was strictwith sticking to its roots, all original and genuine—from ingredients to traditional straining methods. David and partner Jonathan Williams helped her turn that concept into an empire that it is at present. Go Greek Yogurt's first location opened on Bedford Drive, and it did not take long before foot traffic turned into loyal clientele including Hollywood heavy hitters. A-list celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Aniston, David Beckham, Gigi Hadid, and Chris Hemsworth kept on coming back after having a taste of our signature desserts. David says, "We feel so honored because of the support of the biggest names in Hollywood. At the end of the day, quality really speaks for itself and all our offerings embody it." The onslaught of, mind you, voluntary celebrity endorsements caught attention abroad. Today, Go Greek Yogurt also has branches in Santa Monica, Studio City, and Miami. Outside the United States, stores have been established in key Saudi locations like The Esplanade, Panorama Mall, Al-Faisal University, 1364 Mall, and Al Faisaliah Mall, with aggressive expansion into Kuwait and the UAE underway. David says, "We know the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is fast becoming a global seat of commerce and entertainment. Therefore, it is natural for us to focus on Riyadh as our launchpad, so to speak. By the way, New York is on the table as well. "David Subotic continues to manage the financial and expansion side of Go Greek while simultaneously running Greywood Capital, his Los Angeles-based investment firm, alongside his partners, Sasha Szabo and Marc Preston. The plan is to slowly but surely grow and expand to become the world's best and healthiest Greek yogurt brand. 'We're not interested in blowing it up for the sake of growing,' he says. 'We're focused on every facet, every detail of our yogurt. 'We are singular in taking over the world, and we are confident that this will come to fruition. In fact, we are strategically inching our way towards its achievement.'
