I grew up in pizza bars.

 

After resettling in Perth WA in the early 1970's, my dad worked at Gino's Pizza Bar on the vibrant Scarborough Beach front. It was located next door to Red Rooster and Murray Smith's Surf Shop but across the road from the Scarborough Hotel a notorious Coffin Cheaters bikers pub. I remember the domino of Harleys filling the car park and spilling onto the street.

 

The period is a classic aussie summer spectacle of surfers, bogans, punks, sunbathing babes, skater dudes, and dole bludging stoners. Endless streams of muscle cars puring around the streets and impressively customized panel vans parked on display all to a 96FM top 40 soundtrack blasting from car stereos. The smell of frying chips in the air coming from the strip of takeaway burger joints blended with the sound of chiming pinball machines contrasting with bursts of analog video game sound effects. The aliens landed and the future is now because I'm sitting in an X-Wing simulator playing MJ's Thriller on the jukebox with access to unlimited pizza and a bag of 20 cent coins in my jumper pocket.

 

A mega golden age to be kid.

 

Some evenings I'd hang out at the pizza shop. Dad, Gino and a couple of Italian blokes would occupy the last bright orange and dark brown booth down the back playing rounds and rounds of Scorpa a traditional italian card game swearing under their breath as they slapped down a losing hand. Sometimes fights would break out in the shop between drunks from the pub. That's when the half pool cues came out from under the counter.

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Eventually dad ran his own place Scarborough Pizza on Scarborough Beach Rd, in Scarborough. This time next to the Potter's House a newly established religious organisation. Later he opened Miss Rosa's Pizza Bar in Wembley across from the middle class Wembley Hotel. I worked on weekends in the evenings and began to develop my kitchen hand skills.

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By the 80's Dad was a chef at Perth's prestigious Orchid Hotel in the city where they hosted Telethon celebrity dinners and they'd sign the back of the chairs. International stars stayed there often. Dad cooked for many famous people like Jimmy Barnes, Neil Young and even Pink Floyd.

 

But the most famous thing they were responsible for was introducing Perth to cooking with a traditional wood fired oven. Manufactured and imported from Italy and installed in the heart of the city. He was the Orchid's head pizza chef for some time establishing original recipes.

 

In the 90's he opened Woodpeckers the first gourmet wood fired pizza restaurant based in upper class Subiaco. The place was a great success due to dad's amazing original pizza toppings cooked in natural heat. I worked as a kitchen hand and my brother was his apprentice chef.

Darren developed extraordinary talents for cooking delicious food and later he'd expand his portfolio building ovens privately and commercially.

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Dad was even hired to train staff to launch a restaurant in Manila but it didn't take off.​ I fell back on my prep skills plenty of times working in various kitchens over the years. An efficient dishwasher is the most crucial role after the chef. Food's gotta be served and eaten.

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Woodpeckers was eventually sold and dad semi-retired and cooked for the famous Cafe Sport in Northbridge. Wood fired ovens are popular now so the next time you eat a wood fired pizza it won't be as good as one of my dads but you can thank Bruno Borgnino for making it happen.

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Credit where credit's due.

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