Caterina, respect as a goal

My adventure and my journey in the world of cuisine began in 2006, when I spent my summer holidays helping around in the family restaurant, Dattilo, opened a few years earlier. Even my studies, thanks to a degree in Viticulture and Oenology at the University of Pisa, had led me towards the world of food and wine.

At first, when I was at the restaurant I was simply able to help around during my spare days, but then, after some time and commitment, it became a true passion. So much so that it then became a reason of life, and my profession.

I need to thank a great friend, who with a forward looking intuition advised me to give a technical base to my passion, to what she still believes is a natural gift, and directed me towards Niko Romito’s Scuola di Alta Formazione.

The most important lesson I learnt during the months I spent at the school, one that I will always keep in my heart, is the respect for food and its origin, for its nature, from the moment in which each single ingredient is born and grown, until the transformation into a dish, and thus the respect for what we and our clients will eat. I learnt that for me it is essential to use only a few ingredients and to highlight simple flavours.

At the Scuola and in particular in Chef Niko I found the same principles and values that before him my father had transmitted to me: respect for nature and people, boundless love for one’s territory. While my father was defined as “the philosopher of the earth” I’d define Niko Romito as the “philosopher of the kitchen”. My father and Niko Romito are two masters in life, in different times.

As soon as I returned to Calabria from Abruzzo, perhaps I did not realise precisely how much responsibility being a chef in the family restaurant implied, but I wanted to challenge myself all the same. For sure, in Calabria everything is more complicated because of economic, cultural and social reasons.

One of Caterina Ceraudo’s dishes: Ravioli with squid ink, mousse of buffalo milk mozzarella and aubergine chips and cream of raw tomato

We live in a territory that is full of traditions that are kept alive only thanks to grandmothers, traditions which are then not transmitted to and most of all not pursued by young people. For this very reason, and thinking about young people, we began a true journey, with the objective of making what can be called the old times’ “poor cuisine” live once again.

These same things that initially can be seen as difficulties, fill me with energy and give me the strength to continue along this road. Restaurant Dattilo was born from the union of a family, of four minds that build dreams: me, my father, my brother Giuseppe and my sister Susy.

See also
Tenacity, love and quality by Patrizia Corradetti
Liberty in the dining room by Anna Sala
Pamela’s Passion by Pamela Filomeno
Dishes to chew by Teresa Buongiorno
Love is a raw material by Alba Esteve Ruiz
The art of never giving up by Deborah Corsi
Becoming a restaurateur by Patrizia Maraviglia
In search for passion by Anneke Van Sande
Challenging oneself in Norway by Lucia Tellone
I want to make bread by Roberta Pezzella
So young for everything by Rosanna Marziale
Rigour and cheerfulness by Serenella Medone
The chef from Northern Naples by Marianna Vitale
In the team with my mother by Serena D'Alesio
Men, what a disaster by Marzia Buzzanca
A total vocation by Antonella Ricci
A full life by Maria De La Paz
Mind and heart by Marta Grassi
Effort with a smile by Nadia Moscardi
Nothing is impossible by Emanuela Tommolini
Giving value to differences by Viviana Varese
The other half of the dish by Elisa Arduini