SA restaurant receives visit from family owner

Established as a neighbourhood Italian trattoria in Milan in 1926, by Beatrice (affectionately known as Bice) Ruggeri, the restaurant blueprint has achieved global recognition through its delectable Italian cuisine. The recipe for a great Italian restaurant, according to its president, Raffaele Ruggeri, is authenticity - real Italian food, made with fresh produce. In a family-run business, he is the third generation working to grow the brand.

During a recent visit to Southern Sun Hyde Park Sandton, the distinguished restaurateur accredited his early years spent in Italy, experiencing first-hand how to make true Italian food as the most valuable foundations of his career. He first rolled up his sleeves at age seven when he spent Sundays with his father and grandmother in their family restaurant in Milan. Since then he has acquired skills in every facet of the restaurant's operations: working as a busboy, cook, assistant chef, waiter, manager, maitre 'd, and purchasing agent, to managing the daily sales operation and ultimately participating in all the openings of new restaurants throughout the world. His expertise combined with his flair for hospitality and his obvious innate passion for great Italian food is a foolproof recipe for culinary accolades.

The Ruggeri family manages the Bice Ristorante Group, now comprising 40 restaurants, employing 1800 people and reporting total annual gross sales of US$50 million.

Head chef at the Southern Sun Hyde Park, Daniele Fabris, serves Bice's signature dishes such as the veal ravioli, tortellini with truffles and an enticing combination of pasta with lobster.

"The restaurant's embodiment of genuine Italian food and its focus on pleasing the customer is the ideal accompaniment to hotel's pledge for excellence," concludes Ruggerri.