Armando in profile
Armando - our cheeses aren't quite up to the Italian cheeses whilst Australianolives and oils are tops
Armando Percuoco presents his workshop with tastings of olive oils, olives and cheeses
L to R - Kylie, Shannon, Justin, Jake, sean, Armando, Jo-anne, Matt, Cheryl, Simon
Armandon holds the HC&CO members attention... where's the olive oil sold?
3rd year apprentice Michael Hicks on the jogb doing great things with Antipasto...
Armando was inspirational and motivating for apprentices Kylie, Jake and Sean...
Cessnock Campus Pre-apprentice and Apprentice cookery students showed their enthusiasm by attending the Hunter Chefs & Co luncheon and workshop with the top Sydney restauranteur Armando Percuoco of Buon Ricordo restaurant fame. Buon Ricordo is acknowledged by critics and diners as one of Australia’s finest Italian restaurants and has operated for 20 years in Paddington The luncheon was held at Bimbadgen where Executive Chef Bradley Teale and his team, which also includes Cessnock apprentices Leah Goodyer (2nd year) and Michael Hicks (3rd year) put together classic Italian style food: canapes, Antipasto, Osso Bucco with Risotto Milanese finishing with a melt in the mouth Tiramisu. A great compliment was paid to Brad and the team by Armando who said it was as good as any Italian could cook.
Our twelve students and Hunter Chef and Co. members attended a pre-lunch workshop conducted by Armando who blew us away with his deep and frank insights of the our hospitality industry. His passion for good food, wine and family was clear as was his desire to encourage our students to seek out opportunities to develop their craft. One anecdote Armando shared was as a new immigrant arriving in Sydney from Naples in 1972 he asked, “ where can I get some olive oil “ and was told that they sold some at the chemist across the road.
The workshop involved tastings, appreciation and cooking principles and ideas using Extra Virgin Olive Oils, olives and cheeses.
Armando’s strong principles of service and excellence permeates all he does. On the topic of alcohol and drug use in industry he was insistent that our apprentices steer clear. Armando had an infectious rapport with our apprentices devoting much of his time talking with them and sharing recipe ideas with them.
Armando is involved in the Sydney based Council of Italian Restaurants in Australia (CIRA) whose aim is to safeguard Italian culinary culture. CIRA is a vital contribution to the education and promotion of our industry. He has offered to have our Hunter apprentices down to their Annandale kitchens for free masterclasses. Apprentices were excited with this prospect which is to take place in the near future organised by Cessnock TAFE teaching staff.
Armando can be found at his Wollombi farm cooking, relaxing and tending to his olive trees and vegetables. Of Australian olives and olive oils, Armando says we produce the best in the world. On cheese, he says “we have some catching up to do”, probably because of having to pasteurise our milk to comply with safe food legislation.
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