If you thought Italian cuisine was just limited to pizza, pasta or lasagne, then think again because Rudy’s Italian Trattoria & Grill will take you on a delectable journey that will show you that Italian cuisine is about so much more.
Owned and operated by business partners and friends Rudolf Kunkel and Bruno Bettinazzi, Rudy’s Italian Trattoria & Grill is located in Namadi Heights and offers authentic Italian cuisine and wine.
Born and bred in Germany, Mr Kunkel studied in Germany to become a professional chef and worked in different hotels and destinations around the world, the last 25 years as executive chef.
“I first came to Fiji in 1988 and worked four years at the then Regent of Fiji now the Westin in Denarau. Before that I worked in Switzerland, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. From Fiji I went to Singapore, Fiji, Tokyo, Beijing, Cairo, Fiji, Xian, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and then finally back home to Fiji where I decided it was time to stop travelling and stay back.”
Both Mr Kunkel and Mr Bettinazzi were at the Shangri-La on Yanuca island, Coral Coast and when COVID-19 struck Fiji, they decided it was a great opportunity to invest in an Italian restaurant.
“I had always wanted to open my own restaurant and COVID presented us with an opportunity to do so. Bruno also wanted to stay back in Fiji and he liked the idea of our own restaurant and so we decided to find a place that we could make into an Italian restaurant,” said Mr Kunkel.
They found a place in Namadi Heights and set out to create a restaurant that they always wanted. The duo started work on the restaurant in March 2021 and designed the restaurant together.
“It was a long process with renovation, design and we did everything by ourselves such as the interior design of the restaurant and the kitchen. We did not have a professional architect so we decided what walls we were going to knock down, how our kitchen will look like, the bar and everything. It cost us around $500,000.
“We tried to involve as many local businesses as we could. A local company – Amira Furnishings Ltd – made the furniture for our restaurant.”
There are 20 staff members with casuals included. With both him and Mr Bettinazzi being highly qualified chefs, Mr Kunkel said they had two catering graduates from the University of the South Pacific who had finished their attachment with them and now were full time staff.
“It is not easy to find good reliable staff. We hire staff on not so much according to their skills but rather on their attitude. Our preference is to take on young people and train them ourselves. If they show a keen interest to learn and a good attitude then we place them where they prefer to be whether it’s in the front or the back and train them accordingly. Most of our staff are young and we do have some experienced ones that have had training in the local institutions.”
Rudy’s Italian Trattoria & Grill officially opened for business on May 12, 2022 and since then its customer base has grown and continues to grow. Mr Kunkel said the feedback from their customers was very promising and they had a lot of customers who had been to the restaurant more than a few times.
“Our philosophy is top quality and consistency – wherever you go the quality of food, quality of service has to be excellent,” he said.
Mr Bettinazzi who used to be the Italian chef at the Shangri- La, said they were surprised how many people in Fiji had knowledge of Italian cuisine. He said people from as far as Nadi had come to the restaurant and enjoyed their favourite meal.
“Our customers are from all walks of life and different countries. A lot of them are from our neighbourhood and are regulars.”
Mr Bettinazzi said they believed in quality and consistency in their food and explained that they made their own pastas, sauces, gelato and some cheeses.
“For example, we make our own guanciale which is a cured pork cheek, one of the key ingredients for spaghetti Carbonara. We import authentic Italian products from Italy such as the various different types of cheese, wine and cold cuts,” he said.
Although he said the cost of products that they buy from Italy continues to increase, they were willing to pay for it because they would not compromise the quality of their food.
“We also make our own cheese and I make Italian gelato here from local ingredients. I have a machine here at the restaurant and we make our own gelato. We buy vegetables from the local market fresh whenever we can.”
The restaurant’s menus also cater for customers with different diet requirements, such as vegans, vegetarians and those who prefer nonvegetarian dishes. Mr Kunkel said their menu featured authentic Italian dishes such as Spaghetti Cabonara, truffle ravioli, fish, chicken, lamb and beef dishes.
“As the name says – it’s pure authentic Italian cuisine, however, for lunch we also have a little bit of twist to it – a bit more international cuisine with a bit of South East Asia, American and European cuisine.”
The restaurant staff is trained by Mr Kunkel and Mr Bettinazzi in terms of learning about the Italian ingredients that are used in the recipes, the different shapes and types of pastas, difference between the cheese and some history of the wine they serve.
Mr Bettinazzi said it was a long process but the staff were eager to learn and continued to learn. Taianui Smith is from Lautoka and works at the restaurant after finishing from culinary school at USP and says he has learnt so much more since he started working.
“Some of the things and skills we learnt here are new to us and it has helped us in improving our skills.” Smith said he had always had a passion for cooking and he was inspired by his parents who both loved cooking and tried out new recipes.
“This is a good profession. There are long hours but it pays well and all you need is to be passionate about the profession and love what you do,” he said.
His colleague Caleb Wivou said it had been a good experience for him – learning to make pasta, cheese and other ingredients – had been an eye opener for him. Originally from Nadi, Caleb said he was always passionate about cooking.
“Cooking for me is a passion and I love cooking for people because food brings people together.”
He said learning the finer points about cooking was so different from watching cooking videos on Youtube or cooking channels.
His advice to young people who were in the field or were planning to make a career in the culinary sector is to be open minded and hungry for knowledge.
The restaurant is open from 8 am to 10 pm, lunch is available from 11:30 am – 4 pm and dinner from 5:30pm – 9:30 pm. You can get your favourite coffee from 8 am with a freshly baked cornetti (croissant).
