Cork restaurateur, Toni Romano can certainly claim to know far more about food than your average restaurant owner.

Having work under some of the finest chefs including Marco Gambini and having completed a PHD in Food Business and Development, he has come to gain a great knowledge about how best to combine new ingredients to create mouth-watering food.

This week Mary O’Keeffe speaks with Toni about his restaurant , Ristorante Romano , and finds out how he has boosted business during the recession.

WHEN Toni Romano first moved to Cork in 1993 he had no intentions of opening a restaurant here.

Having spent many years working at restaurants in Italy, Toni had an envious level of experience in the industry however he also had a thirst to learn more about the science of food and so embarked on a path which eventually brought him to securing a PHD in Food Business and Development from University College Cork.

Studying

It was while Toni was studying at UCC that he met his now wife and so when he completed his studies he decided that he wanted to settle down in Cork with the love of his life.

The couple soon found that their home became a very popular destination for dinner parties; friends were eager to try Toni’s latest dishes and to enjoy the couple’s hospitality.

In fact, it became so popular that Toni and his wife decided that the time had come for them to open their own restaurant and so in 2006, Ristorante Romano opened it’s doors in Carrigaline for the first time.

The venture soon proved to be a very worthwhile risk and it wasn’t long before the Romano’s were forced to expand. I’m fact, according to Toni, despite the recession, on their quietest nights, the couple can expect that they will have at least 30 to 40 people in the restaurant.

Excellent food

Toni owes the success of the business to date to their excellent food, strong focus on customer service and good prices.

He prides himself in offering the best quality and freshest foods available and shops locally for all his meat, fish, fruit and vegetables. For everything else, he looks to Italy and says that he imports all his wine directly from Sicily, his Olive Oil from Sardinia and all of his furniture from Rome.

This he says, has reduced his overheads substantially and allows him to charge much less for his quality food than you might expect. For example a fillet steak dish at Ristorante Romano costs just E23 while pasta dishes are available from about E13.

Great value

Toni believes that the fact that he has been able to continue to offer low prices to his customers has helped his business to grow during the downturn.

“People look to see what you charge and if you’re generous with your servings. I believe that you can’t afford to be stingy in this business, especially now and I think this is why Ristorante Romano has done so well,” he explained.

Service and quality

Looking to the future, Toni says that he hopes to keep offering the best service and the best quality food at the best price, as he believes it is this which helps any business to survive.

“Customer service is so important to us and this is what we continue to drive to improve. All of our staff are trained in offering the best customer service and everyone knows if a customer isn’t happy we sort it out straight away.

“We have a lot of regulars who come back and we always look after them. It’s so important in this business to look after your loyal customers and that is what we will try to continue to do.”

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