Chef Silvia Cardelli - This whole world is a community and it counts

Chef Silvia Cardelli has amazed us once more. On the arrival of the migrants ship Geo Barents into La Spezia port, she has offered, along with her staff, a full lunch and dinner, to all those people in need, migrants forced to leave their own countries for unbearable conditions.

In her own words her gift to the migrants

“Kassim and I are here. We want to prepare lunch for the boys.’ The message arrives at Caritas. It was sent by the chef of one of the most renowned restaurants in La Spezia, Silvia Cardelli. Over the years, many young people who arrived in Italy as refugees have been trained in his kitchen. There they learned a trade. Like Kassim Sulaiman, Ghanaian, who became his second chef. “We could not hold back,” explains Silvia 


“Why do it? I say, why not? For us it is not a sacrifice – replies Silvia, accompanied by her daughter Celeste -. We got up just a little early and cooked. It felt right. There are people who don’t know if they will be able to eat every morning, while our problem is choosing what to eat: we must remember this. I teach it to my children and I remind everyone who works with us in the restaurant». Cardelli, owner and chef of the Osteria della Corte, has had a trusted right-hand man for some years. «More refugees came to work with us, one of them stayed and became my second. His name is Kassim, he’s a smart boy from whom even Italian boys should take an example”.

She unloaded more than 180 portions of rice and chicken from her car

It became the lunch of the shipwrecked people of the Geo Barents, the ship of the NGO Doctors Without Borders which arrived in La Spezia on Saturday afternoon. 


There were 237 migrants, but some had already left for reception centers yesterday. The portions were distributed among those who were still on board at midday, around eighty waiting for checks, and those who were already at the first reception point. 


Then, in the evening, Silvia and Kassim also brought dinner for the departing migrants. A gift that moved the operators.

“Why do it? I say, why not? For us it is not a sacrifice – replies Silvia, accompanied by her daughter Celeste -. We got up just a little early and cooked. It felt right. There are people who don’t know if they will be able to eat every morning, while our problem is choosing what to eat: we must remember this. I teach it to my children and I remind everyone who works with us in the restaurant»

Silvia Cardelli runs her restaurant with same ethic and kindness

Silvia is a pillar of our community and, for this reason, we invite our guests to visit her place. Her food is superlative and her recipes always reflect her love for our land and for our precious natural products.

But what makes her special is her love for simple things and the deep love she puts into her job and her family. An extended family who embraced in the past years some of  those person rejected by our society, like Kassim and Nikolai, now working excellently at her restaurant. 

You can meet Silvia, her fabulous team and obviously her amazing food at Osteria della Corte Restaurant, Accanto Wine & Food Bar, Sciampan al Mercato or have a memorable Master Class with her to learn all the secrets of our Ligurian cuisine.

In the meantime the Geo Barents ship left La Spezia Port, but...

Unfortunately the road to an happy end is long for migrants and volunteers devoting their lives to the rescue of people at sea.

The ship Neo Barents left the Port of La Spezia, but the Italian and European Situation on helping these people is still complicate and puzzling.

 

For those willing to know more it is worth reading the article on Médecins Sans Frontiéres