A family history of exemplary catering, emblem of the quality of services and of the Romagna gastronomic tradition capable of innovating every day, that of the ‘Quel Castello di Diegaro’ restaurant. Opened in 1969, it was relaunched in 1980 under the management of the Illotta family. Its owner Lorenzo Illotta, 50 years old, was awarded as part of the Catering Day, the event promoted by the national Fipe Confcommercio to pay homage to the values and central role of catering and gastronomy, spread across all territories and which has gathered over one hundred participating restaurants among the Fipe members in the Cesenate area. The delivery of the plaque took place in the headquarters of Confcommercio Cesena, in an informal and affectionate ceremony attended by the president Confcommercio Cesena Augusto Patrignani, the presidents Fipe Cesena bartenders Angelo Malossi and restaurateurs Vincenzo Lucchi, owner of the Osteria macelleria Lucchi in Montiano , the restaurateurs Nicola Pozzati of the Savelli kiosk group and Denis Giunchi of the ‘Da Paco’ restaurant, the Confcommercio director Giorgio Piastra, the deputy director Alberto Pesci and the Cesena Fipe coordinator Sara Montalti.
“Catering Day is a celebration for the entire category – highlighted the Fipe presidents Malossi and Lucchi – which in our area is characterized by high levels of professionalism and quality of services. We wanted to reward a restaurant that is a point of reference for the entire territory which perfectly embodies the physiognomy of the family business in which the generational change has been achieved successfully. The founder Bruno and his son Lorenzo have earned in the field the reputation of professionals capable of refining and innovating the offer with creativity and resourcefulness for the benefit of a large and loyal clientele”. “We express our esteem and gratitude to the ‘Quel Castello’ restaurant in Diegaro who with his excellent business history spreads the values of quality catering”: this is the phrase imprinted on the plaque given to Lorenzo Illotta, who retraced the history of the management of the historic restaurant started by his father Bruno in 1980, who first he came alongside and then took over the helm.
“My father left a well-established restaurant in Forlì to open the restaurant on the hill in Diegaro in a late seventeenth-century manor house renovated after the end of the Second World War – Illotta said – and during these 44 years of entrepreneurial history our objective has always been about serving customers by enhancing local products and local suppliers, making a contribution to raising the image of the city and making it more attractive. Father is still an important figure for the selection of raw materials and the relationship he maintains with our loyal customers. We have always focused on human capital and in the dark period of Covid we put safeguarding the jobs of our collaborators first. Confcommercio was very close to us during the long months with the closures caused by the pandemic, providing us with the tools to face the complexity of the situation and start again with enthusiasm, as happened. I am honored by the award received from Fipe Confcommercio which I share with all the staff and it was very significant and gratifying that friends and fellow restaurateurs of equal quality were present at the event with whom there is a precious exchange of experiences to raise the standard of each own services”.
“That Castle of Diegaro is a point of reference in the city – underlined the president of Confcommercio Augusto Patrignani -: it enjoys an enviable location and a unique panorama dominating the city, but the main strength is the professional ability and the innate aptitude to the hospitality of Lorenzo Illotta, who grew up in his father’s great school, and the deep bond he was able to create with the territory whose products and raw materials he valorizes, keeping the level of the great gastronomic vocation of Romagna high”.
In the photo, the Cesena Confcommercio president Augusto Patrignani delivers the plaque to Lorenzo Illotta as part of the “Catering Day” promoted by Fipe Confcommercio together with the Fipe presidents Angelo Malossi and Vincenzo Lucchi, the Confcommercio staff and the restaurateurs who attended.
