ITALIANS OF WOLLONGONG: GAETANO COSTANZO - WOLLONGONG`S SINGING CHEF

Gaetano Costanzo was 19 years old when he arrived in Australia in 1969 from Lipari, with his 18 year old wife Bartolina aboard the ship Achille Lauro. They headed to Wollongong where Gaetano got his first job at the Fraternity Bowling Club in Fairy Meadow as a cook, in the upstairs restaurant.

Gaetano began cooking in Italy when he was 14 years old at an Albergo restaurant, where he worked for four years. From ages 7 - 14, on a part time basis, Gaetano helped his father and grandfather who were both fisherman,

The restaurant at The Fraternity Club was run by Lolla Comelli. Lolla Comelli had extensive experience in the restaurant industry from running the Capri restaurant, at Port Kembla. The kitchen at The Fraternity Club was run by head chef Donato, along with French chef Bernard, Gaetano and other kitchen hands.

After a few years The Fraternity Club opened a bistro downstairs to cater for club members. Gaetano ran the bistro and it became very successful. He stayed at The Fraternity Club for approximately three years before moving on.

In 1972 he did a one week’s trial at The Charcoal Tavern, in Regent Street, Wollongong. The Charcoal Tavern was situated in a old stately home converted into an upmarket restaurant that was very well visited. It was in the heart of Wollongong and the CBD making it popular for business lunches as well.

Gaetano had never cooked liked this before, as it was a lot of steaks on an open charcoal grill, hence the restaurant name, Charcoal Tavern. Nevertheless Gaetano got the job and would excel at it.

The grill could cook about 30 steaks at once, as steaks were a predominant item on the menu. They also offered seafood and European cuisine dishes. The Charcoal Tavern was known for its quality food and it was the premier restaurant in Wollongong at the time. It was frequented by Doctors, Lawyers, TV Station personalities on the daily, as well as others who wanted to have a wonderful lunch time experience.

The Charcoal Tavern, was open Tues - Sun for lunch and dinner. 12pm - 2pm for lunch and 6pm - 9.30 pm for dinner. There were five staff in the kitchen including one apprentice. The women in the kitchen were responsible for entrees and desserts. They could seat approximately 40 people with the lunch time crowd being up to 25 at once, and they were busy everyday.

The Charcoal Tavern had the same owner for 25 years, who always made a point of tasting the food himself. The entrance to the restaurant was up a few stairs to the front door, with a car park situated at the back. On many occasions those who parked at the back and walked up the side to the front of the restaurant, walked passed the kitchen window and often heard Gaetano singing in the kitchen, whilst he was working. He was becoming well known for it.

Often at night, people would ask for Gaetano to come to the table to sing for a special occasion as he served the dishes. He was becoming quite the celebrity and earned the moniker of The Singing Chef. The Charcoal Tavern also had a piano bar that was quite popular.

Around 1987, The Charcoal Tavern had new owners and Gaetano left. By this stage his wife Bartolina and their son were running a bistro in the Balgownie Hotel. They had been operating since the mid 80`s. They moved on from the Balgownie Hotel and opened a bistro called Mumma`s, in the Cabbage Tree Hotel, Fairy Meadow and the three of them ran the bistro for six years.

Gaetano`s ex- boss from the Charcoal Tavern approached him to help run a new kitchen venture at the Downtown Motel in Wollongong. At the time they only had a small kitchen that catered to the in-house patrons. The plan was to build a restaurant open to the public as part of the Motel with a band new kitchen being built as well. The restaurant was called The Downtown Restaurant. They also had a bar that was extremely popular where people could come in just for a drink. The restaurant could seat 80 people and Gaetano worked six days per week, with 5 staff in the kitchen.

After a few years the restaurant changed names to Antics Restaurant and it was predominately Italian cuisine in which Gaetano was instrumental in the menu design. Antics was very successful. Situated on Crown Street, again it was frequented by the working lunch crowd and popular at night for the bar, the restaurant and the many functions it had.

After six years, Gaetano left Antics and officially retired from cooking, with his wife Bartolina still running the bistro at the Cabbage Tree Hotel. Soon they retired from Mumma’s bistro as well, after a total of four years.

Thinking he was all finished in the restaurant business, Gaetano found a place at Woonona. Previously, it had been a fish and chip shop/cafe, that had been gutted. With a brand new fit out Gaetano`s new restaurant Mumma’s Kitchen was born. With a totally Italian menu they opened only for dinner. Specialities of the house included seafood, with the marinara being the most popular. After four years Gaetano closed Mumma`s Kitchen and this time officially, retired from his chef career. Gaetano was well known in Wollongong for his contribution to the hospitality industry and was regarded as one of Wollongong’s best chefs whilst working at The Charcoal Tavern. Gaetano worked for 35 years creating wonderful dishes and leaving lasting memories for the diners of Wollongong.

Gaetano may have retired but by no means has he slowed down. Cooking is still so much a part of his life and everywhere he has lived he has always had an outdoor kitchen with a small garden, space permitting. He enjoys his life, his family, cooking and sharing around the dinner table and singing of course!