Italian food legend celebrates 80th birthday & 40 years in SA restaurants

It was an auspicious occasion, a recent gathering of family, friends and patrons celebrating super-nonna-chef Luciana Righi's milestone 80th birthday at Dolci Café in Craighall Park, Johannesburg, owned by her daughter, chef Jackie Righi-Boyd and son-in-law Clayton Boyd and where Luciana reigns in the kitchen.

Besides the birthday, the event marked her legendary 40-year contribution to SA’s restaurant industry. Think of the much-loved and well-respected restaurants she’s owned over the years — the famous Trattoria la Terraza on the edge of the water in Southbroom, KwaZulu-Natal, then four Johannesburg eateries: Tre Nonni, Assaggi, Il Tartufo and Amacord, which carry her legacy of the delicious rendition of simple, authentic Italian food.

She’s a purist and proud of it; her cooking style hasn’t changed much in the past four decades. She hails from the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy — the food basket of Italy, says Righi, because of the Po river running through it. Some of her favourite ingredients from the area are Parmigiano Reggiano, balsamic vinegar and Prosciutto di Parma — quality ingredients you won’t find her compromising on.

And then there are the dishes that have become so good they could be happily be included in a culinary lexicon. Dishes such as her brie and asparagus lasagne — luscious layers of freshly homemade sheets of pasta interleaved with a heavenly sauce made with asparagus and slices of gooey brie.

“I invented the lasagne 30 years ago after catering for a party for one of my children and finding a large brie left over,” she says. “It was an instant hit and I haven’t been able to take it off the menu ever since.”

My favourite Luciana dish originated in her days at Assaggi — a delicious and frustratingly simple recipe I just can’t get right: zucchini fritti. It consists of long, thin strips of zucchini, or baby marrow as we know it, dipped in egg and then polenta, or yellow Italian corn meal, fried quickly in hot oil till super crispy, drained, seasoned with sea salt and served immediately. Delicious.

Beyond food, I ask the feisty chef, does she have any regrets? Not one to dwell on the past, she indicates there are some but not any she’d like to go into. I ask about the night Oprah Winfrey dined at Assaggi. Yes, she says, the celebrity did dine at the restaurant and, an emphatic NO, Luciana did not ask her to leave as per urban legend. Matter closed.

Where does she find the energy to keep going? “I love what I do — feeding people and making them happy. I am privileged to be carrying on the traditions of those who went before me and watching my own daughter make her mark in the South African culinary scene,” she says.

• For more information, visit Dolci.co.za