For Trattoria owner, Kenya is what the doctor prescribed

Mr Gaetano first set foot in Kenya in 1975 while on a three month performance contract, as a singer with Fellini Five Band, at the Intercontinental Hotel.

He was part of a band that was on a global tour that would take members through Kenya and European nations such as Germany, France, and Switzerland.

“We started getting invitations to sing in clubs and before we knew it we had spent 15 years outside our home country. Kenya was part of the tour,” he said.

For his polished talent in music one might conclude that Mr Gaetano’s calling was in the art. However, his heart lay in the hospitality industry.

Music happens to be his hobby and to perfect it he enrolled at a music school as a young man working in a family restaurant back in Italy. This is how he teamed up with the rest of Fellini Five Band members.

Luckily, the contract to perform at the Intercontinental Hotel was extended for a year. It gave Mr Gaetano more contact with Kenya.

“Sadly, I had to go back to Italy after the contract was over. But I could not work there for long. I kept having nightmares which made me approach a psychologist and narrate where I had travelled to over the years,” he said.

From the psychologist’s view, Mr Gaetano was missing the Kenyan experience. She prescribed that he goes back to the country in order to get over the feeling.

“I did not believe her, but she was right,” he added. As a member of the Fellini band at the Intercontinental, he had befriended staff at the hotel. This, Mr Gaetano said, played a crucial role in his return.

Through the intercession of the then food and beverages manager, he was able to have the band’s contract renewed — this time for three years.

Little did Mr Gaetano know that it was the beginning of his long term relationship with Kenya that eventually resulted in the birth of Trattoria restaurant, one of the best known names in the hospitality industry in Kenya.

After the second stint at Intercontinental, the International Casino was Fellini band’s next destination. Here, the band performed for a year. Within that time, Mr Gaetano started considering changing professions.

“Music is like fashion. It keeps changing. I knew that I had to find another line that was more sustainable. It was time for me to turn to what I was doing at the family business,” he said.

Buy the idea

The other band members did not buy the idea of setting up a restaurant. As a result, Mr Gaetano opted out of the band to venture into hotel business — marking the end of Fellini Five Band.

With little money and keen on setting up a decent restaurant, his only option was to partner with someone. The deal, however, went sour shortly after setting up a restaurant as the duo could not agree on revenue sharing.

But a friend came along and offered partnership. A third partner emerged raising the initial number of Trattoria owners to three.

The hotel was set up in 1980 with an initial capital of about Sh1.5 million. Due to financial constraints, the business was opened in phases, first a coffee shop where pizza was later introduced; then the main restaurant was opened.

Later, the investors introduced a wine and cocktail bar to carter for the various tastes of their clients. At the beginning, little was known locally regarding foreign cuisine and beverages. Filling the gap spelt success for the investors.

Trattoria’s success saw the team venture into night clubs, setting up Visions Discotheque, and a high-end version of Vision called Foresta Magnetica.

Mr Gaetano got married in 1986; a decision he said came with responsibilities. In order to balance his time between family and business, he resigned from two of the businesses that had picked up.

“I approached my partners and we sold two of the businesses. I went with Trattoria on my own. I had to balance my work and family,” he said.

That was 1996. He has since owned Trattoria. Mr Gaetano said he learned vital lessons that have kept him afloat, adding that starters in the hospitality industry can learn from his experience. For example, his definition of a successful hotel business is anchored on four facts that he refers to as cardinal points of success in business.

“You have to get the right pricing, discipline, quality, and high level of hygiene. They are basics that define business and one cannot operate without the other,” he said.

Dedication to staff training, empowerment, and skills development will take a business owner a long way in achieving targets, he said.

Professional cook

He has personally trained his staff and also sourced help from his mother who is a professional cook. Mr Gaetano believes that giving his staff opportunities to rise through the ranks accounts for their long stay in the business.

Mr John Kamau, who manages the restaurant, began as a waiter while Mr Muiruri Gitau, the chef, was at first employed as a trainee at Trattoria.

Mr Gaetano said that every business is driven by passion. He encourages starters to begin by defining their interest then work towards achieving their targets.

To cater for new trends and keep customers coming, Mr Gaetano revises his menu every year and has a different serving everyday — creating cuisine diversity.

“Except for those classy Italian dishes, the menu keeps changing so that customers do not get bored. The fact is that the real owner of a business is the customer,” he said.

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