Dedicated
to

Esperanza
Aquino
Aug 9, 1921
Sept 24,1983

Welcome to the "Chef's Korner" 

Ciao everybody!

I have a wonderful news to a tell you all a today. As a you all a know, my a Godfather, Guido, has a sent me an up-and-a-coming chef to assist a me in a my quest to beat Mr. LaGasse in a the cookoff in a March. When a he arrived yesterday, I had a the strangest feeling like we had a met before. When he a entered the restaurant he just a looked at me and a gave a me a big a hug. When a I asked him a his name, he told a me it was a Benito. I said a, "What a coincidence!". I was a honored that a his parents would a name their child after me. "No", he a said, "it's not a coincidence". Then he a asked me to a sit down because he had a something to a tell a me. "Do you remember when you used to be head chef at Scardino's in Chicago in 1950?". I told him that a yes, I remember. "Do you remember Bertha D'Angelo, the woman who used to wait on tables there?" he continued. I had a to stop and a think a for a minute. "Oh yes", I a told him, "Big a Bertha?". "Well" he replied, "she's my mother". I said," Oh, don't a get me a wrong, we used a to call her a Big a Bertha because she a had such a big heart". "No need to explain", he said, " she still weighs 300 lbs.". We a both laughed at a my embarrassment.

I a started to drift back a into time and a the memories started to a come back a to me like it was a yesterday. Me and a Bertha used to a be bosom buddies(if a you know what I a mean) in the 50's.