Local Catholic school unveils brand new community garden

May 24, 2018 · 0 Comments

Written By JASEN OBERMEYER

The Kitchen at Mono Mills, located in the plaza at Highway 9 and Airport Road, has celebrated their one-year anniversary, and provides customers a unique experience from your average restaurant.

The Kitchen features a mix of authentic Italian cuisine and Canadian dishes; from thin-crust pizzas, risottos, pasta dishes, to burgers and fries made from scratch. They pride themselves on their food not having artificial preservatives, or genetically modified organisms, while the food comes from local farmers. The flour for their pizza dough is imported from Italy.

Liana Gualtieri, the restaurant’s owner, says when she was driving home with her husband Ron from Wasaga Beach, they noticed the lease sign on the window. “As soon as I walked in the door, I felt like I was home,” she explained to the Citizen. “I fell in love with this place.”

A caterer from Oakville, she says she is pleased with their first year, as many customers have come by through word of mouth, around the Dufferin-Caledon area and Toronto, and feels very blessed and happy to be here, as well as how friendly people have been.

Ms. Gualtieri says they like to be more than just a restaurant, hence the businesses’ name, as the kitchen “is a family place, it’s a place where people gather.”

Some of the monthly specialty nights they host include Kiss the Cod, and Newfie Night with a live fiddle player. “It’s a very social place,” Ms. Gualtieri explained. “We’ve created this little family atmosphere.”

She lived in Italy for 15 years, which she says, “really has everything,” and coming from a large Italian family, she “always had a love for food.”

She added, “I would be coming home from Downtown Toronto on the Go Train, and I would be creating recipes in my head,” and would try it at home on her family. “I’m pretty picky about the products we use.”

Ms. Gualtieri noted that this year they will take part in Caledon Day, and cater for the Wines of the World in Palgrave.

Asked what makes the restaurant so special, she says it is about more than just the food, it’s about the people and the service. “I think it’s the complete experience people get when they’re here.”