Vancouver chef Umberto Menghi given honourary title by the Italian president — and will become a knight
The local culinary legend receives the nod for his contribution to promoting Italian heritage abroad
Umberto Menghi has been a pillar of Vancouver’s restaurant industry for more than 50 years. Photo by Fuoco Photography
THE PRESIDENT OF the Italian Republic has awarded Vancouver restaurateur and culinary legend Umberto Menghi the Order of the Star of Italy.
The honourary title is given to select civilian and military expatriates or foreigners who have made an outstanding contribution to the promotion and preservation of Italian culture abroad.
Sergio Mattarella awarded Menghi the prestigious nod based on a recommendation from the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Luigi Di Maio.
“Umberto Menghi is an ambassador of the finest Italian cuisine in Vancouver and British Columbia at large,” Di Maio said in a statement. “As one of the first restaurateurs to establish authentic Italian restaurants in B.C., he has trained generations of chefs, promoting and fostering true Italian traditions, which he has always been deeply fond of.
“The author of five books on Italian cuisine, Menghi has succeeded in building and managing a famous chain of fine dining Italian restaurants in Vancouver and Whistler, as well as in promoting the finest Italian food and wine in the region by facilitating imports of Italian products, as well as by organizing - in his prestigious school in Tuscany, near Pisa - educational courses in Italian cooking and food/wine appreciation.”
Menghi came to Vancouver via Montreal more than 50 years ago and continues to run Giardino Restaurant, and teach cooking classes at Villa Delia in Italy. He also hosted a cooking show called The Elegant Appetite.
Menghi will be honoured at the 75th Festa della Repubblica (Italian National Day) in June 2021, when he will be named a Knight of the Order of Star of Italy.
“I’ve been doing what I love for the entirety of my career,” Menghi said in the release. “When I arrived in Vancouver in 1969, all I wanted to do was cook fresh, Italian cuisine exactly how we would enjoy it in Italy. I had no idea where life would take me back then, but I’m glad to have spread my joy and commitment to Italian food, far and wide. I am at once humbled and honoured to receive the Ordine Della Stella D’Italia.”
Menghi is the second chef from Vancouver to receive the award. Pino Posteraro, the chef-owner of the newly renovated Cioppino's Mediterranean Grill and Enoteca, was named a Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy in 2018—the first chef in Canada to be given the honour.
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