By Alita Singh
“Quattro, tre, due, uno, flambé!” These were the words that preceded what would soon be noted in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest, simultaneously flambé of Crêpe Suzette, made 52 maîtres d’ assembled in Trieste, Italy, on October 20, 2010.
This was not a remote occurrence without any connection to St. Maarten. One of the 52 maîtres d’ was Livio Bergamasco, a restaurateur known for Da Livio’s, the famed Italian restaurant that once stood on Front Street, and a maître d’ of quality for more than 50 years. Livio is a quiet soul. He tells his stories with easy emotion and deep connection. He makes service seem effortless and recounts how good service could break barriers and open heavily bolted doors.
His demeanour doesn’t give away much as he talks about the flambé feat destined for the history books. Amidst, the talk about the IV World Flambé Championship, Livio, in a casual manner, mentions that he was honoured by Italian Association of Maîtres d’hôtel AMIRA with the “Gran Maestro della Ristorazione” (Restaurant Grand Master) for his 50 years as a maître d’ and organisation member.
Receiving the gold medallion collar was a complete surprise to Livio and was even missed by his brother Giorgio who disappeared to his hotel room for a few minutes to check the football scores of Inter Milan. His sister-in-law Valda Bergamasco was present to take the photo.
Making the crêpe
The trip to Italy and in particular to the island of Grado was a simple one. Livio went to see his older brother and his family and to attend the flambé championships held in Grand Hotel Astoria. The added attraction at the championship was the simultaneous flambé that he chose to take part in.
A notary was on hand to verify the record of the flambé and has submitted the results to the Guinness Book for inclusion in the new edition. The championship feat and the championship were sponsored by the Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, the Commune of Trieste, and the Grand Hotel Astoria, the famous Nonino distillery of Grappa, the communes of Gorizia and Udine and others dedicated to the good life. Maître d’ of the Grand Hotel and AMIRA Vice President Giacomo Rubini was a driving force behind the event.
Many producers from the region donated all the wines and specialty foods served during the event; lending luxury and class were Villa Russiz, Felluga, Dorigo, Martini & Rossi, Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, Fiegl, Sturm, Agriturismo Belica-Prosciutto, Buon Forno di Altamura, Ratti carni e salumi di Oggione and Sammontana.
Talking about the event, Livio said all the maître d’ prepared their Crêpe Suzette and waited for the countdown to be completed for the “big finish” with the flames!
Crêpe Suzette is a French dessert consisting of a crêpe with beurre Suzette, a sauce of caramelized sugar and butter, tangerine or orange juice, zest, and Grand Marnier or orange Curaçao liqueur on top, served flambé.
Some 1,500 people gathered to watch Livio and the 51 other maîtres d’ go for the world record. Each one received a Crêpe Suzette made by the participants as a thank you.
Livio was a spectator for the world flambé championships that was won by Italian Marco Andronico of the famous Saturnia Spa in Tuscany. Second was Colombian Alejandro Chavarro while ex-aequo (honorary mention) Antonio Fochi of Monte Carlo and Enrique Duran Viseda of Spain.
Participants vying for gold were from Italy, France, Switzerland, Spain, Slovenia, Peru, Colombia, Germany, Monte Carlo, England and Malta among other countries.
‘Suzette’ Filling
Six Gold Medals were presented to maîtres d’ for excellence and more than 50 years of service by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano during the gala dinner held on the same night as the famed flambé feat. AMIRA President Professor Raffaello Speri was presented with a Special Gold Medal from the Italian President.
Livio said, “I was surprised to be called on and awarded the ‘Gran Maestro della Ristorazione’ collar for my more than 50 years in this vocation. It was indeed an honour to be recognised in my chosen field. I had tears in my eyes.” He has been an AMIRA member since 1973, two years after moving to St. Maarten to work for the St. Maarten Isle Hotel, now Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort for nine years.
Being a maître d’ takes skill, attention to detail and being multi-lingual.
The Gold Collar is not the first recognition Livio has received over the years. One of his most memorable ones was being named Taste Maker of a competition held in Mullet Bay Beach Resort. Another winner during that competition was L’Escargot, another Front Street Restaurant.
Yet another was winning the title of “Best Main Course” in a competition held in Port de Plaisance. “I still have some old cups (trophies) stored somewhere. They are all rusty,” Livio said shyly.
Ready, set, flambé
Getting to this point has been a long and storied path for Livio, starting with a bicycle trip with his father on a Sunday for his first job in a restaurant when he was about 14 years old. He worked a small but busy restaurant owned by one of his father’s friends.
It was in this little restaurant that he had one of his most hilarious restaurant memories. Wine was stored in caskets and was bottled on the premises. He was tasked with filling up and sealing bottles of sparkling wines and had been pleased with the results, until he returned in the morning to find most of the corks popped! The seals on the bottles were not tight enough and the bubble caused the explosion.
Livio said he was somewhat destined to go into the restaurant business because his father and two brothers already worked in the very post war shipyard. Only three members of each family were allowed to work in the shipyard together so it was to be a different vocation for Livio.
Ships and the wide blue ocean were in his future. After leaving the army, Livio joined the crew of the now defunct Home Lines’ S.S. Oceanic, one of the first ships built with a “cruise class.” He worked on board for 15 months straight without a single day off, honing his skill and perfecting his craft.
He later joined the SS Homeric on a seven-day cruise out of New York as assistant maître d’ and explored Caribbean. He later settled in the Bahamas and worked in the lounge of the Blue Vista. He met his wife Christine in Nassau and his first child was born there.
Most of the cooking was done table side in the lounge, a tradition Livio continues when he opened Livio in the 1980s. He described St. Maarten as attracting the “crème” of visitors between the 1970s to the early 1990s. Frequent diners came into the restaurant every other day when they were on vacation. On the other nights, they frequented other famed Antoine’s in Philipsburg, Le Vie en Rose in Marigot and Rainbow in Grand Case. “We all had personalized attention. The owners were there. These were the good, good years.”
He said as in any business, the success is a joint effort of the owners and staff. Livio recalled one of Da Livio’s waiters buying tea with his own money when the box would get low on teabags. When he discovered this and asked the waiter to give him the receipts, the waiter flatly refused. “We were a team and a family,” the restaurateur said.
Livio is no longer in the restaurant business, but his daughter Lara and her partner Ciro Russo are carrying on the restaurant tradition with Spiga Italian restaurant in Grand Case.
