2023-06-05 17:49:17
Chef and entrepreneur Stefano Faita has energy to spare. The father of three children, he owns four restaurants, in addition to giving more and more time to the food company that bears his name.
The whirlwind in which Stefano is immersed suits him well, as seen in the documentary series Stefanowhich settles on the Vrai platform from Tuesday.
In addition to all his commitments, the 47-year-old man had to deal during filming, in 2022, with the death of his father Mattia and with a move, while major renovations were carried out at the family home.
Man-orchestra, Stefano takes us into his world with the authenticity that we know him. He was given “carte blanche” to present his daily life and those around him, starting with his accomplice of the last 17 years, the actress Isabelle Lemme, and their children, Emilia, Anna and Dario.
There is also his mother Elena, inescapable and endearing who, at 75, remains at the head of the Dante hardware store, the family business where Stefano learned the values of work and perseverance. “Working hard is the only way to succeed in life,” Elena says in the series. The septuagenarian now passes on this ethic to her grandchildren, who often help her with the cash register.
Elena is giving her son more and more signals that she wants to retire – or slow down – which may add a trade to Stefano’s responsibilities. “But we’re not there yet!” he said in an interview with the QMI Agency.
The importance of the team
Of course, Stefano, who we saw recently in Station Potluck, on Zeste, cannot advance alone. He is surrounded by a whole team that operates the restaurants, because he now focuses most of the passion that drives him on his food products with his partner Michele Forgione. Starting with four sauces in 2017, the Stefano range now includes more than 60 products, not counting the wines developed with Lassonde, in Saint-Hyacinthe. The objective is to increase market share in Quebec and the rest of Canada.
It should be noted that two of Stefano’s restaurants – Impasto, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, and Gema – as well as the Dante hardware store occupy the same intersection formed by Dante and Saint-Dominique streets, in Little Italy.
“We work” [pour avoir] the fourth street corner,” joked Stefano.
That’s not counting Chez Tousignant, another of his restaurants located a five-minute walk away. The fourth, Vesta, is located in Villeray.
His spouse Isabelle Lemme says to him: “you have had enough!”, to which he replies that the COVID has made him realize that he likes spending time with his family. “I think there is a way to be better structured in my company to have more time. But the range of products, I see it still growing!”
The six-episode documentary series might have fallen into infomercials, but director Patricia Beaulieu is interested in people and emotions. We follow Stefano to Italy where he visits his late father’s native village with Elena. The son and the mother meet members of the family – it is a delight to see them cooking and eating polenta! – then we learn more regarding the olive harvest.
Stefano, who alternates between French, English and Italian in the same conversation, admits he should have spent more time with his father before his death. “I don’t want to make the same mistake with my mother,” he says.
Produced by Productions Déferlantes, the six episodes of Stefano are available from Tuesday, June 6 on Vrai.
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