L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 4 MAURIZIO RAMI NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS S ir Bruno Serato's story could easily become a novel or a movie: his struggles, his conquers, his suc- cesses and his humanitarian pro- jects make him a true icon of our times and bear witness to how one person' life can affect those of thousand others. But Serato is also proof that the American Dream is still alive and kicking for people who are honest, focused, passionate and deter- mined. Serato was born in France in 1956. Son of two Italian immi- grants, Delio Serato and Caterina Lunardi, he moved back to Italy with his family in 1967, to San Bonifacio (Verona). It's here he found out he loved cooking, when he was only 14. In 1980, he decided to make it big and moved to the US. With no English and very little money in his pockets, Serato's first years in the US were like those of many young immigrants: working humble, low paid jobs. Today, Serato is chef to stars and celebrities at his Anaheim White House restaurant, but he certain- ly didn't forget his humble ori- gins: this is why so much of his life is dedicated to charity and humanitarian work, which earned him international publici- ty, including profiles in People Magazine, the CBS Evening News and various newspapers and magazines. Among his many honors, he's been named a CNN Hero, he's been knighted by the Italian gov- ernment, he received a papal blessing from Pope Francis, he's been honored with a humanitari- an award on the steps of the US Capitol. Most of his charity work wants to help the most vulnera- ble among us all, children. Everything started in 2005, when Bruno and his mother Caterina visited the Boys and Girls Club of Anaheim, down the street from his restaurant: she noticed that there was a sad 6- year old boy eating potato chips for dinner because his family couldn't afford a proper meal. Caterina told Bruno to make immediately some pasta for the unfortunate child and, when they soon realized that there were many more of these hungry "motel children," Bruno began making pasta for all 72 of them, 5 nights a week: it was the begin- ning of his program "Feeding the Kids in America." Then, in 2017 a terrible fire reduced Serato's own restaurant to dust: a tragedy he faced with strength, positivity and faith. It was a devastating blow for Sera- to, yet, he decided his work for "Feeding the Kids in America" had to continue, so he asked for the help of some local owners and friends to keep his humani- tarian program alive. Then after only fifteen months, Serato's restaurant opened again: an inspiring story of courage, faith and determination. I'm sorry for bringing back painful memories, but can you tell us how exactly the fire tragedy happened? It's not a problem to recall those moments, because they were extremely painful right when they happened, but they also showed me – in a way – how much positivity and love I have around me. When I think about those tragic moments, all I can say is: "love won over the fire!" It was the night of Febru- ary 4th 2017 and I was home, resting after a hard day of work: all of a sudden I received a call from the Fire Department… they told me my restaurant was burn- ing. I won't forget that instant, because when I rushed to the place I immediately started cry- ing. I felt like everything was lost. What was your first thought, when you saw that horrible scene? Even before thinking about Continued to page 6 Bruno Serato jokes around with children: thanks to his charity work, hundreds of thousand children in need can eat regularly. Ph courtesy of Bruno Serato Chef Bruno: a passionate Italian heart beats in California

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