NOT ALL PIZZA IS CREATED EQUAL

In loving memory of my dad, Salvatore (Sam) Cossari. 1948-2020

In late October of last year my father succumbed to Lewy body dementia following a brave four year battle with this horrendous disease that robs you of your mind, body and dignity. Although, it was expected it’s never easy to say goodbye. As I began to reflect on my fathers life, his words, his dreams, and his actions I came to realize how greatly he impacted my life. How his true grit, determination and can do attitude inspired me to follow my dreams.

These values were ever present especially in those life defining moments like casually taking up a little known martial arts -Taekwondo in the early 70’s. Only to go onto to place third in the 1975 world championships or his penchant for Clint Eastwood, Bruce Lee, Charles Bronson and Waylon Jennings. Which inspired him to unexpectedly become a stuntman in the 80’s during the burgeoning Australian film and television industry. He got to work on such classics as The Sullivans, Copshop, Breaker Moran and Street Hero to name a few. Needless to say I grew up on a steady diet of spaghetti westerns, kung fu films and country music.

But if I was to pin point the ultimate kairos it would be his vision and pioneering spirit in opening only the third Pizza Restaurant in Melbourne in 1969. Not only would he break the stigma of Italian people and food by taking it away from the inner city Italian community to the outer suburbs where being an immigrant was still feared but pave the way for other immigrants to do the same. Pizza would change his life, our life and enliven the culinary landscape of Australia.

Before I tell you more about my legendary father lets learn a little about pizza.

ORIGIN OF PIZZA.

Pizza is one of the world’s most beloved foods and one of the most contentious foods know to man. (the great pineapple debate). In its most simple form, pizza can be described as an oven-baked flatbread topped with sauce and cheese, but the modern pizza has become so much more than that. Its origins can be traced back to the Ancient Greeks, who would adorn their breads with ingredients like oil, herbs and cheese, in a simpler version of the now illustrious dish.

The etymology of the word ‘pizza’ itself is, of course, Italian, with the first recorded use of the word dating back to a Latin text from Gaeta in southern Italy, around 997 AD. Going even further back, the word can be traced to the Ancient Greek work pikte, the Latin picta, or the Old High German word bizzo or pizzo, meaning mouthful. But as is the case with many modern words, nobody is exactly sure where it originated from.

The modern flatbread pizza was born in Naples, Italy, around the end of the 19th century. Popular legend details that the classic pizza Marghertia was invented in 1889 when Raffaele Esposito, a famous pizza maker, was commissioned to create a dish for Queen Marghertia.

Of the three different types of pizza he made for her, the Queen preferred the one that best represented Italy – with red tomato sauce, white mozzarella and green basil – the colours of the Italian national flag. Thus the modern marghertia pizza was born.

It’s popularity spread throughout Italy, with each region creating their own version of this culinary delight, from the full doughy crust to the ultra paper thin base. But the real Pizza came out of every Nonna’s kitchen, She had her own recipe which was always favoured above all the others as was true of my own Nonna’s version.

But it wasn’t until the end of World War II and with the mass migration from war-ravaged Europe to countries elsewhere in the world that Pizza’s popularity grew rapidly. Places like the United States and Australia opened their doors and welcomed large Italian communities to their shores who brought with them their culture, traditions and of course their delicious cuisine. And lets not forget the allied soldiers who whilst stationed in Italy fell in love with the dish and, upon returning home, demanded that it be recreated thus spreading the popularity of the humble pizza pie.

PIZZA IN OZ.

In the mid to late 19th century, droves of European migrants came to Australian shores in search of gold and work. By the 1920’s pizza had begun to become a part of Australia’s food culture in the gold fields, but it wasn’t until the post-WWII mass migration of Europeans in the 1950’s and 60’s that saw our obsession with pizza really explode. In 1961, Toto’s Pizza House, the country’s first dedicated pizza restaurant, opened its doors in Carlton, Melbourne – a classic, modern Italian pizza place.

However, discrimination against Italians meant that it wasn’t until the 1970s that Italian dishes began to disseminate into the wider community. That said even by the 80’s Italian food was still considered exotic, things like garlic, broccolini, lasagne, salami and olives where frowned upon and considered strange. I can remember the look of disgust and horror on my school mates faces as they watched my mum prepare artichokes as if she was about to cook the cat. I know it seems hard to fathom these days when these items are so plebeian but it truly was another time when most people got spaghetti out of a can, olive oil from the pharmacy and anything different was feared.

ORIGIN OF SAM.

Salvatore or Sam as his friends and family knew him was handsome, with dark gleaming hair, large brown eyes, and a cheeky grin, that could diffuse even the most difficult of situations. Born in Borgia, Italy, he was a shy young boy who felt more comfortable in the kitchen helping his mother than outside with his boisterous older brother and mischievous younger sibling. Although when things blew-up he would often be referee, peace maker and go between, a role he would find himself repeating for the rest of his life.

At eight he left his birthplace forever on a ship bound for the sunny shores of Australia. Those early years whilst his father worked in the sugarcane fields of Queensland he’d regularly skip school with his brothers to go fishing, swimming or simply lollygaging about. The brothers found it easier to be ‘foreigners’ as a pack avoiding the town bigots and school bullies in this tight-knit Aussie community. Who thought they were strange, primitive and smelt funny. The year after Sam arrived a fourth brother was born and the Cossari family was complete. Then after the boys found their footing among the reeds, palms, tiger snakes and a lively small community of Italian ex-pats.

Twelve going on thirteen was a turning point for young Sam, by that time the family had migrated south to the small town of Tatura, two hours outside of Melbourne. He embarked on his high school life giving him a fresh-start. This is where he discovered a love for boxing and drawing which helped to boost his confidence.

At seventeen, Sam began a weekly art correspondence course and he decided to pursue his dream of being an artist and move to the big smoke. His parents were trepidatious about him leaving but eventually agreed and arranged for him to board with a family friend in South Melbourne whilst he pursued his further education. Determined not to let his parents down and not afraid of hard work, he took on many part-time jobs from laundrette caretaker to bread deliveryman to finance his studies.

A year later he would take a job that would change the course of his life, he began working at the first pizza restaurant in Australia. It was here that he leant the trade of commercial pizza making, how one could elevate the simple but delicious flatbread that his mother would make into something more extravagant that people wanted to buy. The kitchen had always been a happy place for my father and now he found another way to express his artistry through food.

Around the same time the family friend with whom he had been boarding decided it was time for him to meet a nice girl. So with the blessing of my grandparents he arranged a blind date with a young lady.  Sam arrived smartly dressed, bunch of flowers in hand and nervously rang the door bell. A pretty blonde with an hourglass figure who wore a proud expression answered the door. But much to my father’s chagrin, she immediately slammed it shut again, shouting out her dismay for all to hear “He’s way too short and way to Italian for me”.

My father stood outside the door with poesy in hand feeling deflated and dejected but all the while the girls younger sister spied upon him through the window, she thought he was cute and took pity on him. Before my father could leave she tapped on the window to garner his attention, and smiled.

A short time later an arrangement was made for the young couple to meet officially, A courtship followed and they fell in love. The older folks arranged a marriage, and the engagement was announced.

One night, a few weeks before the wedding was to take place, my father came to see his fiancée and revealed he had grown tired of working for other people and wanted his own Pizza business but needed help with some finance. His wife to-be liked his idea and the young couple secured a loan from her sister (the same one who rejected my father a year before) and with his dream, two hundred dollars, a dash of madness, a sprinkle of courage and fistful of determination his vision came to life.

SAM’S PIZZA PALOUR.

At twenty-two they were married and my father worked feverishly hard to open the new restaurant, but in his haste a small error occurred with the signage and our last name was misspelled. The O in Cossari was replaced with an A. I’ve heard many stories regarding the misspelling of our name but most of them are urban legends-including the one about evading the mafia. However, I believe the truth to be, that by the time the signage arrived my father had spent all the money on the business and couldn’t afford to replace it. And as a result our misspelt name become synonymous with Pizza in Melbourne.

In June 1971 on the night I was born there was a terrible storm, that caused a state-wide power outage. But luckily, and for some unknown reason a string of houses – and one shop remained illuminated. That shop was Cassari’s Pizza, word spread they were open and within couple of hours Sam was completely sold-out. And as he turned the open sign to closed the phone rang, and it was my aunt to tell him that my mother was about to give birth. He arrived at the hospital to see his baby boy in my mother’s arms and she could see there was a happy light in his eye, it had been a great night, perhaps the very best night he had ever had and they saw it as an auspicious omen for their lives ahead.

Everything went well. Business was good, the customers increased and the loan was repaid. People came to love his thin based, plump crust Neapolitan style pizza with a Calabrian twist. There was just one problem, my father found he didn’t like his business partner. My father complained about him more and more, and then suddenly told my mother he wanted to sell out. She was horror-stricken. “Leave a good business for him to grow rich in? You’re crazy,” she said.

“You don’t understand my feelings,” my father said. “A man like that—he gets on my nerves. I can’t work with him. Don’t ask me to do it. I just can’t.” In the end, my mother was worn down and agreed.

Now with the capital from his share he opened his own pizza restaurant. It thrived from the first. Another child was born and my father would go onto to open many Italian restaurants and cement his place in the history books as pioneer of pizza in Melbourne.

SAM’S LEGACY.

His passion and love for Pizza, Italian cuisine and hospitality had not only made its mark on Australia but also on his sons. Both my brother and I share that passion for food with him and have both been drawn to the sizzle of the pans, the aromas of the kitchen and the fevered energy of a full restaurant that can only be found in the hospitality industry.

Since Sam’s pizza pioneering days the modern Australian pizza’s evolved into something marvellous, containing elements from around the world that have come together to create something that is both universal and unique. I am so proud and grateful for my fathers determination and trailblazing spirit and to know that he has contributed to the evolution of Pizza in Australia.

 

My Dad was an extraordinary man who acted like an ordinary one.

If you are inspired to help honour Sam’s memory please consider making a donation to Dementia Australia who’s great work will hopefully one-day eradicate this dreadful disease