Personalized meals at Bistro di Madre Piccola

By Grant Cree

“The first thing here is we like fresh food because we make every single thing from scratch,” said Deepthi Pelenage, owner of Bistro di Madre Piccola restaurant in Morinville. “We don’t use any food packets; we buy in local markets and everything we make is fresh.”

Located in the heart of downtown Morinville on 100 Avenue near 100 Street, Pelenage opened his business in July 2013. A fan of Italian cuisine, he named his restaurant Bistro di Madre Piccola, which means Little Mother’s Restaurant.

“I liked the name Madre Piccola, but in this place, it’s always called bistro, so that’s why I put Bistro di Madre Piccola. The name is a little bit too long, but now people know us. And we have nice risotto dishes; thee mushroom risotto and the garlic risotto are our most famous.”

The business was thriving as patrons enjoyed a tasty variety of personalized meals with an Italian restaurant ambiance. Then COVID-19 struck in early 2020. Health and safety restrictions present challenges for many sectors, including the restaurant industry.

“During this pandemic, it was a very tough time for us. The people in Morinville are so nice, and they know it’s tough, and they helped me big time,” said Pelenage. As a business owner with minimal staff for most of 2020, he prepared takeout meals and is grateful to customers who kept him in business with generous tips and words of encouragement.

“So yeah, that was tough,” he recalled. “But anyway, with government help, I must say that is one of the major factors that I still stay in business.” He received subsidies and loans to keep the stoves on and the doors open. Careful financial management helped pay the bills, and his restaurant landlord helped with the rent.

Despite the pandemic, he has managed to keep all his staff – although it wasn’t easy during the spring and summer of 2020. “Some of them really wanted to take off, and they thought they should not go out because of the COVID. In the beginning, it was like everybody was scared, right?”

Although a few were hesitant out of caution for health and safety, they eventually returned to work at Bistro di Madre Piccola. “By always doing good things, we kept it open. We never go down on our quality or the quantity, and we kept opening every day. That’s why we’re still in operation.”

As 2022 begins, Pelenage’s chef and second assistant chef are busy in the kitchen preparing dishes listed on the menu. They also take great pride in creating personalized meals for customers.

“So, if you know what you like, we always do modifications,” said Pelenage.

“If people don’t want onion or don’t like tomatoes or whatever, we make everything from scratch so we can do that. Sometimes it takes a little bit longer than usual because we make to order.”

Honouring his commitment to offering cuisine with an international flavour, his dishes feature Italian herbs and fresh ingredients that he buys seven days a week. “Every single day I go to the local market for shopping,” he said. His favourite suppliers in Morinville are No Frills and Sobeys, with occasional visits to Costco in St. Albert.

“That’s why everything is fresh, because when I’m not here I’m out doing shopping,” he said. “Sometimes it’s really tiring, and sometimes I’m exhausted. But still, this is the way it is for us to make our living. So, I put in a lot of effort and keep a very little margin.”

For specialty orders not on his menu, for example, lobster, Pelenage shops at Sobeys then returns to the kitchen to cook it as requested. “So those little things make people very happy because it’s like a kind of personalized,” he said. “It’s not a one size fits all thing, you know? Everything is good, nice and fresh.”

Bistro di Madre Piccola is open Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. with Sunday hours at 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Reservations are suggested for weekdays highly recommended for weekends. Call 780-572-5545 or visit them on Facebook.