23 - Expanding the lasagna mystique

Through pure ingenuity Arthur Pelliccione promoted Italian products by adopting recipes

When Arturo Pelliccione arrived in Canada in the month of April in 1951, he didn't feel welcomed. He landed in Halifax at the age of 17, after a 15-day journey that took him to the famous Pier 21, where at that time all immigrants from Europe used to land. He was accompanied by his mother Elvira, his sister Anna and his brothers Andrea, Berardino and Lorenzo.
Halifax was only the first stop of a trip that was to take him to Toronto where his father Pasquale was waiting for the rest of the family to arrive. It took them three days to reach their destination, travelling on a train with wooden seats.
"I was impressed by the snow that was falling in April. To me it was inconceivable to have snow in that period of the year," says Arturo, now known as Arthur Pelliccione senior. "In Abruzzi and especially in L'Aquila, April is the month in which nature awakens and spring flourishes spreading flowers all over the fields. Here, nothing. I looked out of the train window and I couldn't believe my eyes: the landscape was bare and flat, the ground was covered by snow and thick clouds overtook the sky."
Pelliccione smiles as he remembers those times. "Toronto was very different from the way it is today. The tallest building in town was the Royal York Hotel. Houses had a maximum of two stories; they were all built with wood as the sidewalks were, and many streets weren't even paved. The city would stretch up to Bloor Street. It looked like a big town that needed to compete with Montreal, which at that time was more advanced. In short, Toronto wasn't the economic capital it is today. Those were also the times of the famous and tremendous Blue Laws..."

Why do you call them famous and tremendous?
"According to these laws, Sundays were days to be dedicated exclusively to prayers. Restaurants, bars and places where people used to meet were closed. For immigrants, though, Sundays were the ideal days in which they could meet, stroll down the streets and chat. They were doing it without any bad intentions. However, they were often loud and this would draw the police attention who were suspicious of these men on the streets."
So what were the consequences?
"As soon as a group made up of three or four Italians were found on the streets the police would ask them to leave and separate. People who disobeyed would find themselves spending the rest of the day in jail. Just imagine these men, they had probably worked the entire week raising buildings or digging underground to build the subway tunnels, and they ended up spending the seventh day of the week in jail."
Let's go back to your story now. How did you, your mother, brothers and sister get used to life in Canada?
"We didn't have time to think about how to get used to living here. When we arrived in Toronto we found my dad in a hospital bed after having fallen from some scaffolding. So we had to find a way to take care of ourselves immediately. Two days after our arrival my brother Andrea and I were already looking for a job. We found it easily. In those times Italian immigrants would help each other out. My brother started to work in a restaurant as a busboy and I worked in another restaurant cleaning vegetables. In five years I worked in many different places and finally I found a job at Primo Foods, Primo Poloniato's company. In the meantime two very important things had happened."
That is?
"First of all, I learned how to speak English in four months."
How did you do that so fast?
"I would go to school at night and I would constantly listen to the radio and watch television. I would watch movies over and over to understand them. People started to ask me from what part of the United States I was from. I picked up the American accent from the movies I used to watch on TV."
How about the second important thing?
"I got married in 1956. My wife, Helen, was born here but her origins are from Calabria. We have a happy life together with our three children: Patrick, 37, Arthur Jr., 36, and Teresa, 32. I'm also a grandfather."
How many grandchildren do you have?
"Five and two are on the way. Emma, Erick and Edana are Arthur Jr.'s children. David is Patrick's son, and Alana is Teresa's daughter. The two grandchildren on the way are the children of Patrick and Teresa."
How important was Primo Foods for you?
"I spent more than 30 years there. First I was a salesperson then I became co-owner and president. When the company was sold to IC Industries, a financial and industrial group from Illinois, I kept my position as president for another three years. I didn't want to lose everything I had achieved. With my contribution Primo became an innovative company."
What do you mean by that?
"Primo used to import Italian products: oil, canned tomatoes, rice, cheese. It wasn't even the biggest company of that kind, it probably occupied the third or fourth position. A big change occurred when we managed to solve a problem that at those times seemed difficult to handle: we needed to give homemakers suggestions on how to use the products we were selling."
I don't quite understand.
"Well, we realized that the most difficult product to sell was pasta to make lasagna. Everybody wanted to eat lasagna in the restaurants but nobody knew how to cook it. So I decided to insert a piece of paper in the lasagna boxes with the instructions on how to prepare this delicious dish written both in English and in Italian. The idea was very successful. We realized that we had to teach people how to make lasagna, create the market and then sell the product. So I went to Italy and I picked up tons of recipes and cookbooks. Once I came back I selected those recipes that were made with the product we were selling. I collected them, had them translated into English and published them. It was a great publishing initiative that was accompanied by an advertising campaign through all the media. Our half-hour television program on TV, in which we were giving women instructions on how to prepare Italian dishes, was aired on 16 different stations at the same time. Then we started our campaign in the Toronto parishes."
What did this campaign consist of?
"We would donate our products for the churches' parties and ask women to prepare dishes with them. Somebody from our company would then participate in the parties and collect the recipes made with our products. We were also the first ones to produce Italian products directly in Canada."
What kind of products?
"In Montreal we established the first plant for the production of prosciutto. It was an operation made with Italian technologies. We also started to produce pasta and biscotti. Shortly, Primo became the leading company of its kind, beating all the competitors. Thanks to the experience and the connections that I made during the 30 years spent at Primo, after I quit I was able to take care exclusively of the Colombo Importing, my own company, and the Jan K. Overwell, run by my two sons Patrick and Arthur Jr. We now import cheese, to the amount of 100 tons a week, an amount that usually doubles during the holiday season."
That much?
"There is a huge demand for European cheese. Until a few years ago French cheese was the most sought after. Now the Italian products are the most requested ones. Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano are selling like hot cakes and the habit of serving Grana with aperitifs is becoming very popular.
However, the Canadian or English Cheddar cheese is not bad at all.
"Cheddar cheese produced in the Fifties, you mean? In those years Cheddar cheese was seasoned for at least 24 to 30 months and it was made with whole and non-pasteurized milk. The one which is sold today is not made the same way. That's why Italian cheese has become more popular."
You are also the president of the Italian Chamber of Commerce. How did you find yourself in that position?
"It was a consequence. I was the vice president for many years so it was natural for me to become the president! I'm just kidding!
Anyway, I am proud of being the president of the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Toronto. It is one of the most important in the world, almost at the same level of that of New York. Toronto is the economic engine of Canada and that engine is controlled by many Italians. By this I don't mean to leave aside the contribution of other communities, I am just underlining a reality. Construction, food, mechanics, clothing and lumber companies are controlled almost exclusively by Italian businessmen. There are 56 Italian Chamber of Commerce in the world and the one in Toronto can count on highly professional personnel. That's why I am proud of my position as president."
Any regrets, Mr. Pelliccione?
"I regret not having been able to finish my studies in Italy. I had just finished junior high school when we had to leave. I was hoping to continue my studies here but as I told you earlier my brother and I had to start working right away to support our family. My father was in a hospital and my brother Berardino was only 11. He was able to study and became a school principal. I wish I could have done the same. However, I had my personal satisfactions, I was able to love my job and the people around me. For those reasons I consider myself lucky. After all, now I am also a grandfather." u


(Translated by Tiziana Tedesco)

Publication Date: 2002-12-22
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=2198