I found this notice above an old biscuit making machine at Brunettis, a restaurant and coffee house in Carlton.
If you read the copy, you will discover it’s all about Pietro Berto. Yes, the machine has a name. He immigrated to Australia, from Italy, in the mid 1950’s.
Now this was about the same time as many Italians came to Melbourne and settled in the Carlton area.
As well as bringing biscuit making machines, more importantly they introduced the Espresso machine to our way of life. And it was from there that Melbourne’s coffee culture was born.
This resulted in Melbourne being voted the World Coffee Capital in 2022.
Carlton has a rich Italian heritage, that is further brought to life by this charming snippet of history.
You will find the words for the notice here:
PART OF BRUNETTI’S HISTORY
Hello “Ciao”
My name is Pietro Berto, I was born in Vicenza Italy in the 1940’s.
At the age of 10 I travelled to Roma where I settled for a while and worked in Bar Santa Chiara, near the famous Pantheon. Here I helped make many delicious sweets, enjoyed by many tourists and locals.
At the age of 16, looking for new horizons and wanting to share my skills, I travelled thousands of miles by ship and migrated to Melbourne, Australia. I worked in various “Pasticcerie” in Melbourne, but finally settled here at Brunetti. I have been responsible for all the delicious almond biscuits you have enjoyed over the last 30 years.
I am now in my 70’s and have recently retired, but don’t worry I have passed on all my recipes and skills to my son, Pietro Jr. who will continue my legacy. Between you and I, the young generation are excellent in many things, but they just lack the toughness of us old guys.
P.S I love having my photo taken so #brunettiselfie and I can share it with all my friends!
Also don’t forget to try Pietro Jnr’s Biscuits!
