Silvia Colloca shares memories of Bossley Park General Store and Deli

More than 16,000km from her native Italy, a chef and author felt right at home at a southwest Sydney deli. Now, she’s joining a legion of fans lamenting its closure.

Silvia Colloca was a fan of the Bossley Park General Store and Deli.

It’s not the waft of smoked meats, smallgoods or hot, freshly baked panini at Bossley Park General Store and Deli that stirs up nostalgia for the chef and TV presenter Silvia Colloca.

Funnily enough, the fragrance of detergent in an aisle was her first fond memory of the business, which shut this month after more than 70 years of trading.

“I remember smelling this laundry detergent smell that reminded me of my Italian grandmother, and you don’t find the brand in any other place,’’ Ms Colloca said.

“It seems like such a small thing, but when you’re an immigrant you really hang on to the sensory memories.’’

Like a legion of deli devotees, the business’ closure has saddened Ms Colloca, an actor, cookbook author and opera singer who has lived in Australia for 16 years but felt like she had never left Italy when perusing the aisles of the Mimosa Rd business.

Silvia Colloca with one of her Italian dishes.

Bossley Park General Store and Deli’s general operations manager Paola Borges, and her father Enzo Di Federico. Picture: Facebook

The store’s general operations manager, Paola Borges, struck up a friendship with Ms Colloca after their children attended swimming lessons together on the northern beaches and they bonded over their Italian heritage.

Mrs Borges introduced her new friend to her parents Enzo and Franca Di Federico, who ran the deli for the past 15 years.

The shop garnered some new fans thanks to Ms Colloca featuring it on her SBS show Cook Like an Italian.

“I think there’s going to be a massive void left by this closure, but what it’s probably going to mean is that Enzo and Franca are going to take this opportunity to retire and not having them there is probably going to change things a lot,’ Ms Colloca said.

“They are the most generous, larger-than-life people to create this community that made them feel like something special.

“For me as an Italian who misses home a lot, I was feeling like I was stepping into Italy and it was not just because of the products on the shelves.’’

It was the kind of place where Italian was spoken, music from the motherland added to the atmosphere and Ms Colloca would occasionally join a big weekly staff lunch.

“These are things that don’t tend to happen anymore and these little acts foster a sense of family and community,’’ she said.

Of course the food was memorable and some products couldn’t be sourced elsewhere, like the pre fermented dough from Puglia, lollies and utensils used to craft gnocchi.

“The other great thing about the deli was it made the most luxurious panini,’’ Ms Colloca, a fan of a mortadella and arthichoke sandwich, said.

“You walked in there, you chose the bread, you chose your filling and how you wanted to stuff it, and they stuffed it for you.’’

The Silvia’s Italian Masterclass presenter still hopes the business will return – a prospect Mrs Borges has not ruled out.

Ms Colloca, who says “Italians are very particular about their cold cuts’’, holds equal affection for Raineri’s Continental Delicatessen at Five Dock.

Since she has called Australia home, she has witnessed an already solid romance with Italian cuisine evolve.

“I think in the last 16 years there has been an exponential change,’’ she said.

“Everyone is trying to offer Italian home cooking and regional Italian home cooking.’’