Head chef brings Michelin-level training to Modo Mio Italian restaurant Castle Hill
Italy’s loss is The Hills’ gain thanks to a chef with Michelin-level training serving authentic cuisine to Sydneysiders.
Hills Shire
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Michelin-trained chef Stefano Bozza knows he can find many fine French restaurants in Sydney, but concedes it’s a bit difficult to find authentic Italian restaurants here.
At Modo Mio, a cosy neighbourhood restaurant in Castle Hill, there’s no doubt diners are in for a bona fide Italian experience.
Along with Bozza, Italian-born staff helm the elegant restaurant including his sous chef and wife Julia Romano, and owners Andrea and Antonio Telese.
Bozza joined the Telese brothers about four years after they opened their Terminus St gem so he could offer his pizza-making skills.
Bozza is a childhood friend of Antonio from Naples and now brings the diverse flavours from all points of their motherland to Modo Mio, which means “my way”.
Fresh produce including eggplants and capsicum are sourced from Dural farms while other ingredients are imported – mozzarella from Naples, parmesan from Parma, olive oil from Puglia and handmade plin pasta.
They are crafted into impressive dishes that laden our table – the beef tartare, patate (potato) pizza and a creamy saffron risotto.
The complimentary pickled vegetables served before the mains were deliciously zingy.
“This is a true Italian restaurant,’’ Bozza says an hour before Modo Mio becomes packed on a Friday evening.
That means eliminating garlic from dishes the Aussie palate might expect. He notes some customers might find certain pastas too “fishy” and pasta overly al dente but recipes are true to their origins and that’s how they land on the plate.
The pizza, he adds, must be sloppy.
This might make one flinch, but no need to worry. The base was beautifully charred, just as the crust was blistered. We relished the topping with its thinly-sliced spuds sharing space with the cheese and oregano.
After he grew up at his father’s bakery making brioche, cornetti and pizza, Bozza honed his skills under the tutelage of three-Michelin-star chef Niko Romito which led him to join the kitchen of the celebrated Reale in Casadonna.
Bozza played a pivotal role in the opening of the prestigious Bulgari Hotel restaurant in Beijing and working at Bulgari in Milan.
“In Milan, the restaurants are at the same level so to be the best you need to have the best on the table,’’ Bozza says.
That includes an appreciation for aesthetics which are evident at Modo Mio, where framed monochrome photographs and white-cloaked tablecloths offset the ebony walls.
It might evoke fine dining vibes but one of the most appealing qualities of Modo Mio, which is a stone’s throw from the Metro, is it’s stylish but not pretentious.
And with that wood-fired pizza oven crackling away at 400 degrees, how extra fabulous would it be in winter.
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