East Lothian food dynasty marks century of Italian fare

Contini Family, left to right, Victor, Arianna, Carina, Carla, Orlando. Picture: TSPL

The smell of fish and chips and fresh salt air mingling, fingers slippy with sauce and a hint of sugary sweet ice cream as the long days show no signs of ending.

And it is that simplicity of style, born on the shores of an East Lothian town that fostered the kindling of a family business that endures today.

Carina Contini, who has been selected to champion Scottish family businesses at the Great British Family Business conference in London in March, with her husband Victor, opened their first restaurant together in 2004.

And this year marks 100 years since her grandparents first arrived in Scotland, walked, with blistered feet and babes in arms, from Prestonpans to Cockenzie harbour to start a new life, far from the tiny mountain hamlet in Lazio where their love of food began.

From ice cream and fish and chip shops in Cockenzie and Port Seton, to Edinburgh institution Italian delicatessen Valvona and Crolla, Carina and Victor, who married in 1994 then started a new chapter when they opened Contini George Street.

The converted banking hall was the continuation of the family’s pride in delivering fresh, seasonal and authentic Italian cooking. In 2009, they opened The Scottish Cafe & Restaurant at the Scottish National Gallery and by 2014 Cannonball House, at the top of the Royal Mile opened, followed in 2016 by Cannonball Bar.

But the roots and ethos by which critically acclaimed Scottish chef Carina runs her business today stretches back to those dreamy summer days and her early food memories with her father at the Wemyss Cafe in Port Seton and Cockenzie Cafe. “It was classic Italian cafe culture – a very seasonal business with the majority of the income being made from Easter to August and very weather dependent,” said Carina. And over 50 years since her nonno and nonna had settled and adapted to the abundant larder around them a penny was popped in newborn baby Carina’s pram after her birth in August 1970. “I was born right in the middle of the busiest time of year,” she said. “There are loads of photos of me in the pram outside the Wemyss Cafe. My mother always said she made more money that summer than ever. The tradition of leaving a lucky penny in the pram clearly did its trick. My favourite memories are being with my father – he always had a VW van and we’d go to the meat market at Chesser Avenue to get a few cows, Pinkie Farm to collect the cases of eggs and back and forth – singing all the way.”

And although the business was steeped in the classic Italian cafe culture roots, the trajectory since has involved constant and careful innovation.

The Contini’s don’t and have never sat still. But they build and develop with a huge heart and true humbleness at their core that facilitates a business, that although growing, never forgets to make each individual customer feel special.

“It’s all about people,” Carina explained. “We call my husband Victor, Mr Culture. He naturally connects with everyone, prince or pauper it makes no difference. We call it the ‘Victor welcome’. He wants everyone to leave happier than when they arrived.

“Being able to articulate these emotions to our team helps us all deliver to our customers – customer expectations are higher than ever and we are very aware of all the competition in the city, so we also train on the Carlo Cuddle.”

Carlo was Victor’s Dad and had experienced a very poor upbringing during the Second World War in Italy.

Carlo never forgot how fortunate a life he had. “He was always appreciating how lucky he was. Saying thank you is so important,” Carina added. “We appreciate our customers who support our Contini family and our children. We can never take them for granted.”

After Carina and Victor married, they worked as part of his family business before taking the giant step to opening on their own and reconnecting with her grandparents’ legacy. “At Contini George Street it is very much a reflection of our Italian heritage but at The Scottish Cafe & Restaurant and at Cannonball we focus 100 per cent on our Scottish heritage – fish and chips, ice cream and a celebration of Scotland’s natural larder. The most important connection with what we do now and what my parents and grandparents do is always choose the very best, freshest ingredients you can source and work as hard as you can to make your customers happy.

“Family firms are the backbone of our economy and our communities. They are about people first and foremost. We will always choose to buy from a family firm before we buy from a corporate even if the corporate is cheaper. Our suppliers’ stories are an extension of our story and allow our team to share so much more knowledge.”