A shared passion for Italian food forged a friendship between Franco Malgioglio and Joseph 'Joe' Amendolia in Sydney 20 years ago.
These days the friends are also business partners who live in Newcastle and operate 3 Sicilians Ristorante at Club Stockton and Mex Club Mayfield.
Franco, a chef, grew up in Sydney. His career started when he took on a pastry chef apprenticeship at Pasticceria Papa in Haberfield.
"After six years I started making the thing I love most - wood-fired pizza - and worked for a company called Napoli in Bocca for 13 years," he said.
"I started learning all aspects, from the kitchen to the floor and back of house, and owned a couple of my own venues in Sydney."
Franco moved to Newcastle seven years ago to make pizzas at NEX on King Street (Fire & Stone Pizzeria) and the Exchange Hotel in Hamilton before taking on a head chef role at Market St Basement.
Joe worked as a business consultant in Sydney for many years before turning his attention to restaurant consultancy in August 2022.
"I always loved the food business and literally within days of making the decision I received a phone call asking if I wanted to look at the bistro at Club Stockton," he said.
He pitched the idea of introducing a wood-fired oven to the dining space at Club Stockton, believing it would "change the direction of the kitchen offering and also become a centrepiece".
"They agreed then the concept [3 Sicilians Ristorante] was born," he said.
Finding staff, though, proved problematic and the pizza chef Joe had recruited from Sydney "fell through".
"Out of desperation I put an ad on Facebook on a Saturday afternoon for a experienced pizza chef with wood-fired expertise," he said.
"Well, only one person called on the Saturday night and left a voicemail.
"I called back on the Sunday morning and quickly realised I was talking to my old friend Franco from Haberfield in Sydney that I had known over 20 years ago. He agreed to come up and have a chat on the Tuesday morning.
"Negotiations were quick and Franco agreed to come on board ... we had found our marquee player.
"We also secured an experienced chef who was also originally from Sydney, Vincenzo, with over 45 years' experience. He now looks after a prep kitchen where he makes all our sauces.
"With Franco on board, the team started to take shape."
The restaurant's name, 3 Sicilians, is a nod to the three Sicilians working side by side in the Stockton kitchen. The team is guided by two principles: authenticity and quality.
"We realised if we introduced a true Italian menu that specialised in wood-fired pizzas we would give the people of Stockton a whole new experience," Joe explained.
"We made sure that the menu was authentic Italian - you will not see barbecue sauce or chicken on our pizzas.
"We also realised we had to accommodate the senior community so, without sacrificing our 3 Sicilians menu, we introduced a special $15 lunch menu which is offered seven days a week. This menu is simple but it looks after our members who still like their old favourites."
Joe and Franco took over the restaurant - as partners - in October 2023. They opened a second 3 Sicilians Ristorante earlier this year at Mex Club Mayfield.
"We were approached by a few venues to expand but both Franco and myself are fussy with who we work with, and the Mex Club truly understood our concept and our passion to serve great Italian food," Joe said.
"Our philosophy is simple with food - if the dish isn't up to standard for me then we don't serve it."
Added Franco: "Our food at 3 Sicilians is described as honest Italian with quality produce. Our philosophy is 'the pride in what you serve brings out the best in every dish'. We are very passionate about what we do."
