When Sara Baldocchi and Catia Sicari decided to open a cafe, friends and family told them they were mad.
Melbourne was just coming out of its latest COVID-19 lockdown, neither had professional cooking experience and both were 60 – an age when most people think about stopping work, not starting a new business.
Friends Sara Baldocchi, left, and Catia Sicari own and operate the homestyle Caffe Merenda in Moonee Ponds.Credit:Chris Hopkins
But Caffe Merenda, nestled between two apartment buildings in Moonee Ponds, has become a neighborhood meeting place.
With a focus on tradition, they use recipes handed down through generations, including a 37-year-old bread method with 100-year-old yeast, making it easy to digest.
Their kitchen is basic with no gas – only electricity, two frying pans and a single oven.
“You do not need to have elaborate things to create something nice,” Catia says.
Sara writes on their handmade menu wall planner.Credit:Chris Hopkins
They insist that they are not chefs, just “mothers who love cooking.”
Born in Milan, Sara has a thick Italian accent. She moved to New York at 25 – where she “became a woman” – and relocated to Melbourne three years ago.