In the early 1980s, an Italian wedding reception might greet guests with an ice sculpture and a display of carved fruit. The tables were long and narrow, with no room down the middle for flowers or lighting. Le Gourmet di Tondini has catered weddings since those days, and the family behind it has watched almost everything on the table change. We asked them what’s different now, and what they’ve kept exactly as it was.
Photo: Courtesy of Le Gourmet di Tondini
The Family Behind Le Gourmet
Le Gourmet began with one cook. Rino Tondini was so good at his job that the wealthy families around Varese started calling him to cook in their homes. That was the start of the banqueting side of the business. He then opened a deli, at a time when more local women were going out to work and had less time to cook. Ready-made dishes of that quality were new to the area, and the deli quickly became a local landmark.
His only son, Angelo, had his own idea while he was still in school. Local companies were growing fast, and their employees needed lunch. Rino made him a deal: “If you manage to find 50 companies interested in our services in the area, I will revolutionise my space and create a structure able to manage the growing orders.” Angelo spent his afternoons cycling from one office to the next. He heard plenty of no’s before the companies gave him a chance. The food won them over, and within a few months the family moved into the space that is still the company’s headquarters.
Photo: Courtesy of Le Gourmet di Tondini
Fifty-two years in, the business is still family run. It has more than 70 permanent staff, and twice that during peak season. The team has catered intimate family parties and corporate events for over 2,000 guests, and some families have come back to them across three generations. In 2014, the year it turned 40, Le Gourmet took first place overall at King of Catering, a national competition held in Florence, where the theme that year was weddings.
Weddings themselves arrived in the early 1980s. Back then they were mostly for noble families, held at their own residences or holiday homes. As more couples wanted a prestigious setting, the nobility began renting out their estates, and Le Gourmet followed them there.
Photo: Courtesy of Le Gourmet di Tondini
What's Changed
From Abundance to Experience
Ask Angelo what couples want now compared with 20 years ago, and he puts it plainly: “In the past, couples sought abundance and table service; today, they seek greater freedom to do as they please, reimagined iconic dishes and experiments with refined, seasonal ingredients.”
The service itself has moved the same way. Early receptions were served English-style, with waiters bringing platters to the table and serving each guest by hand. Today the courses come out already plated. The kitchen controls how each dish looks before it leaves, and the room feels lighter for it.
Photo: Courtesy of Le Gourmet di Tondini
Setting the Table
The long imperial table never went out of style. What changed is its width. Tables today are wide enough to use the center, and that space now holds the flowers and the lighting.
Florals used to be grand and dominant, sometimes in bright colors. Now they’re far more minimal. Damask tablecloths were once the standard. Today’s linens are plainer and more natural, and they come in a wider range of colors. Lighting has changed the most. It used to be simple and purely practical. Now it does much of the work of setting the mood.
Photo: Courtesy of Le Gourmet di Tondini
Aperitif Takes Center Stage
The aperitif used to be a simple warm-up before dinner. Now it’s one of the most elaborate and visual parts of the reception. The displays went the other way. Ice sculptures and carved fruit gave way to much cleaner, more minimal setups.
Tastings have shifted too. Couples still come for how the food looks and tastes, and that part is the same as it ever was. “Today, we focus less on quantity and more on presentation,” Angelo says. What lifts the experience now is the pairings and the way each dish is presented.
Photo: Courtesy of Le Gourmet di Tondini
Comfort First
Asked which rule from the early days he’s kept exactly as it was, Angelo goes straight to comfort, in the service and in the food. “Creating a light-hearted and pleasant atmosphere and making sure people feel at ease is my mission,” he says. “The people who contact me want to celebrate meaningful moments in their lives and I do my very best to help them achieve their goals and, if possible, exceed their expectations.”
Sometimes that means taking a decision off the couple’s plate. Early on, Angelo let one couple choose whether to hold their reception outdoors, even with a rainstorm on the way. Now the team makes that call and lets the newlyweds know. At another wedding, a whirlwind swept away the marquees along with everything inside them. The team put it all back together, apart from a few uprooted plants, and “the bride and groom didn’t even notice a thing.”
Photo: Courtesy of Le Gourmet di Tondini
Dishes That Stayed
Part of the menu has barely moved in decades. Risotto with white truffles, tagliolini with lobster and ravioli with langoustine have been on it, in one form or another, since the beginning. So have venison fillet with a wild berry reduction, foie gras and Mediterranean-style seafood. Dessert still means tiramisù, mille-feuille, meringue cake and the house tarts. And when Angelo thinks back to the weddings his father catered, one dish comes to mind first: a Milanese-style risotto with porcini mushrooms.
Photo: Courtesy of Le Gourmet di Tondini
