Opening New Farm Bistro in 2020 and operating out of New Farm Bowls Club she said, “It was very rewarding for me in that I gained so much experience to trial and develop different dining formats and ways to connect. With the help of Head Chef Dan Sullivan we ended up doing well given that we started in the middle of a pandemic”. “It made me feel like I wanted to take the next step, so when the Casa Italia space came up in Gray Street, I jumped at it with the support of my husband Errol and family” Valerie said she wants to foster a sense of community in New Farm. In fact, Casa Italia was a community centre originally for Italian migrant families. “I love that idea of bringing people together in a welcoming space over good food.” “That’s what I had growing up in India and Australia, multicultural families do that, and food is a very big part of our culture." The bistro will specialise in good quality home style cuisine, using fresh seasonal produce and local producers. Embracing heritage cooking and using family recipes will be the focus. This is a place to meet, eat and connect and one thing’s for sure, no one will go home hungry.