Ep 8 | Giovanni Malacrino | Inside The Maverick Mind

What does it take to build a standout hospitality business — and make it feel personal at every level?

In this episode of Inside the Maverick Mind, Emyr Afan sits down with Giovanni Malacrino — restaurateur, entrepreneur, and one of the driving forces behind Cardiff’s modern food and hospitality scene.

From his Italian roots to building a name in Wales, Giovanni shares the reality behind running hospitality businesses in a fast-moving, high-pressure environment. This isn’t just about food — it’s about people, standards, energy and creating places that others want to be part of.

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💬 Comment below — what makes a great hospitality experience for you?

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:05

Ben Venuti, I guess, grew up in Grangetown, helped his family in the Chippy, and went on to change the face of Catholic hospitality. At a time when Millane was just a traffic cut through, he imagined cafe culture and then made it happen. Four decades later, the Jew of Honey is woven into the fabric of the city from the haze to the bay, and the walls tell their own story of royalty, rock stars, and performers after cutting colour. But this isn't just about a story about restaurants. It's about big risks, big heart, and a life-built on service. From quietly running a mini farm for children with additional needs to feeding homeless people week in, week out, especially through COVID. He's just been named Entrepreneur of the Year at the Cabinet Business Awards, a title ahead of last year, so tonight I get to pass the button properly on to Giovanni Malakrine of our guest. Let's get inside, is Maverick mind.

SPEAKER_00 1:03

Welcome. Oh thank you. That was amazing. So that just felt the same as when Pavarotti came to my restaurant to eat. I feel very, very humble, very special to be here. And I mean that it's it's nice when you get recognized, and it's beautiful to be in this place with you. So yeah, so thank you before we start.

SPEAKER_02 1:21

Oh, you're very welcome. I can't think of anybody best to take over the button of entrepreneur of the year. Uh and you should have had it decades ago. But it's hard not to get recognized sometimes. You do all this work, so it's nice that somebody else says, Well done.

SPEAKER_00 1:34

I think what's important is not you're so busy focusing what on what needs to be done that you just do you're like the squirrel, you just keep on storing nuts away, and all of a sudden one day, as it happens, you know, you you receive an email I did from yourself, and I went, Wow, have I done all this stuff? And it just feels amazing when all of a sudden you stop and say, You know something? You've done enough. You know, start to chill a little bit, you know. So, yeah, so the the email that uh with you know that you sent me was just inspired and made me feel really special, so thank you.

SPEAKER_02 2:05

Oh yeah, it's a joy when you said you'd come on the show. I was so chaffed because my son Guillon said, You need to get you money. I said I'm already on it. But it was lovely that you reached that audience as well. Oh, thank God.

SPEAKER_00 2:16

What do you remember most about growing up in Grangetown? I came to Cardiff when I was three. Uh at the age of twelve, my father bought a chip shop. Didn't have a clue what he was doing, he just bought it to keep my mother and my grandmother busy, you know. And then within about two months, we had lines coming out of the chip shop, you know, people queuing up for food. So my father quit his job and come and become the chef in this chip shop, which he'd never cooked before. Amazing. So if you can imagine at the age of 12, the appealing potatoes. So I peeled potatoes for a long time, you know. So it was so it's funny because one of the stories I remember as a child, my father would say, No, no, you can't play football, you must work. So there was always that work ethic in my family. So I used to peel potatoes when Cardiff City blew the whistle to start playing football, eight sacks of potatoes, and I would take my time and make sure that by the time I finished chipping them all, it was the final whistle. So I could always tell you by listening, because our house in Chip Shop was very close to Cardiff City, I could tell you the score, how many goals, who scored, the lot. And uh I remember saying to my father, one day I'll sit with the directors at Cardiff City, and he used to give me a clip across my ear, you know, and uh carry on peeling potatoes, you know. And it was only a couple of a few years ago that I was sat there next to the directors watching the game, and I actually started crying. And people said, You okay? I said, Yeah, fine, fine. The memory of me saying to my father, whilst at the age of 12, 13, you know, peeling potatoes, and uh one day I would have seats at Cardiff City in the in the director's area, and I just remembered that your mind is very clever at r reminding you about things. So great memories, great people. Um, you knew everybody. Uh I missed those days because they were days where you could literally, as they say, uh leave your your your door open, you know.

SPEAKER_02 4:08

I grew up in a similar background in Kumava, and father was a minister and had a had a woods next door to it. So we'd build dens. And I'm sure my creativity came from playing. And you we we don't get so much of that anymore, do we? Tell me what were you like in school?

SPEAKER_00 4:25

Oh my god, I was I was troublesome. I still am now. People may say I had a challenge in in uh listening and understanding, you know. They may even say it could be a touch of ADHD, whatever, you know, because these days it's become fashionable to have a bit of ADHD thrown in. So I went to school in Mostin, St. Patrick's, then Mostin, the Catholic school. The first exam I took, I passed, I was I went into A B stream. And then six months later, we did another exam, and I just messed around in the exam, and I went into E stream, which was the bottom. So I stayed there, and I thought this is great, no homework, we get to paint all day. So I was in that so then my father would say to me, you know, I was there for about two years in that stream, if you if you get B's, I'll give you pocket money. So I made sure to get E's because in those days you could change an E with a pen into a B. So I used to make a fortune as an entrepreneur at that age, changing my E's into B's, you know. He never found out, bless him. So um played football. Uh, in fact, one of my stories in school was Sir Gareth Edwards. Um, there was a uh a teacher, he was he was doing uh with John Evans from Cardiff Rugby Club, and I was a good goalkeeper. And Gareth Edwards said, Um, come on, come have a trial. They kept on nagging me to have a trial to play rugby. I mean, Italians didn't play rugby in those days. So I'm going onto the field and I said, What do I do? It's easy. Catch the ball, you pass it backwards, you run forwards and you score in between the posts. That's easy, isn't it? Whistle went, they threw the ball at me, which is you know, it's not exactly a round ball, but I thought, well, you know, we learned to handle this ball. So I'm running down a field really fast. I was fast then, and all of a sudden I saw about 15, what looked like nasty, horrible 14-year-old men running towards me that wanted to kill me to take this ball. I lasted 60 seconds. I put it on, I didn't even pass it. I put it on the floor and I said, You must be crazy. And I walked off. That was my only experience in in ever playing rugby in school, and it was quite funny. But you know, it's a story I share with Sir Gath very often, you know.

SPEAKER_02 6:34

Your family chippy, and what did you think about was a great training ground. I mean, what did it teach you about people and business?

SPEAKER_00 6:41

So I was blessed. My my mother was brilliant, she had always had a smile, you know. My father was the miserable bugger, and kids had come in for scrumps in those days, and I don't know if you know what scrumps are. So scrumps were the bits of batter that came off the cod. So my father would say, No, go away, go away, you know. My mother would literally put extra batter in the fryer, you know, and then the kids would come in and she gave them all scrumps. So I learned the art of giving. I learned how to cook very quickly. I mean, I was able to you know do parties for 100 people in the liberal club and the conservative club. We do all the chicken and chips, you know. Uh so much so that when I then went to work collecting glasses in a place called Lalo Kanda in the city centre in Cardiff, one day it was a rugby international day, and the chef of the grill didn't turn up he was ill. So he said, Can you go and help the chef? I said, Okay, fair enough, I'll go in. So we were packed with people eating, you know. Then all of a sudden I took over. I was cooking gammon steaks and steak and chicken because I was used to doing them. And I was 15 at the time, and all of a sudden the waitress Maria, I don't remember her name, she's called uh Vernon Fulkes, who was my the head chef from the the the whole group. She said, Come and see this kid. And he came in and uh saw me cooking and he gave me a job there and there. I didn't even want to be a chef, I just knew how to cook. So it was nice that I was able to then uh progress my career, you know, at the age of 15 into this is now my my my career. So so cooking my parents' chip shop taught me a lot, taught me how to be with people, how to deal with stress, how to deal with busy periods, you know, but most of all how to make people smile. And I think you know, when I first started that we used to we we were the first chip shop to do spaghetti bolnese. So I used to get teased in school saying, You cook worms, you sell worms. I mean, who would have guessed the spaghetti bolognese and caronara would ever be as big as because in those days, you know, unless it came out of a tin, you wouldn't eat it, you know? Yeah, so they were they were great days.

SPEAKER_02 8:48

But you were running a nightclub young and then working on cruise ships. What did that period teach you also about the hassle and confidence of business?

SPEAKER_00 8:56

When I was 17, I I decided to go and work in a place called the Pepper Pot, you know. I I wasn't even legally wasn't even allowed to work, but you know, they did in those days they didn't even ask me for my credentials. But you know, I was just yeah, I was like a a fish in water, as they say, you know. But I just enjoyed people, you know. Um and then when I was 18, I of course I fell in love and my father wouldn't let me lend me his car, so I went and bought one, and then within six months I run out of money, couldn't even put petrol in it, you know. It was it was a full Capri special. It was, I mean, expensive, just the insurance was sorry, so I decided to um to go and live in America, to go and work on a ship. So I worked on a cruise liners. So I literally from the age of 18 to 21, I traveled the world where I met famous people, socialized and got paid for it. And I got the bug then for hospitality because you can make somebody smile. And my job, and I tell my team this, my job has always been to make them feel better when they leave than when they arrive. And if you do that in business, you know, you're halfway there. If I'm walking down the street and somebody says, Hi Giovanni, we ate in your restaurant last week, my stomach turns at first, and I say to them, Did you have a nice time? We loved it. And honestly, that to me is worth more than than than than uh than anything in the world, you know.

SPEAKER_02 10:25

How much of a proportion would you say is the food and the ambience and the welcome? What's the split?

SPEAKER_00 10:31

If you go to a good restaurant with great service, you'll go back. If you go to a restaurant with great food and bad service, you won't go back. You're never gonna get everything right. But just speak to the customer, make sure they're happy. Because you've got literally an hour and a half, two hours or longer until they leave. So why wait for them to leave? Put it right, make them happy. That's what you're there for. We're not there just to make money, you know. I mean, that helps a bit. Advice you nice things, but come on, we're there to make them. So I believe it's it's all about creating magic moments and smiles, you know?

SPEAKER_02 11:07

Well, you've done that for our family for decades. And uh I'll be keep on coming, and I'd recommend all our viewers and listeners to do the same. When did you first see Giovanni's in your head? That what when was that this is it moment?

SPEAKER_00 11:21

I I've always been one to count to five before I answered a question, unlike most Italians. And I worked on the ships, and uh on the last ship I worked on, there was a beautiful family called uh the Bird family, Ron Byrd and his family. And um, I had two weeks off and uh and they said come and visit. Now, all the Americans would say come and visit. Uh, this time I actually went and and and and I spent uh a week in New York and a week in New Jersey. We became really good friends. Then they came to Cardiff to visit. So we had dinner one night in a place called the Fox and Hounds in Lancarvin, and as we were having dinner, and Ron and Linda said, Oh, we've always wanted to own our own restaurants, you know. And I counted the five, and I said, Asipity. I said, I'm I'm opening one in Swansea, which I wasn't. I said, if I wasn't, then I'd open one in America. And he said, Well, how far in the deal are you? And I said, Well, you know, I said, I've spent a few bob and I hadn't. And all of a sudden he came up with a deal, and and we opened a one million dollar restaurant in in New Jersey, you know, which I I I designed and opened, and I didn't have a clue what I was doing. Didn't have a clue. And and one day I had to sort of measure how many tables and chairs I wanted, you know, and I didn't have a clue how to how to how to measure, you know. So when I went home, I got a piece of cardboard and I literally cut out template of a table and a chair. And I went on the cardboard on the floor before they carpeted, and I drew tables and chairs everywhere. When they came in the next day, they saw this whole restaurant with chalk laid out when I was going through till five in the morning with a little trolley, making sure that everybody you know was comfortable. And they said, We'd never seen such commitments. There's no commitment, I couldn't read bloody plans. So then he gave me a bookkeeper. She said to me, What's your GP? I thought, I said, I haven't I haven't got a doctor yet. I didn't have a clue what a GP was. He's a gross prophet, I know that now, but at the time, what's my GP? But you know what's saying? It doesn't matter what you do in life. If you've got a vision and you got belief and you're prepared to put the time in, you get it right. If you take enough wrong turnings, you'll get on the right road eventually. And that's what I've done, you know, all the time. So it's uh so it's it's magical. Getting lost is good fun, making mistakes is good fun at times. So what happened then? I came back from America. America's great, but I miss Wales, you know. I worked selling ice creams for six months, became the biggest ice cream seller in in Cardiff. And then one day I was buying a camping site, it was right. I had a phone call from the chap selling this place. I said, Oh, I said, Um, when are we gonna sign the contract? Oh, he said, I've sold it. I said, I said, I know, I said, I've bought it. No, no, he said I've sold it to somebody else. So I leave this caravan site and I go into this coffee shop. As I'm sat there, Brian Fry, who I adore, uh businessman, amazing guy. He came over, he said to me, Why are you looking so miserable? I said, Um this chap who he knew, I said he's just uh told me he's not gonna be selling me his business anymore. He said, Well, if you want a business, you can buy this. He said, I'm I'll sell you my coffee shop. So literally within 48 hours, we'd done the deal. You know, I had to go to the bank and get a bit of cash out of him. And uh and that's now Giovanni's restaurant. 42 years later, that's how Giovanni's came about. I mean, when I opened it, we had a we had a domestic cooker, we had a little microwave, we had a little grill, it got busier, busier. Then we did a little extension. And then one day I thought, oh gosh, the place is too small. We've outgrown it. And I kept on saying, I wish there was more space, I wish there was more space. And all of a sudden, I dropped my keys one night. I was in my father, dropped my keys, and they fell in between the steps, you know, at the back of the restaurant. And I shone a a torch down there, and I thought, bang on, there's there's rooms on it. There were three rooms sealed up full of empty bottles. There I built the storerooms uh and and the toilets, you know. And I went, wow, all I've said is I wish the restaurant was bigger. I don't know how this stuff works, but it happens all the time. If you wish and wish and wish, and you see it and you believe it, you must never stop believing it. If you ever stop believing, guess what?

SPEAKER_02 15:46

It won't happen, yeah. But you are self-propelled. Most mavericks and entrepreneurs are self-propelled. I can't find the off switch. I don't think you've been able to find it either.

SPEAKER_00 15:55

Just go with the flow and just enjoy every second of being in business. You've got to put the effort in there, you know. You've already got to put the effort in there, you know. But if you can do things that make you happy whilst you're making money, it's a win-win, you know. There was a place called the Fontande Trevi. I used to go in and organise the bottles and stuff, and and the and the waiters say, Why are you doing that for? You won't get a thanks for it. I said, No, I'm doing it for myself. One day I will own my own restaurant. So I'm doing all this, I'm practicing for when I run my restaurant. So any young entrepreneurs out there who really believe it's tough. It's not when things get tough, uh when they sometimes will, you know, is when you learn, is when you grow. You know, that that's the big thing. If things weren't tough, you wouldn't become the person you are, whether it's in your personal life, your physical life, your business life. You really gotta be grateful for when things go wrong. Because you got the chance to put it right, and to learn and then to teach. So if people talk to you, take the advice, but you make the decision. Because sometimes people say, No, no, I wouldn't do that, it's too dangerous. Let their fear stop them. Don't let their fear stop you.

SPEAKER_02 17:12

So tell me, when you stood at the end of Mill Lane and imagined cafe culture, what convinced you it could actually happen? We all take it for granted now, but back in the day.

SPEAKER_00 17:23

I decided after three years to open my second restaurant, which was the Continental in Mill Lane. And then all of a sudden, after a while, I went, I've opened a restaurant in the wrong end of town because Mill Lane was a bit rough. And I thought, oh my god, what have I done here? Because outside my restaurant was a was a bus stop, so nobody could ever see the restaurant because it was a bus always parked in in front of it. Three lanes of traffic. What have I done? How can I turn this around? So I remember standing on the end of Mill Lane, I closed my eyes and I went, right, why is it in Italy we can have cafe quarters, but not in the UK? So I literally did a sketch, which wasn't very good. Then I got it made into a bigger drawing, took that to the council and said, Listen, let's have a cafe quarter. And I think they thought I was mad. In fact, when I first put tables and chairs outside in the haze, the council used to collect them thinking we were throwing them out. And I used to chase them down the street saying, No, no, they're my tables and chairs. And they say, Well, keep them indoors. I said, No, they're al fresco. You know, they would literally take my tables and chairs thinking I was bidding them. So what made Mill Lane happen was when we had a model 12 foot by 12 foot of what you see now, but nicer, made, and we took it to the council and had a meeting with the council. But then we left this 12 by 12 foot model there. Smart. I I I got a phone call. Hi Giovanni, can you please come and collect your your your your model of Milane? I say, I'll be there tomorrow. No, but I left it there for six months, and one day we had a phone call from a chap called Nick Hamilton, who was a city centre manager, a great man. He said, Look, I love this idea. And he said, I can help you. We had meetings and I and I formed the cafe quarter and I got the restaurants involved. But the best one was this decision day. So I went there and I thought, oh, this is gonna be hard working, convincing people to eat. Those cars are going past and people walking past. I mean, they weren't too um they weren't too sort of um happy about it. So I went around all of them. There was about 12 of them that were gonna be in this meeting. I said, Do you like eating at home? Do you like having barbecues in the garden? Oh, we love having bargain barbecues in the in the garden with the family and the children playing around, which is alfresco, isn't it? And they all looked at me, he said, You've done us. I said, Well, all we're saying is to move your alfresco area from the garden into the street, and they gave us a million pounds to do that, you know, and it was just amazing.

SPEAKER_02 20:07

We were so busy. And what I think is fascinating is that it was the first cafe quarter in the UK. But I always think, as you know, the saying that the Welsh are like the Italians in the rain, you know, we love the culture, we love the sport, and but we've got uh the wet stuff coming with global warming, it gets better. But we don't think anything of it now in Cardiff, just sitting outside. I'm so grateful to you, Joe.

SPEAKER_00 20:32

I love it, I love it. Well, I've had these models that have you see, I've I've actually got outside my my two of my restaurants, the third was being made. So I'm always going to auctions and fundraising, and I went to uh Martin Roberts uh from Homer's Ham. I went to his place in Triorkey and I went to this event and uh we raised money, and all of a sudden they were trying to auction off a dragon which is about uh six foot tall, you know. So I bought this dragon, and then when it was ready, I went to pick it up in in the van. And when I got there, they were making another one, and I said to him, I'll buy that one as well. Where did the dragons end up? One's outside Giovanni's in the bay, and one's outside Giovanni's in park place. And those dragons represent me saying thank you to the Welsh. So my parents came to Cardiff, you know, because there was no work in Italy. And they came with two suitcases and literally £10, you know, and um to give us an opportunity, you know. We are we are grateful. It's just nice just to uh remember, you know, the the Italians that came here who had the courage to leave Italy and and come over here. In fact, a lot of Italians during the war, when they were told you can go back, they went, No, we're staying here. But we are so much the same. I mean, the Welsh and the Italians, we love food, we love to sing, we love to drink, we love families. Come on, you're right, it's just the sun that's missing, so you know, so you can take a vacation for that, you know. But I left America. I left a one million dollar restaurant to come back to Cardiff and start again. Wales is so special. I say to people, my heart is Italian, my wallet is Welsh. So I always support Wales. Why? Because they supported me. You know, only when they they they they play Italy. Otherwise, I support the Italians.

SPEAKER_02 22:16

When did the element of celebrity come into your restaurant? Did it happen naturally?

SPEAKER_00 22:20

Or no, it started with uh with Shulyvassi. And I remember Shully Bassi coming in and his whole family, which I knew from Grange Stone. She was wonderful, you know. The after-show party was better than the actual show itself. My job is just to let you feel like a normal person, although you're a celebrity. So I've always looked, I mean, we look after um Barry Manolo. He comes to us every time he's in Cardiff, and it's amazing because we know now to let him eat his food, and then as he's about to leave, we tell our customers now, he'll have a photo taken, you know. But to me, when they're eating, you've got to you've got to let them eat, you've got to let them uh you know switch off, you know. And and when we looked after Ed Shear and my daughter used to play music, and and uh this guy's amazing, amazing. I thought, yeah, yeah, yeah. And one day I went to uh there's some outside catering uh to his first event, he's been with us since. And I I'm listening to him singing, there's only a thousand people in the audience. I'm thinking, this is the guy my daughter loves. So afterwards I went backstage and uh I said, Can you leave a little message for my daughter? And he said, Hi Iliana, I said uh, and with your dad chilling out, and I sent it to her. Oh my god, I was the most famous, amazing father for 30 seconds. It was wonderful, you know. Danny from the script came there one night to eat with his with his his band, and his I said to him, I said, No, no, I said dinner's on me. I said, I'm buying. No, no, no, no, I said no, I'm buying dinner. I said, I love the way you make people feel special on television. This is me saying thank you on behalf of the public, you know. And he said, Okay, listen, but I I'll have to give you some tickets to watch the show. And when I went with my staff to watch the show, at the end he said thank you to his to his uh band, and he said thank you to us. And when you're in a place where people are going crazy, 10,000 people, you know, watching the show, and and you get mentioned, forget the advertising, that helps. But you just feel special, you know. And and I think life is about making people feel special.

SPEAKER_02 24:24

I remember very clearly coming into the restaurant with Tom Jones, he was Tom Joseph at the time. When I saw you in action, it was yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:33

I used to love looking after uh Sir Tom, you know. Uh he he he's been coming to eat with us for maybe 40 years, you know. And um I had the privilege to sit down with his friends from Fonti Preith and and listen to them talk about the same stories, you know. And um, and he's you know Sir Tom Jones. If you just if you want to if you meet him, just talk about Wales, not America, talk about all things Welsh, and he's he's he's an amazing, uh amazing person. And and you know, just to be in the same same room as Tom is just he's he's he's the the best thing that's come out of Wales, you know.

SPEAKER_02 25:07

I remember inviting Mark and Donna and um Sir Tom and the grandchildren to our box for the Wales England, and I said to Mark, look, we're on for the Grand Slam, you should bring your dad home, and uh he did. So they were late arriving, so we had to get a chopper from London into um Cardiff Bay, and we chartered a car. But by the time the car got to Westgate Street, the street had closed, and I had to run from the box to the um control centre uh with the police and everything. I had to say, look, you've got to let this car in. Whatever happens, you've got to let this car in. And um when the car came to the barrier, there's always somebody in a fluorescent jacket and uh clipboard. You're not coming in here, you're not coming in here. That's not happening. I love them. And I heard this on the radio talk back, and I still can't believe it to this day. I don't care if you've got Tom Jones in there, you're not coming in here. And nobody can say anything was in the car. And then the Welsh coach came behind, and um radio control to the command centre said, let him in, you know, let that car in whenever you near the registration. So in the end, the car went behind the Welsh coach and underground into the middle of the stadium. Tom comes out, the Welsh team comes out. Tom, Tom, you know, let's get a Stephanie's, you know, pleased to see them. And um we won, you know, and I I still think to this day that they were, you know, well, it's not unusual, is it? But that he was there to help and to guide moments in Wales's history.

SPEAKER_00 26:37

100%. Having somebody there just sets off the extra energy and the extra belief that wants you to make them happy. So that day they wanted to please Sir Tom, you know, which was which was which was special, you know.

SPEAKER_02 26:49

What an ambassador. Yeah, him and Tim Shirley. Yeah you've succeeded and failed in business. Oh gosh, yes. You know, we've both been on the same journey.

SPEAKER_00 26:57

How do you think about failure now? What happened? Because we created this wonderful cafe quarter, which is great, we're all nice and busy. Then all of a sudden, the building opposite me, which was a shopping centre, a rundown shopping centre, was bought, and they were gonna knock it down to build St. David's too. I remember one day we had people eating in the street, and they knocked it down, and there must have been an inch of dust on every single person and every single meal, every single table, and from that day onwards people never came back. Now, you know, in hindsight, okay, we should have closed daytime. Um, we lost half a million pounds, you know, in six months. Uh, I then took control. I remember once there was a lorry coming through every seven minutes, there were lorries coming through with all the cement, and they had to wet it down to to avoid the actual dust. So I got my staff to handcuff me to the railings. So we moved the the barriers and blocked the road, you know. And there was like 17 lorries trying to get through with their cement. And I said, I'm going no. I said, I'm not gonna know it at all. I said, You've got people trying to trade. I said, I'm staying here until somebody comes along. I'm not moving. So I was just handcuffed to this um to this fencing, you know. Because you can't you've got to respect people who are trying to make money when you're knocking down and building businesses, you know. And and we got through it, and and all of a sudden, the rest is history. It was uh we appreciate what's there now. I think Cardiff needed a brilliant shopping centre, and and and and we we we thrive with them, you know. I believe in life, you learn, you become your best when you hit a wall, you know, and and just realize you can swim against the waves, you know. But um, yeah, when things get tough, just get tough with it and just make sure you you rest, but just enjoy the journey. We're not here forever. Just enjoy the journey and be nice to people.

SPEAKER_02 28:58

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. That's a song, yeah. Yeah, and when you um told that story then I remember, I won't say what broadcasted it was, but a major contract that we had was pushed across the table, isn't happening anymore with no notice. Oh my god. I didn't leave that building for 24 hours until I saw someone. And that tenacity is what you need something because I had staff, I had responsibilities, nobody understands what that's like. No, but there's something, them some steel comes out of you because you know what's coming up, and actually, within months of that happening, we picked up another contract, a four million a year contract, which transformed what we were doing. But had we folded then, we wouldn't have got to that contract. So there's something happens sometimes inside you, and I find myself more creative, more innovative when I'm in a corner. There's nothing wrong with failings. What you learn from failure that I think is important. Would you agree?

SPEAKER_00 29:54

Oh, 100%. If you're driving down the motorway and you take the wrong turning and that takes you through the country lanes, that's fine. Enjoy what you're looking at, but get back on the motorway of life, you know. So just don't beat yourself up because you've taken the wrong turning. Doesn't matter in hundred years' time, just enjoy the journey. So whether it's business, whether it be relationships, whatever it is, if it goes wrong, learn from it. And that's the important thing. If you don't learn from it, then you're stupid.

SPEAKER_02 30:24

So learn from it. You did something completely different alongside the restaurants, uh, the mini farm. Oh gosh. What made you start that?

SPEAKER_00 30:32

So many years ago, my daughter was in university, you know, and uh and she was a bit stressed. So somebody said, if you've got a pet, you know, it helps you with your stress. So I got by two rabbits, don't I, you know. And then um I said, I bought you some rabbits. She said, Okay, Dad, uh you look after them. So I ended up looking after her two rabbits. And then I went with my niece then to buy some rabbit food and came back with two more rabbits. And then um I bought a fifth one, and then my niece then I paid her £10 a week to clean the cages out. And she said, Uncle Giovanni, she said, I found a really quick way of cleaning the cages. I put all the rabbits in one cage, three girls, two boys, and I cleaned the cage. And I went 22 rabbits later. I then went to a an event, a big golf event, it was, you know, and and the speaker was talking about autism. And I saw this little boy running back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, with headphones on. And I put two and two together. I thought that's his son. And so I literally again you know bid for everything that day and and pushed the price up, and then made that my charity. So I was working with many charities, and then children would come to the house, and we went from rabbits to guinea pigs, and then uh uh we we bought ducks and uh guinea fowl, and then somebody one day knocked on the door saying, Excuse me, miss, is this your goat? And it was a little goat. And I went, instead of saying no, I counted the five. I went, Oh, is this is escaped again, is it? So I took him in. So we had we had a goat, and then we had geese. It's only a uh an acre of land, you know, but it was full of animals, and and it was a it was wonderful. It was just so nice to be involved with and and the the children with downs. I mean, happiest kids in the world. There was a little boy called Will, and all of a sudden you've got this big smile and this happiness coming out, and it was just it was just magical, you know. I mean, we're looking to move it all together. I don't really want to separate the animals, you know. So I'm now with the council talking, give us a piece of land and and make it more of a community. I think having something where the community can get involved with and and and and help and stuff, you know, I think that's that's important. So I've had it 10 years and uh yeah, sadly I've got a couple of favourite pets there that uh that are still there, you know. But it's been good fun.

SPEAKER_02 32:54

I think we're on a similar trajectory in the fact that I do some many similar bonus things, but it is time for you to start stepping back and finding homes for the animals is going to be difficult. But you've also had a health scare. Oh gosh, yeah. How has that affected how you look at work and life now?

SPEAKER_00 33:12

So I was non-stop, I was like 100 miles an hour, seven days a week, work, work, work. And then one day I went home. I had my blood tested, were fine, I had my um uh scan on my heart, and everything was fine. And I went home feeling okay, a bit tired, went to bed on Friday night at 10 o'clock, which was early for me. And I woke up on Sunday at 10 o'clock in the morning, so I slept for 30 hours, and I had something on my leg, like a big red patch. Went to hospital and it was cellulitis. And had this happened on Saturday, I would have gone to work and I would have ignored it. And then that turns into sepsis or something else, and you can just die from it. And when I got back from hospital, nothing meant anything other than the love for my family, the love for my children, uh, people that I know, anything I could touch or see. I thought that means nothing now. And so I just started working three days a week. You know, I go I do Tuesday, I work in Giovanni's in the bay, and after my management meeting, Wednesday I go to um the haze, and we feed the homeless on the hay in the haze every Wednesday and Sunday. And then Thursday I go to Park Place, and then the other four days I can do what I like, which usually consists of working or just upsetting people. So I'm now able to go anywhere in in those four days, upset anybody, and then go home when I want to go home. So it took that to make me realize it's about legacy. So leave your legacy behind, but take your memories with you. So you you know, with life without memories is not worth having a life. You can be the richest man if you haven't got memories, you've got nothing. So make memories.

SPEAKER_02 34:59

You mentioned it there, but you've been feeding homeless people in Cardiff week in, week out, long before it was talked about and known generally.

SPEAKER_00 35:07

Years ago there's a guy in town called Nobby. Do you remember Nobby? Yeah, so Nobby was wonderful. He used to go around town with a trolley, lots of hair, you know. So um he'd come in every day and we'd feed him at the back, and and then we'd give him food to take back to the others, you know. So that's how it started, really. And then one day I remember inviting him to my 30th birthday party, you know. Well, he turned up immaculate with a dinner suit on, his hair was washed, had his hat on, and he was the soul of the party. Everyone talking to him, you know. Nobody realized he was homeless.

SPEAKER_02 35:40

What did it teach you about the people themselves and about this city?

SPEAKER_00 35:45

You got people who are homeless because it suits them to be homeless. And it is a problem in Cardiff because you know they're in in the town centre and they're begging. Um some of them you see them get into a car at the end of the day and they work for other people in begging, which is uh sad because people who need the support may not always get it, you know. There are homeless people who won't go to certain places where they can have a bed for the night because it's full of drugs and they want to stay away from the drugs, you know. Um so you're not gonna uh sort it out in the five minutes, it's a big issue. And then about four years ago, Rosa from the tabernacle next door to Giovanni's and she said to me, Would you help us feed the homeless twice a week? So for the last four uh four years, uh every Wednesday, every Saturday, that we put lots of pastel and bits of chicken and stuff, and we feed the homeless next door in the church. And and my next thing now is to get other restaurants and hotels to do the same in the UK, you know. That's that's the next story, to get others to do the same, you know. So our job is to help them understand you can still get back on your feet, and all we do is give them is given them a bit of pasta um and and and a bit of respect, you know, and and uh we're getting some great results. We've got people who now uh were homeless, they're now uh living in in a flat. Um people who are now volunteering. Um yeah, but if everybody does a little bit, um eventually we could yeah make this world a better place, as the song goes.

SPEAKER_02 37:27

On a lighter note, um you'll be you'll be amused because of your shared friendship with Sir Tom that I've been fed in a homeless kitchen. Oh, wonderful. Not by choice. I was filming in Cleveland, Ohio, Tom Jones at Christmas, and um it was so cold. It was bitterly cold. I had fingerless gloves, multiple layers. Don't don't judge me by looking at me. It was I looked like one of the robbers in Home Alone, right? I'm walking to the filming location, and I'm I'm just thinking about what I'm gonna be saying and filming because I was interviewing. And I got grabbed by these well-meaning pastors, dragged into the kitchen, and I'd be honest with you, I sat down and I was trying to tell them what I was doing. They thought I was delirious with frostbite, and I did eat the soup. I'm shameful to say, but I did eat the soup. And then I said, Right, I've got to go, and I went. But uh so I I've I've had a little bit of experience.

SPEAKER_00 38:18

I mean, we used to we we still do, we feed the pastors, you know. The uh they go around town uh making sure that people on the weekends are safe getting home because sadly some youngsters uh will drink too much and will golf with the wrong people, and and so the pastors go around and if they see somebody that's not well, they give them a pair of flip-flops, they give them water, and so we feed the pastors every weekend just as a thank you, because we've got to take responsibility, and if we sell alcohol, whether it's in nightclubs or restaurants, you've got to make sure the people are drinking it are not being forced to drink more than they need to. And if there's a problem, you've got to make sure you're responsible and they they get back home safely. So we feed the pastors, and that's good to fancy. So we've got to say in um that the pastors respond faster on Giovanni's pasta. Cardiff City and the ice hockey team. So the the devils skate faster on Giovanni's pasta, and the players run faster on Giovanni's pasta. So we managed to sort of get yeah, a bit of a bit of PR. And when Cardiff went up twice, we were feating the players, and uh, we took full credit for that that uh they got there because of our f our pasta, you know.

SPEAKER_02 39:32

Obviously, we met early on in uh in Tom's journey, but we also met at a time when we s we shared the late great Stuart Cable's friendship. Um you were we were both ended up in the nightclub business, and I was recording a new show with him called Cable TV. And I still have his number in my phone. I can't bring myself to to delete it. When do you think about Stuart and how he was probably the ultimate maverick? What stays with you about him?

SPEAKER_00 39:58

So I met Stuart when he came to the restaurant with his family, and he was so humble and so wonderful, and and his wife and his kids, they were absolutely gorgeous, you know. And then when I opened the nightclub, he'd come to my nightclub, and uh and and he was just one of the boys, you know, he was just one of the boys, you know. When it happened, when he when he died, it was you you don't expect these things to happen, you know. And sadly, when that happened, you you just want to just you know rewind and say do something else, you know. Um he was one of the nicest. So I put Stuart in the same category as Sir Tom. You know, you can have a drink with them, you can have a chat with them, you can have a laugh with them. They're just great Welsh boys.

SPEAKER_02 40:44

As the drummer of the stereophonics, it was the stars that did Funeral, I never forget the black horses and the hearse, and everybody there was anybody in the music industry was there out of respect for Stuart. But I remember in the early days of the stereos, um, how Richard Branson, who signed them for V2, was drawn by Stuart. You know, his his enigmatic character, charismatic. Yeah, it's just you know, but also what I saw was it was all or nothing with Stuart. So I think you know, I I've got to watch that in my nature. It's that you know, you've got to balance it out, haven't you?

SPEAKER_00 41:18

That's a big word in life. You know, balance is important, you know. If you haven't got balance, you fall off a bike. But you know, I mean it's sad for the children, and and these things happen often, and you and all you can do is hope that other people learn from it and that the family share that experience so that other people realize, you know, how much it hurts other people if we don't take care of ourselves. And it's all about taking care of yourself at the end of the day, you know. Um things happen because you work too hard. I discovered a few months ago when I went for a blood test that um adrenal adrenaline, which I thought was great, is not because adrenaline uh affects the cortisol and makes your blood thicker. So all of a sudden I think, okay, let's go for a walk more often, you know.

SPEAKER_02 42:02

Time for our maverick maxims, short, sharp, quick fire questions. First thing that comes to your mind one lesson from your parents, Chippy, that still applies today. Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_00 42:12

Um, always leave the customer wanting more and with a massive smile, and always make sure you buy the best food for the best price. You sell the best food for the best price.

SPEAKER_02 42:28

One bit of business advice you now think is rubbish.

SPEAKER_00 42:31

Oh gosh. Um a bit of business advice that I now think is rubbish is when somebody says to you, don't bother, it's a waste of time. You make that decision, you think it through. And if it's a waste of time, it's a waste of time. All we've got is time. So if we waste a little, does it matter? Listen to yourself. Don't always listen to people because they could take you off track and years later, you could see them doing well with your idea. So be a bit wary when you take advice, who you take it from.

SPEAKER_02 43:10

What's one non-negotiable standard in your restaurants?

SPEAKER_00 43:15

Service. I think what's important even now is is getting staff to understand that customers are coming there for a reason. They're handing over money. They're not giving you, it's not a donation. They're saying, here's my money, give me some lovely food, make me smile, make me feel fantastic. That's it. If you do that in business, you'll survive. A song that lifts your energy instantly. You know, all of a sudden I get these songs pop up. So I've gone from the Eye of the Tiger when I'm in the gym getting my six pack in somewhere. You and me give it a Eye of the Tiger, and then I've I've then I've I've looked at um the song Um Forever Young popped into my head. And I'm a believer that. When my kids annoyed me as children, I'd say to them, You're gonna make me go dark. I never said you're gonna make me go grey, you know. So I should have said you're gonna make me grow more hair as well, you know. But um songs are important. I mean, if you link any song, uh which is one of the one one of the when you work uh because I'm a life coach as well, so I work as an as an NLP practitioner, you know, in my spare time. I work with footballers and I help people um with their lives, you know. You can link a song to somebody that means so much to them, you know, and and and if you listen to that song when things um get tough, you know, then then it'll help you. I used to once love the song Smile by Natkin Cole. I mean, you know, you you could be driving down the road and you put that song on, nothing matters. If it's raining, the sun is shining behind the rain. So smile was an amazing song, but right now it's um not that I'm getting older, but it's it's forever young. Shall I sing it for you now?

SPEAKER_02 45:06

I want to say hold up because you said that you're an NLP practitioner to find something new about you every day in your alleged spare time.

SPEAKER_00 45:15

So I I've got a group of people called MAD that stands for making a difference, you know. And and we work together and and and and we have um other people come to the group uh that we can inspire, we can help, and we give our time, you know. Um and and we also want to take them uh now into the world of the homeless where they can come and talk with us. And sometimes that little chat in a corner with somebody can get them back on track. Because if somebody believes things won't get better, then things won't get better. But if you can help them with a few words and some advice, then you may find happiness. And you find happiness by seeing other people succeed, believe it or not, more than yourself. You see somebody else do well, you think, wow, that's that's the gift that keeps on giving, you know.

SPEAKER_02 46:08

Well, count me in on the list there. I'll come and talk to them. A daily habit that keeps you grounded.

SPEAKER_00 46:15

Daily habit that keeps me grounded. I've got little sayings on my phone, you know, um that that that that I that I read. And I also then every day text somebody and I ask them to send me a text back of three things they're grateful for and three things they're gonna do to make their day better. So I get these texts back from about 13, 14 people, you know, and I read them. That's one thing I do. Um the other one is just to to wake up and and and and thank God. I'm a Catholic, you know, and thank God um that I've woken up above ground. That that that is a good start of the day, you know. But you know, you just gotta be grateful. I mean, you've got to be grateful, and and and we we don't know what happens once we've gone, you know, if it's energy, if it's memories. And also, what's important is uh, you know, I've you know I've got a you know a list on my phone of quotes, and one is don't take it too seriously. You know, what it means to you won't matter tomorrow. Just don't take it too seriously. And just focus on focus on if you got an apple with a bruise, then get rid of the bruise. Eat the apple. That's a good one, isn't it? I just made that one up.

SPEAKER_02 47:29

Come on, it's a cooking thing. Um, what decision hurt most at the time, but taught you the most? What decision hurt most of the time?

SPEAKER_00 47:38

Wow. Um probably the marks of the handcuffs on the railings. Oh, that's one, no, no. So I made a decision many, many years ago. I had a very successful business called the Continental in Mill Lane. It got so busy, instead of just leaving it and opening a third restaurant, I decided to move my successful restaurant to the first floor and then turn the ground floor into more of a bar. Um, which I'm glad I did now, but not then. Um so if something's making money, leave it alone. Don't put your price up too much, but just leave it alone. So the lesson I learned, which was quite funny, because without telling anybody, which is typical of me, we just moved the restaurant upstairs after a busy Rugby International. So the customers came back on the Tuesday and they went, Where's the restaurant gone? It was it was upstairs, you know. So uh so if it's working, um leave it alone. Uh if it's not, then do something about it, you know. You've you've become also a TV personality. How did that come about? I just love having a great day, you know, and uh and I'm always one um for an opportunity. I remember years ago, I was walking to Giovanni's on the way to a meeting. It was the first time ever I'd been on time, and I saw a crowd of people. And uh so I walked over to the crowd and I said, What's going on? They said it's the uh national lottery, it's uh Deser Connor. And it was like a hundred people with him in the middle. So I thought, oh gosh, um, okay, I'll be late for this meeting, but I've got to get on this TV program because it's just it's just lovely to be on television, and it's just nice, the whole exciting bit about it. Even when we did you bet twice. They wouldn't let me through, they wouldn't let me through, you know. So I took this notepad out of my bag and I wrote down National Lottery BBC Researcher in thick pen. And I went, excuse me. And as I tapped people, they go, Oh, they let me through. So I got to the front now, and I go, Des O'Connor there, and I know that advertising is great. It was worth a lot of money, you know. And I thought I've got to get us on television in the early days. I thought, right, okay, I said, what can I do now? And I shouted, uh, Des, Des, I've got all your records. So he came over with his microphone. He said, Really? I said, I said, yes, I said that I said I used them to stop the tails from wobbling in my restaurant, Giovanni's. And they all came from nowhere. And they showed that on television, and he thought it was funny because everyone took the Mickey out of Des O'Connor, you know. And another time we served Pavarotti. I said to my chef Armando, I said, Armando, I said, Pavarotti's manager's coming to Cardiff for a meeting. I said, You've got to find out what Pavarotti loves to eat. So Armando phoned the restaurants, he was from Modena as well. Phoned the restaurants, we knew every single thing he loved eating. The antipasto, the make, the brand. We had it all ready. So when the meeting started, I just sort of hovered around and we brought the food out and we made handmade tortolini, which Pavarotti loved. And Pavarotti's manager said, Um, Luciano will love this place. The recipe, we had it all, and all of a sudden, out came the dessert vanilla hagandas ice cream. That is why Pavarotti came to eat with us. We made an effort to find out what he liked. So when he came to Cardiff, he was coming to eat after the show, and I met him, and the restaurant was on the first floor. Now everyone's upstairs waiting for Pavarotti to come to eat. And all of a sudden, he got to the front of the restaurant and there was a set of stairs, and I got the most wonderful photograph. And he looked at me and he said in Italian, Questo lo faccio per te, which means this I'm doing for you. He's I don't climb stairs, he said, because you've got bad knees, and I oh we did everything right, and then we realized we should have fed him on the ground floor, right? Put his arm on my shoulder, and we climbed the stairs, and when he got to the top of the stairs, you then knew that Pavarotti was in the building, and it was absolutely wonderful. He then chose to eat in the restaurant with the customers, not in the private room, you know. And uh that night the uh the Welsh um football players were in Cardiff, and uh and uh Vinnie Jones was there, who's a good friend of mine, and also Ian Rush. Now, Ian Rush played for Juventus, and uh Pavarotti had the driest sense of humour, but was such a funny man, and he uh he looked at Ian Rush, and all of a sudden he said, Why were you so bad at playing football for Juventus? He ripped him apart, or words to that effect, you know. He was actually teasing him, you know. But Ian Rush took it seriously because he did play badly for Juventus, you know, especially as a Juventus fan. And uh it was so wonderful. Then and then um then the story in the papers was Pavriotti went for a night out with Vinnie Jones and and Ian Rush, and he didn't even back to bed, you know. And that was special, and and that that made me realize if you put effort in and you do your research, um magic happens, you know.

SPEAKER_02 53:16

The showman, you know, not just the chef and the entrepreneur and the maverick, but you know, you make the magic happen a little bit.

SPEAKER_00 53:24

So important, so important. I remember years ago going to these charity events, I'd always do something silly and buy a shirt or buy something. And then one day they were they were knocking down the Millennium Stadium. What was it called? Am's Park?

SPEAKER_02 53:38

Yeah, the old Am's Park.

SPEAKER_00 53:40

Okay. And I remember going there, and the auctioneer said, Right, we're now gonna auction off the last piece of uh turf, and looked at me and said, Look nice in your garden, sir. And I went, uh Yeah, a bit of a bit of grass, you know, a bit of green, green grass of home in my garden. So somebody bid for it. I looked across, then somebody else bid for it, and then my arm went up and I bid for it, and I won the bid. And everyone starts clapping. And I thought, why are they clapping? And the lady, little lady turned around and said to me, Do you realize love? She said, You just bought the whole pitch. I bought 97% of the grass, not three percent, as I went to cancel the bid, about nine reporters got up from different countries, including Italy, to interview me. And I thought, okay, well I'll take the advertising, I'll cancel it tomorrow. Long story short, the next day there's me being interviewed at the at the auction buying this grass, and uh, and all the best goals by Gareth Edwards, so Gareth Edwards' famous goals and Ian Rush's goals. Can you imagine the whole pitch turning up at Lequitt Stadium, which they allowed me to put outside Lequitt on pallets, and I had 10 days to sell this or to donate this, um, otherwise it would it would have literally just uh gone to waste, you know. How am I gonna get rid of all this turf, right? A piece of turf. I thought, okay, I know. I'll sell a piece of turf for Father's Day. So I got the um World Strugger Union to give me an authentic note in a letter. Uh I had them photocopied, I had boxes made. I went, I know, a pizza turf. The news came along and they and they um they filmed me putting a piece of turf into the pizza oven and taking it out, and we sold all of the turf within 10 days for 16 and a half thousand pounds. And we sponsored the under-twelves rugby and football for two years, you know. Crazy. I mean, it'll never happen again. Um, and I said to Sir Gareth, I said, one day I'll be famous in the world of rugby. And there was a day there was a film on television, and there was uh a program on TV about the history of the arms park, and there was Sir Gareth, there was Ian Rush, and then there was me bidding for the Tirth, and and it's just a great story, you know. Yeah, I love that.

SPEAKER_02 56:13

We call this the Maverick moment, the moment you think only I could have done it this way. What's yours?

SPEAKER_00 56:20

Wow, um I mean I'll be honest, I there's been so many of them, you know. You know, bringing Anthony Robbins to Cardiff and uh uh and I mean Tony Robbins is one of the best motivational experts in the world, you know. He owns 130 companies, he's a brilliant coach, he's a billionaire, and he still trains people, he still coaches people, you know. When I brought him to Cardiff, it took a long time, and um he does a thing called the firewalk, and we had to get 13 lanes of hot coals burning, right, for people to come in in a positive mental state and walk across hot coals. Now imagine in those days. A councillor turned up. So the day before the event, luckily I'd spoken to the police, I'd spoken to Russell Goodway, I'd spoken to the fire, I spoke to everybody, and they were they realized, you know, bringing in 11,000 people to an event in Cardiff is good for Cardiff, you know. Well, all of a sudden, along turned up this council, this council worker, somebody from the council with his pipe. He didn't have his coffee or his mug in his hand this time. And uh, and he said, Oh, he said, you can't do that. I said, Why? He said, Health and safety. I I said, Listen, we're building 13 lanes of fire. I said, and tomorrow night there's gonna be 11,000 people in the CIA walking over them. No, no, no, no, no. I said, look, I said you need to phone somebody. So thank God he phoned counsel and they were aware of it, and they let us do it. The whole thing could have gone, you know, years of planning could have gone out of the window, you know, had I just said, okay, let's let's try and do you can't do the Robins events without um taking a risk, you know, and and and so on and so forth, you know. So that's one let me just can I just think of my real Maverick moment and and whilst I'm here. Um I've got a share. I'm part of Evo, uh the group. Yeah, I was gonna ask you about this, yeah. And and I absolutely lovely. I mean, I love it.

SPEAKER_02 58:32

Explain what that is.

SPEAKER_00 58:33

Well, Evo Ultra, so it's it's it's it's a group of companies, uh it's a group of uh directors, CEOs, uh that meet up once a month. Uh Jamie Brees, who uh owns it and runs it, they say it's tough at the top, and people don't get it. They they think, well, how can it be tough? You've got a lovely car and you've got money and you got this, it's tough at the top. There are times that you can't talk to anybody, you know. And when you go to this group and there's 12 or 16 of you or around a table having breakfast and just sharing your experiences, and sometimes you turn up with a bag or a bucket full of problems, and then you listen to somebody else, and you think, Wow, I haven't got a problem, you know. And it was nice when when you came along, because we see you just as this amazing filmmaker and TV program maker, and sometimes people may think that you're not approachable, you know. And what I got out of you coming in was a hell of a lot. Um, I realized how humble you are, how caring you are, uh, and and how you've been through tough times. And I went, wow, you know, to to listen to somebody's story without knowing them that well, and then admiring and respecting them for pushing through. Yeah, that was that was that was magical. And and and then when you invited you to come and be a maverick, you know. I'm an Italian maverick now. I I'm a Welsh Italian maverick. It was just it was it I was very grateful for for the opportunity and uh and uh yeah, so so uh again I'm waffling on again, but that's great. I'm Italian Giovanni the Waffler.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:15

Tell me, I know what it feels like to win Entrepreneur of the Year, but what went through your mind when your name was read out? It just felt special.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:23

And as much as you you think, yes, it's gonna be nice to win an award, uh, when they announced my name on the inside I actually fell apart. I just felt that all the hard work I've done to create the cafe quarter, to work with the homeless, to help people, and my coaching and being there for people. I'm always there for people, you know. It was recognized. You've done a small part of putting Cardiff and Wales on the map.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:51

What would you have given for your father and mother to be there on the night of Entrepreneur?

SPEAKER_00 1:00:56

Oh my god. Well, they were in my heart, and and and my dad was one of those fathers who had to work hard to get a well-done son, you know, one of those sort of, you know, you'd have a clip before a a well-done, you know. My mother would have been all over the moon, you know, and and and and just imagine them being in the room with you, and and that's what's important. But they would have been exceptionally proud. And my father would have said, Giovanni, I'm very proud of you, at last. Finish this line for me. A maverick is someone who dot dot dot. A maverick is somebody who has vision, belief, attitude, but who cares and has a gentle heart, a gentle soul, and cares about others as much as himself.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:40

Well, that's you for me. And finally, when people look back at the restaurants, the cafe culture, the charity work, the farm, the family, what do you hope your story will stand for?

SPEAKER_00 1:01:50

You know, I'm gonna tell you this this short story. When we opened uh 42 years ago this year, we were empty, and and and even now I take bookings on my phone. People phone me to book a table, and they say, Why? I said, There was a time I would stand over my phone praying to God, somebody would ring, you know, to take that book in. So why should I be any different now? I mean, I luckily you can cut and paste these days, you know. But what happened then? There was a family called the Hurley family, and they came in and they sat in the window at the time. There was a table in the window, and we fed them, and it was Ted, Cynthia, and the three children. Ted and Cynthia have passed now, but um our respect and love for them will never die. And the kids still come to us to eat, and the grandkids and the great-grandkids. And um the the wife, Cynthia, sat in the window and she was arguing a bit with her husband. I thought, what's going on here? And she said, I'm not leaving until other customers walk in. It was after the show, uh, there was a show in St. David's Hall, and she said, I'm not leaving uh until other customers uh come in, you know. And she was knocking on the window and saying, It's really good, and literally, you know, invite and all of a sudden the restaurant filled up, you know. And the Hurley family is such a big family, and you never stop being grateful, you know. My son's an actor, he's a producer, director. Um people don't realize how hard a job it can be. It's not a lucky job. You know, you got an idea to make a TV programme or a movie or a show. I mean, we feed the cast. So in the Hays and Park place, you know, there's a big castor, and we bring them over and we give them food. And I say to them, you know, I'm doing this for two reasons. One, because because of you, we make money because there's a show on, and two, because if it was my son and he was somewhere in the world, I'd want to make sure that somebody looks after him as well. And it's just showing gratitude to these people, you know.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:57

From a family trippy in Grange Town, shaping Cardiff's Claffic culture, feeding the homeless, the farm. I mean, your story is exactly what the Maverick mindset is all about. Thank you so much, Giovanni. Honestly, I have enjoyed our conversation, it's gone so quickly, and uh, we could talk all day.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:14

Yeah, I know. And thank you, really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:17

Thank you. To everyone listening, the world doesn't change by playing it safe. Stay curious, stay brave, and keep that Mavic mindset cooking and alive. Ciao Giovanni. See you next time on Inside the Maveric Mind.