Umbrian couple bring home-style cooking from Italy's 'green heart' to Market Drayton

Both Don Mario and Leila Elena (known as Lily to many customers) had experience of providing food in restaurants and supermarkets in Italy before coming to England in 2017. They settled in Market Drayton after Mario gained employment in the Palethorpes factory in the town.

Mario and Leila opened a small restaurant in February 2022 where they developed the core of their loyal customer “family”. Mario and Leila opened Bella Italia MD in Shropshire Street on the edge of the town centre, hanging onto the name after a brief “David and Goliath” legal tussle with The Big Table, a group of restaurant chains that includes the national Bella Italia brand.

Despite opening just four evenings a week the local people soon discovered that this was something different in the town. Booking a table became increasingly difficult so they recently moved to larger premises in Cheshire Street as their “family” in north Shropshire kept growing. This move helped them to become more part of the town, and they opened their doors for coffee and cake during the day for the recent annual Ginger & Spice Festival.

“The festival brought many people into town and into Bella Italia MD,” said Mario. "It was wonderful meeting so many old and new customers. Unfortunately, so many came to see us because they either knew us or had heard of us, we ran out of cake!

"That will not happen next year, but it gave us the chance to see Market Drayton in full celebration so we know what we can expect when we support town events in the future.”

Leila added: “Unlike restaurant chains we provide typical home cooked dishes using only fresh and authentic ingredients prepared to order. Mario manages the front of house to ensure customers are well looked after, while I create the food; when my father Vali is over here he adds his own passion to my kitchen. Good food is the foundation of genuine happiness; a recipe has no soul, but as the chef, I must bring soul to the recipe.”

Both have degrees in business management, Leila from Roma Tre University and Mario in England from Aston University, so they know the importance of good customer service.

“We both share an enthusiasm for making the customer experience the best possible,” said Mario. “We work hard to fulfil our aim.”

Leila explained: “At home, my mother always prepared great meals for us, and we were never given anything that was not created from scratch in her kitchen; ready meals were unknown in our house.

"What I didn’t learn from my mother I learned from the older women living nearby, real experts in the art of cookery, so I became familiar with the tastes, methods and specialities of the region; it seems that people in north Shropshire appreciate the food from our home area. I had always wanted to be a chef, and we had wanted our own restaurant, so this is our dream come true."

Bella Italia MD is open each week from Thursday to Sunday from 6pm. Book by calling 07392 308196.