Preca sisters to host Gourmet Today TV for 10 weeks
Roberta and Ramona Preca of Tal-Familja in Marsascala and Palazzo Preca in Valletta will be hosting Gourmet Today TV for 10 consecutive weeks, with Sean Gravina, Michael Diacono and Moira Delia back on 22 April.
Rachel Zammit Cutajar
The sisters will be preparing a selection of recipes that they themselves enjoy with family and friends. As they are very busy with their own restaurants and families, what is most important to them when deciding on a family meal is that it is easy to prepare and uses only the very best of ingredients.
Thus the recipes they will be sharing with Gourmet Today TV, will be packed with flavour though easy to prepare so that you can spend more time sitting around the table enjoying your family’s company.
Food service has always been a part of the Preca sister’s lives. Charles Preca, their father, spent a lifetime in the catering industry as head chef at Le Roy Hotel and Papagall restaurant until he set up his own restaurant in Marsascala. Father to five daughters, he soon had help in the kitchen with Roberta and Ramona helping out in the kitchen and front of house pretty much as soon as they could see over the table.
Ramona says that for her she always knew that her life was gearing towards a career in catering, however Roberta tried some other options first, and graduated from business school. When it came down to the practical side, she found life in the business world dull and was keen to get back into the kitchen.
“Creating things was always a major part of what attracted me to the kitchen, food is like art, but better. An artist who works on canvas appeals to only one sense – sight. With food you are appealing to all five senses, you start with your eyes, there is nothing like a beautiful plate of food, followed by the aromas, the taste, the texture and even the sound of different foods broken down in your mouth.”
The hours in catering are always difficult and building family relationships is often difficult, but despite working together they still make time to spend together without the stress of food service.
“Both restaurants are closed on a Monday so we all go out to eat every Monday without fail. Our parents, the five sisters, all our respective boyfriends and husbands, pushchairs and the dog! Making time to talk to each other about other things is important.”
Sean Gravina, Michael Diacono and Moira Delia will be back on 22 April.
Don’t miss Gourmet Today TV, aired on TVM every Friday at 18:15.
