A former Italian restaurant owner who ran the business with his brother for nearly 50 years has said being awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) is an “absolute honour”.
Geppino “Gip” Dammone, 68, and his brother Gianfranco “John”, 64, have been recognised for their services to hospitality after working at Salvo’s in Headingley, Leeds, from its opening in 1976 until retirement last year.
The pair moved to Yorkshire with their parents following a cholera outbreak in their native country and went on to create one of the most successful Italian restaurants in the region.
Gip said he was proud to be recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours list in the field he had devoted his life to.
Asked about his earliest memories of Salvo’s, he told the PA news agency: “Weirdly, there were more pizzerias in the north of England than there were in London.
“We were the first wave of affordable restaurants where you could go in, have some pizza or some pasta, have a litre of wine and it’d be £1.30 or something like that.
“The pizzas were 70p when we opened and they were exotic things, so we were successful straightaway.”
Initially running the restaurant with their father Salvatore, who the business was named after, the brothers helped introduce novel dining concepts to customers, including shared tables between different guest groups, handing out free pizza slices to those queuing and taking no bookings.
Salvo’s has since won numerous food awards, remained in the Good Food Guide every year since 1985 and held a prestigious AA rosette, an award recognising culinary excellence, since 2010.
Gip said: “We’ve got three generations of people – they came before, now they come in with their children and their children come in with their children.
“In the restaurant there’s been three generations of my family working too.”
Outside of the restaurant, the brothers have worked closely with the local community, such as by buying meat from local farmers, which was reciprocated when people supported the restaurant during the Covid pandemic.
Their work also includes events with local charities and schools, and mentoring and cooking lessons with children.
“We’ve got this [General] Election coming up now and if people were more au fait with food knowledge, with the importance of prime ingredients, we wouldn’t have so much trouble in the hospitals. Any fool can see that,” he said.
“It’s not some special, secret thing – just invest time in knowing about food and you’re gonna be happier, you’re gonna live longer. That’s my philosophy.”
Gip said he was most proud of seeing those he had taught go on to establish their own well-respected restaurants and culinary careers “from Bangkok to Whitby”.
Asked about the secret to working well with his brother for so long, Gip said: “Give and take, and recognising each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
“Between us we’ve both got totally different skills.”
Both Gip and John retired last year after selling the restaurant to new owners, who are also brothers.
Gip said he now plans to “take it easy” and continue to be involved with the local community in Leeds while he hoped the restaurant would “continue for another 50 years”.
He added: “I still cook every single day of my life. It’s one of the joys of living.”
