Sharing the gastronomic delights of Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region runs through the blood, and the family legacy of Highwood residents and first cousins, Ruthie Amidei and Mada Ugolini Hitchmough.
The opening of the Pelago Café, at 325 Waukegan Avenue in Highwood, will mark the culmination of this shared heritage and deep connection to Italian food culture, and the culinary traditions passed down to them by family.
“We are not only cousins but best friends that love cooking together,” Amidei said, “so what better way to share our culinary traditions, than to open Pelago Café, a reflection of our love of family and food.”
Emilia-Romagna, a region of Italy known for its savory meat sauces and homemade egg-based pastas, is also the home of Pasta Bolognese, Prosciutto di Parma, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and Balsamic vinegar made in Modena.
Hitchmough says, ” We wanted a café like those you find in Italy, a welcoming extension of our own family table, casual and inviting, serving handmade pasta and lasagna, a signature Schiaccia focaccia, seasonal paninis and flattinis, and Ruthie’s trademark biscotti, all created with fresh homemade ingredients”.
The Pelago Café’s story began in the region of Emilia‑Romagna, where both Amidei and Hitchmough’s fathers were born — both families emigrating to Highwood, Illinois in the late 1960s, where their daughters Ruthie and Mada were raised.
The name for Pelago Café, the cousins say, was inspired by the neighboring Italian towns of S’antanna Pelago and Pieve Pelago, where their fathers were born and raised.
“We grew up in the tradition of wanting to feed others, Amidei says. “Both our fathers pursued an interest in Northern Italian cuisine, Alberto Ugolini working as a baker before immigrating to the United States, and Ermanno Amidei, as founder of Amidei Mercatino, soon to be celebrating its 40th anniversary in Lake Forest.
“Highwood has such a rich appreciation for culture and cuisine, it’s built on the shoulders of our ancestors – so we wanted to contribute to that tapestry by bringing the flavors of our region, Emilia‑Romagna, to the town that shaped us,” Amidei said.
Open on the kitchen counter is a worn-out notebook that contains an original collection of family recipes, written in longhand Italian, by Alberto Ugolini, Hitchmough’s late father.
The cousins’ dream to share their passion for scratch-made Italian delicacies by opening their own true Italian café in Highwood is coming true.
Along with on-site and al fresco dining, Pelago Café will offer homemade gourmet-to-go dinner options, custom catering, private event dinners, and Ravinia baskets for summer concerts, and more.
Hitchmough says she was raised with the philosophy that a meal was never meant to be rushed through — family meals were as much about satisfying your hunger as they were about gathering together.
“My father would quote an Italian proverb, that began ‘ Qui va piano or here go slowly,” Hitchmough said.
Success at Pelago Café, Hitchmough says, will be to invite our community to enjoy delicious rustic food inspired by Emilia‑Romagna and to savor it in Italian time,” Hitchmough said.
Gina Grillo is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.
