My Little Italia

While in Calgary on our anniversary, we went out for a delicious supper at a charming restaurant, My Little Italia. 

It was recently opened on June 15, 23 by Miran Won and her business partner Kevin McGill.   We were greeted by Miran herself, as the masterful chef Kevin was cooking the delicious Italian menu.

Miran is from South Korea and perused culinary training in her home country starting at age 17 in a variety of  cuisines such as Japanese, Western and Chinese, to name a few.  She made the brave leap to immigrate to Canada 10 years ago.  She told me that a working person in Korea, it is very difficult to get ahead as a woman, with low paying wages and little opportunity for promotions.  She had the opportunity to travel to the United States for one year and work under a chef in the second largest hotel in the country.   Working under his wing, she learned a vast amount of knowledge in her field and left feeling like she could do anything!  Going back to Korea, she realized nothing had changed that would allow her to get ahead.  She did anything she could to learn English from watching TV and reading books.

She discovered there was an opportunity to get a job at the Hyatt hotel in Curasao, an island in the Caribbean.  She took a skill test and an English test, and passed!  So off she went to the Caribbean for 5 years.  She continued to receive promotions.  She had the opportunity to transfer to Korea Hyatt, but knew that as a woman, nothing had changed in her home country and promotional opportunities for her were very limited.

A friend of hers who lived in Rocky Mountain house encouraged her to come to Canada.  She got a work visa for one year and moved to Rocky to help her friend in a restaurant.  After 2 years she longed to be in a bigger city with more opportunity, so she moved to Calgary.  She got hired at Cintini, (a fine dining Italian restaurant on Stephen Ave). Because of her exceptional work ethic, promotions came her way and was loved by the owner.   She worked herself up to head chef, and when they needed more chefs, she hired Kevin McGill.  Her and Kevin developed into a strong working team over the next 5 years.

Kevin McGill began working in a kitchen at the young age of 17 in Brockville, Ont.  He moved to Calgary 12 years ago.  He has a deep passion for Italian cuisine.   He never takes shortcuts as an experienced chef and is always interested in developing new flavours.

After a successful 5 years of the 2 masterful chefs working together, along came covid and lay offs.  After the covid struggle, they decided to invest in themselves and go out on their own.

Both have the deep love of Italian pasta and cuisine, this is where My Little Italia was born.  

After speaking with Miran, she reminds me a lot of myself, in that we both have had the courage in our lives to try new endeavors.  We just “go for it!”  Coming to a new country not knowing the language is in a feat all in its own.  I had a hard time continuing Spanish lessons in the past!  I admire any immigrant coming to a new country with all its challenges, especially not knowing the language .  

My Little Italia is a small cozy space with amazing food.  You will be welcomed and served a great hand made meal by two talented and hard working chefs.  

I would suggest making a reservation.

Congratulations to both Kevin and Miran for a splendid  endeavor and a great restaurant. 

Wishing you continued success to both of you.