By JESSICA BALANZA

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Westchase resident Santo Bruno recalls being in the kitchen in a basket since the day he was born. Although born in Sicily, when Bruno’s family came to America they opened a small Italian restaurant in Brooklyn.

“I grew up in a basket in the kitchen watching them (parents) make a living,” said Bruno.

Bruno explained he developed a passion for cooking and did lots of cooking with his older brother, who is now a master chef in Italy.

In fact, by 18, Bruno had his first pizza shop in Brooklyn. He later sold that shop and moved to Pennsylvania where he started another pizza place.

“They (pizza shops) kept getting bigger and bigger,” said Bruno.

At 24, Bruno decided to go back and get his certification. He traveled back to Sicily to earn a culinary diploma.

“I realized I needed to get diploma,” said Bruno. “It was not easy. You have to be good at everything.”

Around this time, Bruno explained he met a man who took him to Las Vegas and set him up to star in cooking shows. He added that sponsors wanted him to feature their
products that allowed him the opportunity to cook and be on television.

“It was a success and I got hooked,” said Bruno.

Through the shows, which he sometimes still does, Bruno has traveled to places such as Chicago, California and other locations. He mainly prepares southern Italian food for
the shows. However, it always varies and could be German or Northern Italian, which Bruno said has some French twists to it.

Bruno said his shows have been featured on the History Channel, Food Network, Oxygen and on Martha Stewart. He added he has even received awards based on his work, like Best Spaghetti from the Hotel Rio in Las Vegas about seven years ago.

Although he continues to appear on television, Bruno has also stayed in the restaurant industry. He’s opened restaurants in locations as widespread as South Carolina,
California, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Saudi Arabia and Trinidad, to name a few. He has owned some of them and helped get others started.

“Personality, respect and honesty is what has made me successful,” said Bruno.

Now Bruno, 56, owns the two restaurants that are side by side, Bona Pizza and Bellisimo Ristorante, 10102 Montague Street,  located in West Park Village in Westchase.

Bona Pizza and Bellisimo Ristorante are in the transition of new ownership. Ron Salerno, who has worked with Bruno for the last five years, is the new owner.

“My goal is to make it a top notch restaurant and destination of choice,” said Salerno. “But I plan to maintain what Bruno established. Chef Bruno has a natural instinct for business and he is an entertainer.”

Now that Bruno is passing on his two businesses, he still plans on staying active.

“I am not planning on retiring,” he said. “I will continue to work and die happy, like my father did.”

He also continues to write articles for Bon Appetit Magazine, Total Food Magazine, Pizza Today Magazine and PMQ’s Pizza magazine. Bruno has been married to Susanna for 18 years and has three children Luis, 37, Tanya, 26 and James, 11.

“It has been some beautiful years of memories,” said Bruno. “I have had headaches and fun, and it’s an honor to meet great people.”