When Sara Baldocchi and Catia Sicari decided to open a cafe, friends and family told them they were mad.

Melbourne was just coming out of its latest COVID-19 lockdown, neither had professional cooking experience and both were 60 – an age when most people think about stopping work, not starting a new business.

Friends Sara Baldocchi, left, and Catia Sicari own and operate the homestyle Caffe Merenda in Moonee Ponds.Credit:Chris Hopkins

But Caffe Merenda, nestled between two apartment buildings in Moonee Ponds, has become a neighbourhood meeting place.

With a focus on tradition, they use recipes handed down through generations, including a 37-year-old bread method with 100-year-old yeast, making it easy to digest.

Their kitchen is basic with no gas – only electricity, two frying pans and a single oven.

“You don’t need to have elaborate things to create something nice,” Catia says.

Sara writes on their handmade menu wall planner.Credit:Chris Hopkins

They insist that they’re not chefs, just “mothers who love cooking.”

Born in Milan, Sara has a thick Italian accent. She moved to New York at 25 – where she “became a woman” – and relocated to Melbourne three years ago.

Catia moved to Melbourne with her family when she was 14.

When she arrived in Melbourne, Sara joined the Italian organisation Co.As.It, where she met Catia.

‘Mothers who love cooking’: Sara, right, and Catia.Credit:Chris Hopkins

The women are the only staff, except on Saturday when Catia’s daughter, a full-time teacher, helps out.

The menu changes every week. They use the bright yellow wall in the kitchen to plan out meals, focusing on seasonal cooking.

They enjoy cooking Italian food – merenda is Italian for snack – but it’s not just pasta, a stereotype they say has been cooked up by western countries.

“That’s not the only thing we eat and certainly not the majority of food,” Catia says, pointing to the northern parts of Italy where rice and polenta are common.

Their homestyle cooking has become a neighbourhood drawcard.Credit:Chris Hopkins

Parkville resident Margaret Broadbent is a frequent customer and says visiting Sara and Catia is now a cherished part of her routine.

She says they have created a little community that feels like a small Italian town, one of welcoming smiles, delicious smells and home-cooked meals “done with love”.

“It’s a happy place and I think this is what these two lovely ladies allow to come out of themselves. It’s a joy, a happiness,” she said.

“They treat everyone with such beautiful gentleness and respect.”

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