Meet Michele Galifi

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Michele Galifi. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Michele below.

Michele, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

I was raised in Palermo, Sicily. I developed an early love for pizza making and cooking in my father’s restaurant. I was only 8 years old when I was tossing dough and cooking with my father.

I earned a degree in Engineering in Palermo but decided to move to LA at 20 years old. I wanted something different, to live “the American dream” as I would hear.

I went to Community college at PCC in Pasadena to learn English all while working full time as a cook at my uncle’s pizza place and my cousin’s pizza place. I eventually decided to move on and get out of my shell. I landed my first job as a pizzaiolo at Settebello Restaurant in Pasadena where I rediscovered my infinite love for pizza, simple, delicious and traditional flavors that brought me back home every time.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

In 2013 I took on the position as head pizzaiolo at another Pasadena restaurant, where I received recognition on different publications for my innovative pizzas. I then wanted to expand my portfolio and took on the position as Director of Operations for Nancy’s Chicago Pizza and opened 2 locations in Southern California. I gained a lot of experience that I still use till this day. In 2016 I was then head Chef for Locale90 restaurants in Orange County for a year until I finally took the leap and opened my very own restaurant. In June of 2017 Casa Mia Sicilian Restaurant was born in La Puente. My goal was to create memorable dining experiences that honor tradition while embracing contemporary culinary trends. Unfortunately, it closed in 2020. In 2019 I opened Farina Pizza, an American Italian pizza place in Koreatown. While, the idea was great Covid happened and I was not able to pick up the traction it needed to succeed and closed in November 2023.

Currently, I do mobile pizza oven services and private dinners in my home. I also offer catering for elementary schools and give back 10% of my sales as a donation. While there are many pizza mobile services now, my pizza is truly unique given the fact where and how I grew up and the experience I have. The true authentic flavors from Sicily follow my cooking. I use high quality ingredients and put thought and intention to every pizza.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Adapting, resilience, and knowledge of food made me the person I am today. It made me pull through hardships and great moments in my career. Adapting in different environments from growing up in Sicily to living in Los Angeles with different cultures. Having resilience gave me the push to pull through the difficult times; such as language and culture barriers, financial distress, and the closure of two of my restaurants. Having knowledge of food gave me the opportunity to work in many great restaurants and gain more experience.

Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?

With the restaurant industry heading toward unprecedented times it has been difficult to find a brick and mortar location. The sky high rents and utilities are close to impossible for small businesses right now. I want to open a restaurant again but despite my efforts it seems close to impossible at the moment. Right now I am focusing on mobile services as the holidays approach all while I continue my search.

Contact Info:

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Resilience
Where do you get your resilience from?

Resilience is often the x-factor that differentiates between mild and wild success. The stories of

Productivity
Beating Burnout

Often the key to having massive impact is the ability to keep going when others

Leadership Development
Finding Your Why

Not knowing why you are going wherever it is that you are going sounds silly,