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Are you a glass half full or half empty?

Are you a glass half full or half empty? | Contini

This is the last weekly letter before Christmas, or should I say before Lockdown again.


Are you a glass half full or half empty? While our business may be less than half empty, and getting emptier by the minute, the support from all of you has left the love in our hearts overflowing. Thank you for all the energy you have given us. We really have been overwhelmed by the understanding and appreciation of the challenges this year has presented. We’ll be here as long as you feel we’re contributing and with all the love we get back we know that we’re making the right choices in a world that doesn’t seem to be making sense or have any rulebook.

Can you believe it, from 1 minute past Christmas Day, we’re in lockdown again!

So we’re open until Christmas Eve, come and see us up until then.

CONTINI AT HOME WILL BE OPEN FOR DELIVERY FROM TUESDAY 29th DECEMBER. CLICK HERE TO SHOP

New menus will be available from Monday as we’re fast but not as fast as Nicola thinks we can be!


At home on Christmas Eve we’ll be doing a Zoom Vigil Mass with Nonna G. We celebrate Ari’s birthday after church (in front of a laptop this year) as Christmas Day is too busy for our wee panettone’s birthday.

10am we’ll be up on Christmas morning, a wee glass of something super chilled and bubbly with a slice of hot panettone (no not Ari, the cake) and the cook (that’s me) gets her apron on and starts the preparations and celebrations. I’m feeling slightly numb as I edit this as we had this finished on Friday before yesterdays announcement. We need to stay positive and celebrate our blessings. So Christmas isn’t cancelled it’s just much much quieter, and more demure, for all of us. We’ll worry about tomorrow later.

Victor will get the fire going, Orlando will be playing with Rocco no doubt, Ari will be setting the table and Carla will be in the kitchen with me. A smaller Christmas for sure but we’re determined to make it one to remember. We’ll be having more or less the same as Contini Christmas at Home. The veloute will be swapped with a wee plate of pasta instead. What do they say, you can take the Italians out of Italy but you can’t take the pasta off their plates. Homemade taglierini. Super fine pasta with a slow cooked beef sugo a family tradition for generations in many Italian Scots households. We had it on the menu at George Street from the 27th but that’s been scrapped, it’s a tricky one but we’ll see if we can add it onto Contini at Home!

Now more than ever, we’ll be thinking about our team, those who we sadly had to say goodbye to due to Covid. We’ll be thanking our team who have worked their socks off since we reopened in April. This latest announcement has left them a bit in shock, no doubt like most of us. It’s been the hardest of years there is no denying. We’ve been more agile than a ballerina on an ice rink with builders boots. Behind the scenes the metaphor for balancing spinning plates has a whole new meaning. Alina, Marcin, Jennie, Caroline, Emma 1 and Emma 2; thank you all, we wouldn’t have got here without all your loyalty, hard work, talent and absolute reliability. We’re so very lucky to have you in our team.

Here we are again, but thank goodness we’re able to continue what we’ve started. Cooking for you all. I think Contini at Home may be busy so get your orders in.

Another special thank you for all the support from our suppliers and partners, we’ll get through this together, has been the mantra we so appreciate you all and it’s not been taken for granted.

Finally a huge thank you most sincerely to all of you, our customers; who thanks to Covid, feel more like friends than ever. I’ve got to know so many of you so much better. I feel we’ve had a little more time together and it’s made me feel very humble. Undoubtedly this has been one happy part of this uncharted journey. Soon we may be seeing you at your front door rather than in our venues, but both are a pleasure.

We’re sending you all the biggest hugs. Boy do we all need these back in our lives, hugs! We’re sending all our thanks and all our love in buckets.

As a little fun, as I feel we need it more than ever before, and to get you and me cooking at Casa Contini cooking, I’m sharing our Christmas Kitchen Disco list. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

If you’re missing loved ones this Christmas hopefully our song selection will have you up, dancing and smiling, even just a little. We’ll be dancing with you and raising a glass and wishing you Happy Christmas. Role on 16th January.

Buon Natale

Keep well and keep keep surviving

Carina, Victor and all our team

PS. This has been a hard year for everyone and yet there will be many suffering more than we can still ever imagine. As we did last year we will be making a small donation to the Little Sisters of the Poor at St. Joseph’s House. They do fantastic work to give relief to those in need by reason of age, ill health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage.

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