Erica and John Platter pay tribute to the talented and entrepreneurial Nicos from Marco Paulo restaurant in Mount Edgecombe.
When you come to think about it, having to bid farewell to Marco and Kerryne Nico (pictured left) is inevitable. The slightly galling thing is losing them to the Cape, which will now have one more fine name to drop when it comes to claiming it’s the centre of the South African universe, and KZN is – well, where is KZN? (Let us hold our horses, though. Come bidding-for-future-Olympics time and who will be in pole position?)
Yes, sadly, the talented Nicos are leaving us at the end of 2010 to settle in the winelands – at Simondium between Paarl and Franschhoek – where Marco will grow his latest venture, Black Pig. It’s the charcuterie business he’s been developing since he “retired” from his last restaurant, Marco Paulo restaurant at Mount Edgecombe. But as Kerryne – a brilliant restaurant staff trainer herself – explains, it was time for a new challenge, in a new environment, for Marco. “He gets bored quickly, he loves change . . .”
Over 30 years, Marco ’s contribution to eating out in Durban has been enormous. The “El” restaurants (Cubano, Turko, Guappo;) the Ciao Itallias; the Havana Grill – all were products of his imaginative , original and adventurous approach to food.
In the future, who knows? says Kerryne, they might gravitate back to the milieu they know so well – feeding happy customers. The natural corollary to the charcuterie business would be a very simple Italian style bar serving a good glass of wine with a plate of salami and ham. “Nothing fancy,” she says.
Sounds like yet another trademark Nico inspiration…