Reprinted with permission from the Enfield Press, JEFF HANOUILLE, Editor

ENFIELD It doesn¹t take long to realize how important Silvia Salvari's business is to her, or how much joy she truly gets out of cooking for friends and families.  Her voice gets shaky and she has to choke back tears when talking about her rise from a homeless immigrant in the early 80s to a well-known, respected chef and restaurant owner today.  It's a big difference now from when I first came to America and I was homeless, says Salvari, owner of Silvia¹s International Restaurant and Banquet Facility in the Thompsonville portion of town.  It's everyone¹s dream to come to America for a better life the American dream.  To go from being homeless to now be able to host parties and feed hundreds and thousands of people in town is a reward for me.

It was just 25 years ago that Salvari following the advice of her father and a dream of her own to work in the food industry came to the United States from Romania with her children, bringing with her little more than a hope and a dream.  With the help of some friends who had already moved to Enfield, Silvia was able to get on her feet and open her first restaurant in Suffield, followed by another one in Thompsonville.  Little by little, her reputation as a talented cook and a caring, family-orientated person spread.  She eventually opened up a restaurant on Pleasant St., propelling her to well-known status as she even earned her own cooking show on local cable television.  Patience and taking whatever God gives you, Silvia said, explaining how she built her business to what it is today.  You don't have to make a million dollars. Just take whatever you can get and build from there.

Salvari eventually opened up a 3,500 square foot restaurant on North Main Street in 2003, not before winning multiple awards at a National Chef's Tasting competition and visiting the White House kitchen to discuss recipes with the President's cooks.  While those accomplishments mean a lot to Salvari, she thinks the fact that she's built up a name from nothing means more.  Everybody knows Silvia's in Thompsonville, she said.  If someone asks at the gas station or someone on the side of the road, they know the name.  I love this town and I love Thompsonville.  Even in hard times, they come.  Salvari credits her customers' devotion to the idea that they realize how much passion, love and hard work go into each one of her meals or famous freshly baked breads.  My energy when I'm cooking in the kitchen it's not like it's just a restaurant, I want my customers to have the best, she said.  It's just using the talent that God gives you.  Everyone has talent that God gives you and mine is cooking.  I think this is my destiny.  To know that some families cannot celebrate without a loaf of my bread on the table for Christmas or when they have a get together means so much to me. Offering practically every European dish there is, Salvari invites the public to come visit her newly renovated restaurant during the holidays.  With a new lounge and sports bar, along with live entertainment on New Years Eve and an authentic European Christmas Dinner on Dec. 25, Salvari offers up the best delicacies from countries like Hungary and Poland to Russia and Germany.

Salvari also has a couple of books in the works which she hopes someone in the business can help her get out to the public.  The first is a book about her life while the second is a book of recipes and stories about her life.