Several years ago Dante Castanieto was in Manila in the Philippines looking through his paychecks to see if he could take out a loan.
He and his wife had recently welcomed a son and every day he rode a pushbike through the notorious Manila traffic to his job working in a kitchen.
He would often go to work knowing he had essentially no money to his name – sometimes he would see a coin on the road and consider it his “lucky day”.
“We didn’t have money, but I kept going to work,” he says. “Because if I’m not going to work, I still don’t have money.”
But Dante’s perseverance and ability to keep holding out for a better opportunity eventually paid off.
He spent years climbing the culinary ladder in the Philippines, a journey that began in his local province and took him from being a dishie, to a cook, and then to culinary school.
With experience under his belt, Dante decided it was time to seek better opportunities overseas.
He sent his CV to a number of places in Australia and Canada after being rebuffed numerous times, was finally given a chance by Uraidla Hotel executive chef Anna Kittel.
“I always (look) back on memories from the way I started, I just keep moving forward when an opportunity comes,” he says.
“Now I’m here, it’s a long journey, but it is the way we are – just keep moving forward.”
The chance to move to Adelaide and work as a chef changed Dante’s life, but his wife, Jennelyn, and son, Dijon, were unable to join him in Adelaide until 2023.
He was able to cope with the challenges of being separated from his family for five years through the connections and support he received from his church community.
“That gave me strength while I was here alone, there is a community that is helping me,” he says.
“There is a friend that is always like, ‘come here to our house (and) hang with us’.
“I think the boredom and homesickness (I felt), it just feels right (with the church).”
After a couple of years of navigating Adelaide’s public transport and “chef Anna always picking me up from Crafers Park and Ride”, Dante earned his Australian drivers licence in 2021.
It gave him the opportunity to see more of his new home with his friends, but he made sure he didn’t see too much before Jennelyn and Dijon arrived.
“In those five years, I didn’t visit any places without friends and I refused to visit places, because I wanted to go there with my family, so we could all experience it together, for the first time,” he says.
With the trio now settled in SA and Dante thriving in his role as head chef at the Uraidla Hotel, he enjoys his time working in the “amazing” Hills and is always surprised at the number of people that make the trip up to Uraidla.
“It always amazes me, where did these people come from?,” he says.
“It’s always filled with people, this place.
“It’s really nice to drive through the vineyards, through Stirling and down Greenhill Road – which some people don’t want to drive – but it always amazes me.”
Dante’s tenure as head chef at the Uraidla hotel will continue for the foreseeable future, as he is bound by a promise to the person who gave him a shot and “really turned my life upside down”.
“I’ve made a promise to chef Anna, if she’s still my executive chef, I will be with her (at Uraidla),” he says.
“I’m always thankful that they chose me.”
