Growing up in Misson, B.C., chef Dave Thielmann's fondest food memories are Sunday dinners with his grandmother. “She would cook everything from scratch, mostly traditional Mennonite food such as verenika [perogies], borscht, zwiebach [sweet buns], and my personal favourite, rollkuchen [fried dough] with watermelon and syrup,” he explains.
In keeping with his grandmother’s legacy, Dave went on to cook at a number of notable restaurants in the city, including Vancouver’s iconic CinCin, before manning the kitchen at Charlie’s Little Italian. The retro-themed eatery in the heart of Mount Pleasant appropriately takes its name from 1960’s film, The Italian Job, starring Michael Cain.
“The main character is named Charlie,” Dave explains. “Some owners hail from Britain, so it seemed a fitting name,” he continues, touching on the group’s humourous, personal approach to dining. “I have been at Charlie's now for almost two and a half years and really do love what I do,” says Dave, whose passion for food is palpable in every dish.
