Aspasia Karras pays tribute to Italian chef, Valeria Bollini, who died in Joburg recentlyAbout three weeks ago I returned from a trip to Bologna and checked in with Valeria Bollini, the indomitable and charming heart and soul of Tortellino d'Oro, a Joburg institution. She was perched on her customary stool behind the counter. We discussed her hometown, and the fantastic food I had hoovered down, in what is generally acknowledged to be the culinary epicentre of Italy. Bollini was slightly dismissive of the quality of the pasta these days in Bologna; she said much of it was now made in a single factory that serviced many of the city's restaurants. At Tortellino they have been hand-making the pasta as a matter of gustatory principle for much of my adult life. The consumption of melanzane parmigiana is practically a religious ritual in my family and several others I know of. Sometimes we all commune on a Friday with the express and only intention of eating the melanzane - the get-together is incidental. When I told Bollini that I had not tasted better anywhere in Italy, she glowed with the quiet knowledge and pride that what I said was perfectly true and obvious. She said the secret was her mother's decision not to fry the aubergines. On a recent Tuesday a cross-section of Johannesburg's citizenry gathered in the classic, simple beauty of the Anglican chapel at St John's school to celebrate and mourn the life and death of Bollini. It seemed the perfect place to send her off. In the courtyard her daughter Katerina and the staff of her magnificent restaurant created a feast worthy of a life spent in feeding the above-mentioned Joburgers. We sipped prosecco in honour of the magic this wonderful restaurant creates - a sense of tradition, community and consistent excellence that allows us sometimes brash Joburgers to taste the delights of centuries of culinary tradition and feel that in this corner of our world we are all connected by our mutual love for the golden Tortellino. ..