food equals love

Liborio (Lee), a Canadian-born son of Italian immigrants, has always been deeply connected to his cultural heritage, language, and family traditions. He spent 20 years working in a the corporate world, but his love for cooking and passion for creating delicious meals remained an important part of his life.

In the early months of the pandemic, Lee’s passion for cooking truly took off. He started making bread and other meals more frequently for his family, and eventually began experimenting with pizza-making in his wood-burning oven. Lee’s dedication and enthusiasm for his craft led him to study pizza-making at The True Neapolitan Pizza Association (Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, AVPN), where he became a certified pizzaiolo.

The joy that Lee’s food brought to his family and friends was a reminder of the warmth and sense of belonging he experienced as a child around the basement kitchen table. He was reminded that in Italian, food equals love. So after twenty years in the corporate world, he ventured out on his own to open Basement Kitchen’s mobile pizzeria and spread the love.