On a recent Friday around 11 a.m., the Sage Room restaurant in Agoura has just opened for the day, still awaiting its first customer. Despite the nearly empty dining room, owner Claudio Borin remains busy, as his cell phone’s rotary-style ringtone jingles frequently. Borin has spent more than two decades in the food industry, and attributes his culinary skills to his mother’s teachings.
Today, mama’s back.
Beginning in 1991, when he opened Tra di Noi on Cross Creek, Borin’s mother, known as “Mama Rosa,” has embarked on yearly trips from his Italian Riviera hometown of San Remo to work with her son’s cooks. She teaches the cooks how to make nearly everything from her dough to the pesto.
“They love her,” Borin says. “She’s like a mother to everybody. She’s like the mother hen among all the different ducklings. She’s very loving.”
Mama Rosa has very specific ideas about food, which stretch back many years to another continent. Her recipes originate from San Remo, and have transcended several generations, spanning back to at least her great-, great-grandmother.
Her suggestions include braised meats and homemade pastas, both of which vary by location.
Among the braised meats at the Agoura location is the osso buco di maiale, a slow pale ale-braised Nieman Ranch pork shank. For those looking to stay warm amid the current cold spell, the Malibu location serves the brasato di carni, a slow-braised wild game stew with fall vegetables.
Pastas include the Agoura location’s francobolli di brasato, hand-made ravioli stuffed with short ribs filling, mixed with roasted garlic and doused with sage cream. And for shellfish lovers, the Malibu location serves up a spaghetti mare monti, mixed with tiger shrimp and spinach, and spiced with thyme, garlic and tomatoes.
Despite hailing from a culinary family himself, Borin feels his mother improves the restaurant in ways he can’t, such as preserving a high morale in the kitchen.
“I think what she is able to share with the other cooks here is her passion and love for what she does. And that’s what has changed them,” Borin says.
This happens when his mother’s infectious passion rubs off on the chefs, who would otherwise grow bored with the monotonous, daily grind of line-cooking. He believes working with Mama Rosa has triggered a sense of excitement in the kitchen, and that his chefs develop this spirit by feeding off Mama Rosa’s natural enthusiasm even as she performs some of the most mundane duties.
“They can see that [when] even peeling a carrot,” Borin says.
But the annual trips by Borin’s mother are not all business. Borin admits he likes to have his mother come see him in Southern California to share with her what he has accomplished: the dream of opening restaurants in the U.S.
“I always wanted to bring my mom to the country that I like to be in,” Borin says. “To have my mother become part of this dream of mine is everything I wanted.
“I owe it to my mom, and I want her to be proud of me.”
Age has caught up with Mama Rosa, and Borin wonders how long these yearly pilgrimages will continue. So he makes it his mission to get the word out about her culinary contributions in Malibu.
He feels she has heavily influenced the food at his restaurants, which Malibuites have tasted since Tra di Noi first launched. And as one might imagine, she has emerged as a mainstay in the town.
“She’s been par t of the Malibu scene for a long time. A lot of people in Malibu know my mom,” Borin says, despite her inability to communicate in English.
“People can tell that she’s very passionate and loving. And that brings a lot of joy to me, and the people that work with me.”
