Toscanini has been a household name in Amsterdam for forty years. Maud Moody, one of the founders, tells how it all started.

Forty years of Toscanini – an Amsterdam icon

Toscanini has been a household name in Amsterdam for forty years. Not only because of its delicious, home-style Italian cuisine, but also because of the people behind the business. Maud Moody, one of the founders, tells how it all began—and how a vacation in Rome led to one of the city's most beloved restaurants.

A campsite in Rome as a starting point

Maud Moody remembers well how it all began. Actually, she says, Toscanini's origins lie not in Amsterdam, but at a campsite in Rome – Campeggio Flaminio. It was the summer of 1982. Her sister Ellen was already there, and Maud hitchhiked from Amsterdam to Italy with her friend Marianne. Something that would be unthinkable now, but was fairly common at the time. Two young women with big thumbs and even bigger plans. "We had to get ourselves out of quite a few tricky situations," she says, "so in that respect, I'm glad my daughter just takes the plane now."

Once we arrived at the campsite, it didn't take long before three Italian vacation buddies showed up. But more importantly, that's where our first real love for Italian cuisine began. When two of the Italian guys later came to Amsterdam, the idea for a Tavola Calda was born—a kind of refined Italian snack bar, serving really tasty food. Combined with a cultural meeting place: there would be exhibitions, live music, reading tables.

From idea to opening

They found a suitable building on a quiet street in the Jordaan neighborhood, called Goudsbloemstraat. It had once been home to the women's restaurant Zus, so the foundations were already there. Together with friends, they renovated the space: painting, carpentry, sanding. They did everything themselves, because they had hardly any money. On May 21, 1985—Maud's 25th birthday—Toscanini opened its doors.

But things turned out differently than expected. No one came during the day. In the evening, people came to eat. No reading tables or music evenings. It became a restaurant. "Whether we wanted to or not." Ellen had experience serving in a pizzeria, Maud had worked as a cook's assistant, and had inherited a great love of cooking from her mother. She knew little about Italian cuisine. But her Italian friends said, "You just cook, we'll tell you if it's good." And so it happened.

Simple, honest, beloved

At first, business was slow. But on the Friday of the second weekend, the place was suddenly packed. News of the new Italian restaurant had spread rapidly throughout the city. At that time, you either had pizzerias or fancy Italian restaurants. Tosca offered something different: honest dishes, freshly prepared, simple, inexpensive, and informal. Cucina casareccia—home-style cooking.

The hustle and bustle brought challenges. There was an urgent need for extra staff. One evening, Karin and Jeannot walked in. They too had heard about Toscanini at Camping Flaminio. They were hired immediately. Karin—the mother of Tamar, who has now been working in the patisserie for eight years—was attending mime school. Not long after, the mime school became a kind of supplier of staff. Many Italian boys worked in the kitchen, while their Dutch girlfriends worked in the service. And then there was Conceicao, who ended up at Tosca through the Brazilian camping connection.

Chaos, strikes, and professionalism

It was a pleasant, multicultural chaos. Waiting for food could sometimes take an hour. One day, there was even a strike Location. A group of Italian boys and their girlfriends demanded higher wages. Ellen and Maud ran the whole place by themselves that evening. The next day, Maud approached Klaartje—Wil Demandt's wife—who had just started maternity leave at Panini. Klaartje came Immediately and stayed for a few years. That was the moment when Toscanini took its first big step toward professionalism.

Moving to Lindengracht

In the meantime, the restaurant moved to its current location on Lindengracht. It was Kees Kemp—at the time the youngest employee at Broersma—who came up with the location. And it was architect Jaap Dijkman who designed the interior. This gave Toscanini not only a new location, but also a new look—in keeping with the atmosphere that the restaurant had since developed.

There, on a Saturday afternoon, Leonardo walked in. He asked if they had a job for him, one day a week. Later it turned out that he too had stayed at Camping Flaminio, around the same time. Leonardo is the son of a Dutch mother and an Italian father. He was born in Rome and spent his childhood in Cape Town. Although he initially studied mechanical engineering, he ended up staying on at Toscanini – full-time. He never left.

People make Tosca

In 2000, Maud, Jeannot, and Leonardo continued together. In 2022, Jeannot said goodbye—he now lives on a mountain in Piedmont, where he is happy. His departure made room for Suus. "That worked out very well," says Maud. "For me personally, she is a huge support."

Toscanini has always been built on people. Without all those colleagues, past and present, the 40th anniversary would never have been possible. "Just yesterday," says Maud, "I thought about that when I saw everyone busy preparing for the party. Everything depends on the team. And that's always been the case at Tosca."