Tributes paid to much-loved restaurateur Franco Bennasciutti
Tributes have been paid to a ‘larger than life character’ and restaurateur who died after suffering a severe stroke.
Italian chef Franco Bennasciutti, who opened Ristorante Romagna in Upper Green, Tettenhall, has died aged 82.
His wife Christine, 63, said: “He was like our ‘Godfather’. He was the patriarch of the family.
“We were holding his hand, playing Italian music so it’s quite raw but we’ve have a lot of tears over the last few weeks because we knew we were going to lose him.
“He always sat at the head of the table and I’m sitting here now.
“It’s so quiet now – we can’t believe he’s gone. It’s very surreal.
“He’s going to leave a big hole in our lives and in the lives of our close friends.
“We were grateful to New Cross Hospital because they were very good to him.
“It’s an end of an era, really. Life is going to be very different.”
