🎉 Gusti Pugliesi Is Turning One!

On 7th November Gusti Pugliesi turns one — and honestly, I can hardly believe how quickly this year has gone.

Now, let me tell you something about the way we celebrate in Italy. Spoiler alert: it’s… complicated. If it’s your birthday, you are the one who has to pay for everything — food, drinks, maybe even the DJ. Meanwhile, your guests are “obliged” to bring presents, and not small ones. The value of the gift often depends on how fancy the party is or how much you spent on feeding them.

And here comes the ironic twist: because of this unfair system, in Italy people started celebrating absolutely everything — half-birthdays, anniversaries of random events, even “I bought a new sofa” parties 🙃. Any excuse is good if it means getting gifts.

And if birthdays sound strange, don’t even get me started on weddings. There, the gift is literally calculated based on the cost of your plate of food. (Yes, really. But I’ll save that madness for another blog post 😉).

After almost three years in New York and now seven in the UK, I’ve learned to love a different way of celebrating. One with less maths and no gift-hunting marathons. A celebration should be about music, food, and laughs — not about receipts and calculators.

So for the first birthday of Gusti Pugliesi, I want to do things differently. There will be live music (details coming in October 🎶), a complimentary buffet to enjoy together, our regular service as usual, and of course… probably a birthday cake 🎂. Because what’s a birthday without cake?

To make sure there’s enough food for everyone, guests will be asked to book a small symbolic ticket in advance. This isn’t about gifts or money — it’s simply to help me understand how many of you I’ll be cooking for.

This first anniversary isn’t about presents. It’s about gratitude. Gratitude for this journey, for the people who believed in me, and for everyone who has supported Gusti Pugliesi from day one 💛.

So mark the date — Thursday 7th November — come hungry, bring your smile, and let’s celebrate properly. Full details will be announced in October, so stay tuned!