In Focus | Vikki Drummond of Bordellos Italian Pizzeria

Vikki Drummond likes to keep things simple, be it in the kitchen or while working on her art. As the owner of Bordellos Italian Pizzeria, Vikki feels lucky to be able to share her simple, traditional food with guests from all over. She puts as much love and work into the unique restaurant as she does into her family and her passions. When she is not busy running her successful restaurant she can be found immersed in her favourite music with a paint brush in hand. Vikki truly sees the beauty of life every day and everywhere around her. From food to friends to a beautiful walk during the afternoon, nothing goes unnoticed by Vikki. It is this humble and simple approach that has made her so successful in Kelowna and in life. Always looking to learn and share her gifts with other Vikki has made a name for herself while staying true to herself. Today Vikki Drummond and Bordellos Italian Pizzeria are In Focus.

What is your name?
Vikki Drummond

What do you always find yourself saying?
That's awesome!

If you could spend one whole day with anyone in the world who is currently alive, who would you select and why?
Jack White. His music intrigues me and I often paint to it. I would like to meet the mind and character behind such unique music.

If you were to receive any existing public award, what award would you like to win?
The Gerald Lampart Award for the best volume of poetry by a new author.

If you could spend a day with any historical figure, who would you choose and why?
Josephine Bonaparte. By all accounts she possessed an uncommon amount of grace, charm and kindness. But also great ingenuity, diplomacy and a bit of reckless abandon. I would like to have known her.

Who or what inspires you?
The raw, spent, peaceful smell after it rains
Music - Jack White, Fruit Bats, The Black Keys, Nina Simone, Broken Social Scene
Watching my daughter performing on stage, doing what she loves
A walk in the woods, especially my 100-acre wood in Rossland BC
The sound the tide makes when it laps against the shore in Maine
Afternoon light
The artistry of perfectly sewn silk pleats
A good book that lingers and makes me think

What are 3 things on your bucket list?
learn to speak Italian
live in Italy
see my children as healthy, happy adults

If you had an enormous yacht, what would you name it?
Fruition!

If you could foresee a single day of your future in its entirety, what date would you select?
Oh I have had a clear vision of this for years! It would be the day I open an exhibition of my paintings in a gallery. The gallery is white and long and narrow with windows in the front and along one side. I don’t have a sense of where this is but it’s in a big city. The exhibition begins in the afternoon and runs late into the evening. There are Margaritas and wine gums! Art patrons and friends are having fun. It is full and the sun is coming in through the windows. Later, when it gets dark - tiny lights wrapped around the trees outside look magical. My husband and children are there. I am wearing a long, low cut black gown. I am very happy. I can feel myself gliding through the room. There are little red dots on all of my paintings..... I can dream right?!

What are you passionate about?
Family and Friends
Beauty
Good Food
Simplicity
Perhaps it is because I am “of” the Italian culture (I am half Italian, my father’s side) that I love to feed people. This is soul-satisfying for me. I love to cook at home for family and friends and I love to feed our customers at Bordellos. We have a very small staff and I think they feel the same. We are all proud of the simple, quality traditional food we serve in our tiny little kitchy restaurant and we all love to hear our customers say how much they savoured their meal. When friends come in for dinner and I can hear their voices and laughter as I work, I feel at home. It’s a lovely feeling.
When we were recipe testing and perfecting our pizza dough we had the gracious help of the Valoroso sisters of Valoroso Foods (our supplier of Italian foods) and a memorable evening at our home with my Italian Grandmother. Now that she is gone, Bordellos is a reminder of her and the passion for hand-made food that she passed on to me.

What has been your favourite day of your life, up to this point?
I don’t think I can choose one day. I can recount a very memorable day. About 4 years ago in May, on a trip with my father back to the town where he was born and generations of his family still live, in Italy. I went into the most beautiful church I have ever seen with my father’s Uncle Pasquale. The beauty, workmanship and indescribable feeling of this church brought tears to my eyes and Pasquale understood completely - though he did not speak a word of English.

What has been your proudest accomplishment?
Giving birth to my two beautiful children and selling my first painting.

Where is your favourite place to dine in Kelowna? What do you like about it?
Bouchon. The food is exquisite and Richard and Martine are the best kind of people.

What is your favourite activity or event in Kelowna? Why?
I like the outdoor music events. Very bohemian.

What is the name of your business/organization?
Bordellos Italian Pizzeria (and I am an Artist: www.vikkidrummondart.com)

What does your business/organization do?
We feed people simple, hand-made, thin crust traditional Italian Pizza as well as salads, antipasti and brand new: a few fresh pasta dishes. We offer a fresh sheet every weekend with as much locally grown produce as we can. We have our own roof-top herb garden right in downtown Kelowna.

Where can people find you or your business online?
www.Bordellos.ca; and www.vikkidrummondart.com

How do people connect with you on Linkedin?
Under my name: Vikki Drummond

Where can people find your business on Facebook?
Bordellos Italian Pizzeria

What is your mission?
To live in the moment and eat/serve simple, good quality food.

Where do you want your business/organization to be in 5 years?
I would like to see our little restaurant seating to capacity 7 days a week because our customers have shared us with their friends. Our highest compliment is a recommendation from a delighted customer. After that, we’ll see.

Who do you consider to be a forerunner within your field?
The pizza artisans in Italy.

What 3 qualities do you feel that your business/organization exemplifies?
A passion for quality, a belief in tradition and simplicity and a commitment to customer service

What would you like to say to your employees/volunteers?
Love what you do!

How does your business/organization impact the community?
I hope we can bring a little piece of Italy to everyone who dines with us.

If you were trapped in an elevator with several wealthy investors from any field, which field would you want them to be experts in? What would say to them/talk about?
I would like to be trapped with a group of old (or young) Italian artisans. Wealth and investment are relative terms.

If I could change one thing about Kelowna, it would be:
An understanding of the importance of the downtown core to the identity of our city and economic future.

What do you think makes Kelowna great?
Weather and natural environment.

My choice for the Kelowna In Focus spotlight is:
ARTE Funktional Gallery

In Focus is our gift to the community. A way for us to help show our recognition for the people, businesses and organizations that help make our city great. The team at KelownaNow.com is passionate about this community and the people that make it amazing. We want to show our friends, neighbours, family and colleagues that we notice them and the fabulous things that they do. We encourage you to leave your comments and words of support below, and submit your own nomination by clicking HERE. You are also welcome to submit a form of your own by clicking HERE. Thank you, Kelowna!