Meet our Restaurant Manager
Ivan Calleja
Meet our Restaurant Manager at MUŻA Restaurant. Ivan has been working in catering for about 30 years, and this experience along with his positive and good-natured attitude is why Ivan was the perfect candidate when the position opened. Calling himself out on being a workaholic, his job and the restaurant always come first before his personal life. He is a father to 14-year-old Connor who resides in the UK, but Ivan is also a kind of father figure to the team as well.
Ivan started working within the catering industry when he was still a student in secondary school, and decided to pursue his passion by studying at ITS for a Food and Beverage Manager. A few years down the line, Ivan had left his mark on a number of prominent places in Malta, finally holding the title of Assistant Food and Beverage, Conference and Banqueting Manager at Le Meridien Hotel in St. Julian’s. This is when Ivan decided to make his move to the UK, and held the position of Conference and Banqueting Manager for about a year before being promoted to Assistant General Manager, Operations Manager, a position he held for about 7 years before deciding to move back to Malta and joined the Radisson Blu team as an Assistant Food and Beverage, Conference and Banqueting Manager.
About a year and a half ago, Ivan was approached by the company to join their team and was given the opportunity to start this New Mission of MUŻA Restaurant and Restaurant Manager. Whilst being involved in the process of renovation of the Auberge D’Italie, converting an almost derelict space to the kitchen area, making it one of the largest restaurant kitchens in Valletta, as well as taking charge in the work that goes on before a restaurant actually opens its doors to the public, Ivan was also giving a helping hand with the running of Grotto Tavern.
After months of preparations, MUŻA Restaurant finally opened its doors in December 2018, serving delicious food and drinks, all thanks to the MUŻA Restaurant Team lead by Ivan. At MUŻA Ivan is an integral part of the team, not only because he is the manager, but because of his welcoming personality, his genuine smile and thorough knowledge, of the Auberge D’Italie and its history but also of the food prepared and the service given.