The next time you visit La Cantina restaurant at the Calgary Italian Cultural Centre, you’ll notice a new name—but the familiar faces and flavours remain.
Sisters Angela and Laura launched Sorelle Catering (Italian for “sisters”), taking over the Crescent Heights location where their parents’ catering company operated for decades.
Angela Hamilton and Laura Saliba didn’t just grow up in the Cecchetto family—they grew up in the family business, developing a passion for food at the table of Calgary catering pioneers.
Their parents Antonietta and Romano Cecchetto founded Roma Catering in 1969 and Angela and Laura were always part of the business in some way. For them it wasn’t a career. It was a life.
Today, the sisters have launched Sorelle Catering as an independent venture, taking over operations at the Calgary Italian Cultural Centre—including the La Cantina restaurant, a neighborhood fixture—as well as running the cafeteria at Calgary Police Service headquarters. It’s a range of experience that demonstrates their capability to handle everything from fine
dining to high-volume food service.
Sorelle Catering has deep Italian roots and a lifelong passion for bringing people together through food. The sisters behind Sorelle combine time-honoured Italian recipes with modern catering expertise to deliver unforgettable food experiences for every occasion.
“We want to treat your occasion like our occasion. Like you’re coming over to our house for dinner.”
– Laura Saliba
“We’re excited to start this new chapter. We’re excited to offer our passion to people.” – Angela Hamilton
Whether it’s an intimate gathering or a grand celebration, Sorelle Catering brings warmth, authenticity and exceptional flavour to your table.
While Sorelle maintains the culinary traditions and quality standards that made Roma successful, the sisters sought to create a brand all their own. “There comes a time in your life and in your career that you have to… step out on your own and just do your own thing,” says Hamilton. Being an independent operation allows them to return to the level of attention to detail that can be difficult to maintain in a large company.
Saliba adds that although the business is new, the philosophy remains rooted in the family’s long history in the industry. “Even though it’s a different name and it’s a different company, we still have the same values,” she says.
Their parents, immigrants from Italy, instilled a strong work ethic early on. Hamilton recalls being brought along as a young child while her parents prepared food late into the night. “We didn’t have staff and we didn’t have choices,” she remembers.
“My mom didn’t say, ‘Do you want to work on Friday? I’m going to pay you.’ We were never entitled. We started from the bottom.”
Saliba says watching the way her mother worked shapes how she leads today—by example. “You can’t expect people to do things for you if you’re not there doing it with them.”
Their mother, Antonietta, had only a Grade 4 education, Saliba notes, but was instrumental in the business side of the original company. Both parents have since passed away, but the sisters acknowledge their influence is deeply embedded in Sorelle’s approach to food and service.
Both sisters’ husbands—Jim Hamilton and John Saliba—are involved in the business, making Sorelle a true family operation. With the same staff and from-scratch food quality that defi ned Roma, plus new menu items as part of their boutique approach, the Saliba and Hamilton families are bringing their passion to this new chapter. As Saliba puts it: ‘We want to treat your occasion like our occasion—from our family to yours.’
