Julia began her journey into the restaurant world at the age of 26 when she opened her first restaurant Café Galleria, in Downtown Oakville. In 1993, Julia established Paradiso, which was the first Mediterranean inspire restaurant in Oakville. After selling Paradiso, Julia developed Ristorante Julia, which embodied her values that "one should never sacrifice taste for nutrition or nutrition for taste. One can have it all." Julia's featured a blend of Italian and Latin cuisine "Lataliano." She sold Ristorante Julia in January of 2018. her latest restaurant venture in Oakville is Ritorno, a return to Julia's Italian roots.
Ritorno invites guests to bring photos of their mothers and grandmothers to place on the Nonna Wall to celebrate these remarkable women.
Julia's most passionate undertaking is her not-for-profit initiative, HealthyFam. In 2009, with founding partner Longo's, Julia created the Kids Culinary Community, a hands-on program dedicated to empowering children through food knowledge.
In 2013, she launched HealhtyFam, which expanded the Kids Culinary Community to help children, families and seniors build a healthy living foundation.
Among Julia's numerous awards, Julia proudly received the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal and the Paul Harris Fellow, recognizing her commitment to healthy living in Canada. Julia is an active member of the Oakville Chamber of Commerce, and elected Chair for the 2012-2013 year.
Julia's cooking show, "Return to the Table with Julia" on TV Cogeco, is in its ninth season. The show features exciting guests who share stories as they prepare a meal.
It all starts with you.
Julia’s mission is to educate children, seniors and families on the benefits of healthy eating by providing experiential learning programs. These programs offer exciting, educational, and inspirational events for children and those committed to their health and happiness.
Community Groups HealthyFam has supported
Ladies on the Rise
Conquest Boys
Challenge Girls
Big Brothers Big Sisters
ROCK- Reach out Centre for Kids
ROCK- Youth Aiding Youth
Darling Home
Project Autism
Starlight Foundation
Children of Light Milton
Clearview
Reach for it
McMaster Children’s Hospital
Nelson Youth Centre
Youthdale Treatment
Donaghey Camp
Home Suite Hope
St. Christopher’s Church
Ritorno Gives
In the face of the pandemic, we created a new initiative called Ritorno Gives. Ritorno Gives a food security based program that provides ready to eat meals to frontline workers and food-insecure families and individuals.
The Gives team progress
650
Hours spent making healthy, wholesome meals for families in the Great Toronto Area community.
3500+
Delicious complimentary meals distributed to our community and those affect by the global pandemic.
$50K
In groceries and fresh ingredients purchase and donated to our wider community to make wholesome meals.
Your support helps families in need.
All donations go directly to food costs to create fresh, ready to eat meals for families and communities like the ones shared here:
Kerr Street Mission
St. Joseph’s Ukranian Church
Community Living Oakville
Meals on Wheels
Oakville Trafalgar Hospital
Oakville Hospital Foundation
Home Suite Hope
Acclaim Health