The moment I knew: I’d quit my job and was newly single – then he smiled and I felt like I was home

When Monika Ruggerino broke a restaurant lamp – a favourite item of the charismatic chef Antonio – she had no idea it would change the course of her life Find more stories from the moment I knew series Early in 2015 I was helping my friend organise her 30th birthday. She’d decided on the function space above a favourite little restaurant, Verde in Darlinghurst, Sydney. A few weeks ahead of the celebration we went in for a tasting. It was the first time I’d seen the head chef and owner, Anto...

By Monika Ruggerino, as told to Doosie Morris