In conversation with... Liana Oster, head of the barista team at New York’s famous Caffe Dante

For Italo-Australian-Canadian Liana “Lia” Oster, that dream came true.

Liana was born and raised in an extended Italian family (six families, of Calabrian origins) in the northern Victorian town of Shepparton, home to a large Italian community that for over 80 years has planted deep and strong roots in Australia.

With an Italo-Australian mother, Irene, and a Canadian-Australian father of German origins, Danny, Liana is also my granddaughter, on my wife Nina’s side.

A former student at Shepparton High School, Liana graduated university with a Master’s degree in clinical exercise physiology.

In her spare time, Liana worked as a bartender at the trendiest venue in the Goulburn Valley, Noble Monks.

After a few years, Liana moved to Melbourne to serve coffee at the well-known American coffeehouse Gloria Jean’s, and then moved on to Bar Americano, where she started breathing in the American atmosphere.

Today, three and a half years have passed since Liana moved to Greenwich Village in New York and found work at the legendary Caffe Dante, which dates back to World War 1 (1915) and the consequent migration wave, in which many Italians arrived in search of a new life in the great American city.

Many of those new arrivals went to eat Italian dishes at Caffe Dante, right in the heart of the city.

Upon her arrival in the Big Apple, Liana spent a whole month relentlessly looking for a job; during her hunt, she left a copy of her resume with the manager at Caffe Dante.

Shortly after, she was called in for a trial.

Today, the 28-year-old is head of the barista team at the venue, which was crowned the world’s best bar in 2019.

Liana soon found herself selecting, coordinating and managing her team on a promotional tour, where they recreated the New York atmosphere in the cities of Moscow, London, Paris, Madrid, Melbourne and Rio de Janeiro.

The title of the world’s best bar came despite the fact that Caffe Dante is a restaurant bar, although “originally, in 1915, it was an Italian bar”.

“The victory represents the collective commitment of our whole team,” Liana said.

“Together, we give our all to our work.”

Liana Oster and her colleagues celebrating after Caffe Dante was crowned the world’s best bar in 2019

A few nights ago, during a phone call with Liana, she seemed very happy to hear from home.

She asked us how we were and we immediately asked her how she was going during these tense days of protests and looting near her work.

“You can’t imagine the anxiety, fear and terror of being here during this time,” she said.

“We’re seeing fires in shops along with the fear of the coronavirus pandemic looming over the city, with over 100,000 deaths.

“Then there’s the terror of walking home through Central Park, which has been transformed into a tent city for those affected by the virus.

“And then there’s the new fear of watching hundreds of protesters running down the streets while shouting ‘Stop, I can’t breathe’, imitating George Floyd, and throwing bottles and stones at police officers and shops.

“We’re also sadly witnessing the tragic events taking place in other cities.”

We asked Liana how she’s managed to get through this tough time, also from a financial perspective.

“It was difficult and is still is now,” she said.

“At the beginning, I was very stressed and worried about rent and weekly expenses.

“Now, instead there’s the fear of coronavirus, even though the city seems to be returning to normal.”

We couldn’t help but ask her if she plans on leaving everything and returning to Melbourne or Shepparton, where her family spends sleepless nights thinking about her.

I asked her if she’s allowed to leave the US and if she feels she’s had enough of her American adventure.

“Of course I miss my family,” she said.

“I miss you all. But I’d love to live here a little longer... we’ll see.”

I suggested that her experience in America and the promotional tours in other countries could help her get a job at a prominent venue in Melbourne.

“I’d hope so,” she said.

While the future is still uncertain, I asked the courageous and enterprising Liana if she’d at least come and visit once it’s possible.

“Yes, maybe just a visit when the borders reopen to go to my close friend’s wedding in October, and to finally be able to personally give my mother a gift that I’d bought for her 60^th birthday, since I couldn’t be in Australia on April 9,” she said.

Until then, we wish Liana all the best on her adventure in the Big Apple!