In Business: Necce’s Ristorante in Park Rapids Aims for Authentic Italian Cuisine

One restaurant in downtown Park Rapids is doing its best to make its Italian cuisine as authentic as possible.

In 2008, Denese Jokela, a co-owner of Necce’s Ristorante and its head chef, took a trip to Italy and was so inspired by the restaurants and hospitality while she was there that she decided she wanted to bring that back to her home in Minnesota.

“I was just so impressed with the spirit of hospitality, it was so generous,” said Jokela. “I just found that everywhere in Italy, they just can’t wait to share food and break bread and sip wine and share it all with their friends. And you know, the table is yours for the night. And I just loved it. … And that showed me exactly what I wanted to do.”

While in Italy, Jokela went to cooking school and became a certified Tuscan Chef, learning how to make fresh and authentic Italian dishes.

“I studied in Tuscany, so I learned to kind of cook with time. Not just T-H-Y-M-E, but time, and it’s simple cooking, but that time makes it delicious,” explained Jokela. “We make all of our own bread every day, our pizza doughs, our salad dressings, pasta. I just want to feel proud of anything that I give you to eat. You know, it’s a kind of a nurturing Italian thing.”

And the chef wants to bring that authentic experience from her trips to Italy right to where her customers can enjoy it.

“I’ve gone back to Italy every year and try to bring back a more authentic experience,” she said. “It’s nothing fancy. We don’t play with the food, you know. We just take a lot of time, fresh ingredients, import a lot of things, everything we can from Italy. Just try to make it super delicious that – make it a umami bomb.”

People travel from all across Minnesota and even some other states to grab a bite at Necce’s, and Jokela couldn’t be more grateful.

“I’m so grateful and and a little overwhelmed that people understand what we’re trying to do, appreciate it, and they think it’s, they think it’s yummy!” Jokela added. “The work is long and hard. I’ve been in since about, you know, 6 in the summer. It’s like 5:30 and we’d get done at 10 or 11. But every day I wake up and cannot wait to come to work.”

Jokela plans to make another trip to Italy once again this year and hopes to bring back some new wines and fresh ingredients for her restaurant.