Robert Kalish’s love of cooking, and a childhood spent in the North End, led him to bring a taste of Italy to the East Bridgewater area. Earlier this year, the 55-year-old East Bridgewater resident started “Bella Nonna,” an Italian food truck that he describes as “Hanover Street on wheels,” in reference to the popular street in the North End where a number of Italian restaurants are congregated.

“I try to keep homage to traditional Italian food and at the same time Italian food I was taught when I was younger, which is Italian-American,” he said. Kalish got his foot in the restaurant world through working as a dishwasher in Joe Tecce's Ristorante & Caffe in the North End starting at age 11, he said, and worked his way up through various restaurants to become a sous chef at age 19.