BRUNO SERATO
RESIDENCE: Huntington Beach
WHAT HE DOES: President/owner of the Anaheim White House Restaurant
FAMILY: Single
HOBBY: Soccer
FAVORITE TV SHOW: Doesn’t have one
ALTERNATIVE CAREER: Interpreter
HOW LONG IN CALIFORNIA: 25 years
BEST ADVICE RECEIVED: “Never forget where you came from.�

CHILDREN’S CHAMPION
It’s hard to decipher who wears the bigger smile: the dozens of children who delight in the fine Italian fare or the man who delights in feeding them.

Bruno Serato, owner of the acclaimed Anaheim White House Restaurant, serves a hot dinner each weeknight to more than 100 local children who live in motels. Without him, most of these kids would go to bed without having a single meal.

The Northern Italy native - who worked as a dishwasher when he came to Orange County 25 years ago, with just $200 in his pocket ­ was recently named the Cornerstone Humanitarian of the Year by the National Restaurant Association. Presented during a Capitol Hill awards ceremony as part of the association’s seventh annual Restaurant Neighbor Award, he was honored for his dedication to helping underprivileged children.

“ If we all do something, we can make a difference in a child’s life,� he says. “And if you change the life of a child in a better way, most probably the child will grow up a better person, also.�

Prepared by his executive chef, meals are delivered to 50-70 children who live in a nearby motel unit. Dozens more youth are fed at the Boys & Girls Club of Anaheim as they wait to be picked up by their parents. And this is just one of the ways he helps.

More than $100,000 has been raised, for example, since he founded Caterina’s Girls Club in 2003 in honor of his mother who lives in Italy. The money, which is donated to the Boys & Girls Club of Anaheim, has been used to purchase a 12-passenger van, which is used to pick up the motel kids and takes them to the club for afternoon activities and dinner. It also has funded tutoring, music lessons, dental services and an array of other programs for these children.

His passion for giving, he says, comes from his mother - who, despite her own financial suffering and struggles in raising seven children, still helped others. She undoubtedly had a hand in his strong work ethic and resulting success, as well.

Among many industry awards, the Southern California Restaurant Writers Association named him the 2004 Restaurateur of the Year. The Anaheim White House, which features fresh seafood and specialties influenced by Serato’s frequent trips to his hometown of Verona, is also included in Epicurean Rendezvous’ “100 Best Restaurants in Southern California.� Housed inside an elegant, 1909 mansion, the restaurant has catered to many well-knowns, including Madonna and President Jimmy Carter. Serato’s favorite patrons, though, are the motel kids, he claims.

What would happen to these children if he didn’t feed them?

“ I hope somebody else would do it,� he says.