Pasta lovers will be delighted to try Melissa Meo’s new business – Stracci, which is located on Garnet Road, in the heart of the Westmere shops.
We asked the entrepreneur to tell us her story.
As she explains, "Stracci is definitely my passion project, born out of my Italian heritage and upbringing, travels to Italy visiting the fresh pasta vendors and just an absolute obsession with Italian food. Auckland is filled with so many incredible Italian restaurants which I love, but to me Italian food is best shared at home, at the dinner table surrounded by family and friends. I really wanted to bring that experience to people, being able to enjoy a restaurant quality Italian meal at home with ease. There are so many products that we sell that are so close to my heart. Each one raises a memory of a family Christmas tradition, or a dish that an aunt used to make, or a particular store visited on an Italian holiday, and it's so exciting being able to share them with our customers.”
What types of pasta do you offer?
The options are absolutely endless when it comes to pasta, so it's a very exciting creative outlet for us! Because of this, the different types of pasta change daily depending on a new idea we've seen or what's in season. We extrude fresh pasta in store, bucatini is our most popular by far but we have some wonderful dies that form more exciting shapes that you can't easily find in supermarkets, like mafaldine and gigli. We then roll egg pasta dough as well to create pappardelle, fresh lasagna sheets and our range of filled pastas – tortellini, cappelletti or ravioli. The first pasta my father taught me to make is Ravioli alla Caprese, which is regional to our family's home town in Campania. It's a round ravioli filled with ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan and basil and incredibly popular as it lends itself so easily to different sauces.
What else is on offer – retail? Do you offer plant-based or gluten-free options?
Our fridges are filled with a wide range of ragus and sauces to pair with the pastas, as well as freshly made tiramisu, semifreddos, cheeses, pestos and Italian freezer meals. We have retail shelves stocked with a beautiful range of Italian products such as olives, oils and anchovies and, in addition to the items that you can take home, we sell freshly made-to-order deli sandwiches, a warm pasta lunch special which changes daily, Italian treats like bomboloni and sfogliatelle, and of course exceptional coffee. We're also working hard to hone a recipe for a good quality gluten-free pasta dough, so watch this space.
Anything else you’d like to tell us?
We've begun taking private pasta-making classes in-store, which has been so much fun. It's a really exciting way to spend a date night or a get-together with friends. Italian food has been passed down through generations, so it's awesome for me to continue that and share the joy of making pasta as it's been shown to me.
STRACCI, 170 Garnet Road, www.stracci.co.nz
instagram: stracci_pasta
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Published: November 2023