We have been at IRMA PASTIFICIO, for 60 years a point of reference for those who wanted to bring good food to the table.
Irma was the owner of the pasta factory, a landmark of the neighborhood, how did you feel managing a piece of history?
Irma first, and her daughter Nicoletta then worked very well to ensure that the pasta factory became a point of reference in the area.
That said, whoever came and tasted our food always came back. And this was the greatest satisfaction.
We believe that people do not need yet another cutting-edge venue, but to feel pampered. They need something to represent themselves in.
We have taken on a responsibility, which we believe should be shared by all young people in these times of constant change. We should go back to creating everything in a slower, slower way, starting with food. Not 100 tortellini in 5 seconds, but maybe 2 in 5 seconds.
Entering this place you have the sensationion that the tempo has stopped in the 60s.
The place was in excellent condition. The refrigerator, the work table, the tiles, everything has been maintained over time. We have done the bare minimum to make it functional and not create any break with the past.
The innovation that we feel we can support is to go back, while everyone moves forward. It is our desire to give continuity to an art.
Entering the restaurant you can breathe authenticity. How do you manage to create this atmosphere?
We believe it is certainly transmitted by the presence of the work table that the customer sees as soon as he enters our pasta factory. Already from the windows you can see yourself at work, with your hands in the dough, to be precise. This, combined with the craftsmanship of the workforce and respect for production processes, characterize that sense of authenticity that permeates the atmosphere of the place.
Regarding the raw materials, can you tell us about the moment of choice?
We have chosen to select the ingredients directly from small producers; whenever possible organic and when possible local.
For example, for Parmesan, we stock up on a dairy farm near Zocca, which we know how to produce an organic Parmesan. Vegetables are always fresh and seasonal.
We try in our small way to respect the land that offers us the ingredients of our dishes. Nowadays we are very attentive to environmental sustainability: a kilo of meat pollutes more than a kilo of plastic. And since our recipes tend to be based on vegetables, on meat we try to buy the bare minimum, and above all we only take grazing meat, with animals that feed on hay or grass.
Simple ingredients, to create something extraordinary.
Simplicity is for us the basis of every direct and genuine experience. Pasta should not be processed too much, it is its simplicity and essentiality that leads to amaze the customer and to make him enthusiastic when he simply eats a plate of pasta with tomato sauce.
We have customers who are mouth-watering for pasta with tomato sauce, and this was the main goal for us. Make the customer feel pampered. Bring it back to simple but extraordinary flavors.