The Made in Italy is a brand we are envied for all around the world. From fresh pasta to fashion, from wine to culture. Let’s say it, everywhere people are trying to emulate our lasagne but still… maybe this is due to the fact that they haven’t met Alessandro Aldrovandi as a teacher, yet!
Traveling around the world to teach the art of fresh pasta
From Tel Aviv to Johannesburg, from Jamaica to Mexico, the Made in Italy for fresh pasta and stuffed pasta has the face, the spontaneity and authenticity of Alessandro Aldrovandi
After attending a vocational school for food and wine in Carpi near Modena, Alessandro starts working with one of his teacher of bakery. In Cannes he works on the yacht of a sheik and there he has the possibility to meet a lady from Bologna and it was love at first sight with fresh pasta!!!!
La Casareccia, fresh pasta shop and its pumpkins
When he comes back to Italy he buys the shop, where also five sfogline (this is the name of the ladies who make homemade pasta).
Today Alessandro is considered a Master Pasta-maker for his experience lasting over thirty years in this field.
Alessandro has travelled the world for twenty years to teach the secrets of fresh pasta and stuffed pasta. His customers are people who want to open shops or implant a product line, or restaurant owner and cooks who what to improve in the field of fresh and stuffed pasta.
Ladies and Gentlemen: the tagliatelle
It may seem impossible if we consider the situation we’re living in these days, but Alessandro is called as a talent scout to identify the people who will be responsible for the pasta production in luxury resorts.
Alessandro Aldrovandi and tradition
I’m very thankful to Giovanna of the blog emilianaperpassione who wanted to share with me the pleasure of this meeting.
What surprised me of Alessandro is his enthusiasm, the passion he still feels for his job, that is aimed at creating an incredible product starting from three ingredients: flour, eggs and air.
The tools of the trade
Alessandro has taken us into his world, into his shop “La Casareccia” in Suzzara straight away. When you enter you can’t miss the rolling pins on the wall.
They are not all his, the one made of cherry wood belonged to his granny and he loves it very much. You can recognize it quite easily because the wood is reddish and lets the hands slip less.
The other rolling pins were taken to the shop by friends and customers, who had them at home and wanted them to be in good company with other rolling pins, sure they will feel useful and they will feel at ease there.
But these are not the only elements that made me feel as if I were in the kitchen of a house. Alessandro as a super guest offered us a coffee made with a coffee maker.
Nothing strange you might think, but what impressed me were the coffee cups he served it in. They had the names of his mum and dad on them. They were the first to start with a bakery where Alessandro’s brother still works.
Family’s coffee cups
If you want to be able to jump into the future you must know and remember where you come from. Several details at “La Casareccia” tell that Alessandro has this idea clear in his mind.
This is Alessandro’s secret: kneading flour together with tradition and values that give a unique taste to the final product!
“La Casareccia”: the stage on which the show of the fresh pasta.
Do you know that Alessandro and his co-workers knead almost 2000 Kilograms flour every year?? The dough will then be cut into different sizes and forms from maltagliati to tagliatelle.
These quantities surprised me above all if I imagine them being produced in a small shop, but this makes the homemade pasta smell of home, of a product of unbeatable quality, of technique but not without tradition.
Alessandro’s workhorses are stuffed tortelli with ricotta and spinach or pumpkin, and according to the season tortelli with porcini mushrooms or truffle.
La Casareccia, fresh pasta shop
There’s a fact that was a surprise to me: only 30% of the customers are from Suzzara and the surroundings, the rest comes from other parts of Italy. It’s so beautiful knowing that people who pass through Suzzara for work take back home a product whose quality and taste are unique and that will be shared by the whole family.
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