GUSTI Blog

Whole Foods - Demoing Like There Is No Tomorrow!

Four of our olive oil producers came to town to present their magnificent olive oils to the customers of Whole Foods. There were 22 stores in the NY region which participated in the program "SEIZE THE MOMENT", ie, grab the olive oil when it is at its freshest, just pressed. 22 stores and 4 producers in only a few days. We are doing demonstrations like crazy! New York City, Westchester, New Jersey, Connecticut, Long Island... This is Nicola Bovoli of Vicopisano EV Olive Oil from Toscana, his wife Lucia, Stefano and Beatrice in the Whole Foods Store on the Upper West Side.

We have become the experts at demoing at Whole Foods, we are selling ev olive oil like it is water, we are showing all their customers how to taste an olive oil. Most common comment: WOW, I NEVER THOUGHT AN OLIVE OIL SHOULD TASTE LIKE THIS! Left is Francesco Travaglini from Molise, his Il Tratturello also, almost all gone. We learned in the field (or, better, on the grocery floor)... and after a few days of demoing, we brought a map of Italy and taught some geography, too. Where the heck is the Molise region??? Francesco also brought some olive tree branches with some olives still hanging. Now, this is the way to show where your food comes from!!!

 

Sant'Eustachio Coffee in the Sky

Sant'Eustachio is everywhere, even in the skies. No kidding; look what I discovered while flipping through the Delta Airlines magazine - an article withthe 5 best coffee places in the world! Sant'Eustachio is number 5, but only for alphabetical reasons!

Gustiamo, Judith Klinger and Vook, a Food Revolution!!!

Do you know what Vook is? I had no idea (and no particular interest in learning), until our friend Judith Klinger told us she was publishing a Vook app about cooking italian. She wanted to involve Gustiamo, purveyor of Italy's Best Foods.

If we are involved in anything, we need to know exactly what we are getting ourselves into! I was in the dark, until I read this article in the NYTimes from which I learned that Vook is a combination of video and text (V for video and OOK for book - got it?), mostly used for "How To" programs. The writer of the article mainly uses Vooks for his home sessions of Pilates. When, on the floor, with his iPhone next to him, he can read the explanation of why he is doing a certain movement and what is happening to the muscles involved, and, at the same time, without changing program, on the same page, he can also watch a video of the best Pilates instructor doing the same excercise. How brilliant!

Fast forward, Cooking Simply: the Italian Way was published last week!!! It's a Vook app available for iPad, iPod & iPhone. Soon, it will be available as an eBook, too.

If you, like me, do not own an Apple device, you can go directly to the Vook website and read and watch how Judith cooks simply, the Italian way!

What is Gustiamo's involvement in all this? Gustiamo prepared a Vook Starter Basket for Judith's Vook revolution, which allows you to buy all you need to cook wonderful and easy Italian meals with a single click of the mouse. Another revolution! Grazie, Judith and good luck with your project!!!

World Premiere: NEW Pasta Latini in the Bronx!

  The Latinis decided to give a new look to their legendary Pasta Latini! If you haven't heard, the multicolored boxes are no longer of this world. If you have a box in your pantry, take particular care of it! It is now part of history. The future is White and Black! Do not worry, nothing else has changed, only the packaging! The quality of the pasta is as wonderful as it always was: best heirloom wheats selected and/or grown by Carlo Latini, best water, bronze dies, excruciatingly long drying in the natural air of the attic of the pastificio.

The Latinis care so much about Gustiamo and their American fans, they gave us the big honor to announce and present the NEW LATINI PASTA to the world.

Yes, the NEW LATINI PASTA has arrived in the Bronx warehouse. Say a big hello to:

the White box, Linea Classica: made with a selection of the best Italian durum wheats;

the Black box, Senatore Cappelli: made with heirloom wheat Senatore Cappelli grown by Carlo Latini

the Black box, Farro Pasta: made with farro flour. It is the best farro pasta you will ever taste. And so good for you!

Dear Carlo and Carla Latini: I know you were busy fulfilling our order. We and all your American fans thank you very much. Now, take a deep breath, take a break, and try to relax... Time to update your company's website, too. Grazie mille!!!

Il Tratturello, Meet Francesco's American Family

Francesco Travaglini will be in NY in a couple of days to demo his oil at Whole Foods. From Larino, in Molise, to NY!!! Matteo, his uncle and Anthony, his cousin, live on our side of the ocean and, of course, use Francesco's oil, Il Tratturello. They ran out of it and rushed to the warehouse. You don't want to be without it when Francesco arrives and stays with you!!! Ciao Francesco, have a wonderful trip! Can't wait to see you in NY!

Meet Gustiamo's Oil Producers @ Whole Foods

We are all so thrilled to be included in Whole Foods!!! This is such a huge thing, our oil producers decided to come to NY to share our joy. They will give demonstrations at the New York area Whole Foods stores (all 22 of them!) and will explain to anyone who will listen: how you taste the olive oil, what is the difference between a good ev olive oil and a cheap industrial one, how you use ev olive oil...These people are NOT the export managers of some big companies, the financial partners or investors... these people are the real people, the farmers who prune the olive trees, pick the olives and watch carefully when they are brought to the mill. These people are our heros!

The olive oil producers who are already, or will soon be, in NY are: Nicola and Lucia Bovoli of Vicopisano, Antonella Fagiolo and her husband Mario Malpigi of Cru di Cures, Antonella Pinna of Antichi Uliveti, Francesco Travaglini of Il Tratturello.

If you live in what Whole Foods calls the North East Region (NYC, Long Island, New Jersey, Westchester, Connecticut), please go to the Whole Foods store near you, look for our display and buy our Olive Oils!!! If you want to make sure you meet the producer, pls call Anne in our office (718 860 2949) and she will give you their demonstration schedule. So much fun!!! They look forward to meeting you, too!

Whole Foods and Gustiamo: Seize the Moment!

In case you follow the Market (the stock market, i mean), you certainly have noticed the impressive performance of WFMI (Whole Foods Market, for us mortals) in the past 4 months! It was under $35 in early October, 2010; it is now almost $60!!! What happened? The financial world must have heard Whole Foods was planning an event with Gustiamo!!! Only kidding, because not a single word came from us. Our mouths were sealed. Until now! Now we can finally talk! Starting tomorrow, February 16th, all the 22 stores of Whole Foods in and around Manhattan will sell our BEST new harvest Italian EV Olive Oils.

The program is called "Seize the Moment" and will last through the end of February. It all started when, last October, our friends of Whole Foods came to see us in the warehouse, loved our products and the stories of our producers. We immediately felt a connection, in fact  Whole Foods tagline is "every meal has a story". Then, the rest is history! Gustiamo is in Whole Foods! The olive oils Whole Foods will sell for the next couple of weeks are: BuonOlio Benza (Liguria), Vicopisano (Toscana), Cru di Cures (Lazio), Il Tratturello (Molise), Pianogrillo (Sicilia), Antichi Uliveti del Prato (Sardegna). Come see us and buy them @ Whole Foods! This is very exciting! Thank you, Whole Foods!!!

What Are You Reading? The New York Times Is Reading the GustiBlog!!!

Wonder how one feels when your name is put in a list with the likes of the Washington Post, National Geographic, the Wall Street Journal...? You feel little, humble and so not deserving of this honor!!! This is what happened to me, the other day. Out of the blue, a Google alert hit my inbox with the link to the NYTimes online. Wiped my glasses, was it spam? I kept reading the link again and again. No, it was NOT a joke, it was real. It's the "What We're Reading" list aggregated by the journalists of the NYTimes and Julia Moskin is reading us. She says: "Gustiamo (link to GustiBlog): One of the most personable voices in the food blogosphere: Beatrice Ughi, an owner of Gustiamo, Bronx purveyor of top-of the-line Italian ingredients..." I was and am amazed! Not deserving, but MUCH MUCH appreciated! Grazie mille!!!

Gustiamo, Keep Your Day Job!

We, at Gustiamo, are an amazing group of hard workers, passionate about what we do. We seek perfection, love our producers, cook and eat. Singing and dancing are clearly not things we do regularly and are NOT our forte. This video (if you dare to watch it, click the arrow below)  was of our Christmas party, with Martina, Anne, Stefano, Kunle and our landlord of eight years, John Fusco. The video is titled "DON'T GIVE UP YOUR DAY JOB".

Chef Joseph Cacace Pays a Visit @ Gustiamo Warehouse

Chef Joseph Cacace, is an old and good friend of ours and a fan of Italian foods, in particular of pasta Latini and Martelli. We met Joseph many years ago, when he worked at Sette, an Italian restaurant on Seventh Avenue in NY City. We had just started our wholesale program and Joseph was among our first big customers. I remember being amazed at the large quantites of pasta his restaurant could buy; I thought Joseph was cooking pasta for each dish on his menu, for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Not true, he just cooked very good pasta and everybody ordered it. Then, as often happens, the restaurant and Joseph parted ways; without him, the restaurant closed soon after. What a shame. Now, Joseph is consulting, but looking for a stable home. Any ideas? While you are thinking, Joseph just told me that he is opening another "Uncle Bacala's" in Smithtown with Peter Hewitson and that he will use our Cru di Cures oil. Joseph comes to the warehouse often and purchases olive oils and pasta for himself and his restaurant clients. He knows about best italian ingredients and talks about them with passion (click on the arrow to watch the video). Grazie Joseph, come back soon!