THE FELICIA COLLECTION OF PLATES MADE IN COLLABORATION WITH ENZA FASANO INTERPRETS THE EXCELLENCE OF THE APULIAN TERRITORY
Gravina in Puglia, 21 December 2020 - The Felicia collection of plates in collaboration with "Bottega di Enza Fasano" is an interpreter of the excellence of the Apulian territory and its centuries-old craft tradition in the art of ceramics revisited in a modern key with style, taste and innovation. An accurate and accessible proposal that discloses with refined simplicity a new all-Italian way to bring pasta on the table, thanks to Felicia, a brand that feeds optimism with innovative, healthy recipes and with unexpected flavours.
There are many points in common between Enza Fasano's artistic production and the brand of Andriani S.p.A Benefit Corporation, which revolutionised our culinary tradition with one of the most articulate proposals for innovative pasta, mainly organic and naturally gluten-free, based on pulses and cereals.
Two full-blooded Apulian families whose roots lie at opposite ends of the vast Murgia territory, in a region that is the cradle of ancient civilisations that tell, among other things, the thousand-year story of a population and its relationship with its land and its values.
Andriani S.p.A. Benefit Corporation is led by brothers Michele and Francesco Andriani, respectively President and CEO and Vice-President CEO, who learned from their father Felice the knowledge of over 40 years of experience in the milling industry. Since 2009, they have been revolutionising the food sector by producing pasta based on alternative raw materials to wheat, such as pulses and cereals.
Thanks to an extremely innovative business model, constant investment in R&D and in virtuous and sustainable practices and projects aimed at environmental and social protection and the well-being of people and local communities, Andriani is a reference point for innovation food and a virtuous example of forward-thinking entrepreneurship.
The centuries-old artistic activity of Enza Fasano's figuline art from Grottaglie is also rooted in her family, whose founder, Master of Art Nicola Fasano, was born and raised among ceramics. Throughout his life, he honed an expertise and refined taste that he passed on to his daughter Enza, passing on to her and her husband Salvatore Santoro the baton of a manufacturing activity that is the jewel in the crown of the area, distinguished by know-how, creativity and constant research, while respecting tradition, into shapes and colour effects that materialise in extremely refined objects. And because skills and passions are handed down, Giovanna, daughter of Enza and granddaughter of Nicola Fasano, continues to create her own signature collections with a contemporary feel.
Felicia carefully selects its raw materials using pulses and cereals including red and yellow lentils, chickpeas, peas, green mung beans, brown rice, buckwheat and oats in a riot of flavours and colours that release energy and important nutrients. With the widest range of offerings in the industry, Felicia meets the demands of those who are looking for a new way of proposing pasta and a new optimism-oriented well-being where flavour becomes taste and taste becomes emotion. In the same way, the Bottega di Enza Fasano carefully chooses innovative materials, colours and decorations, and thanks to an ancient painting technique revisited in a modern key, reproduces by hand colours and strokes inspired by contemporary design to make each plate a special one.
" Our handicrafts, inspired by the Grottaglie tradition, are the result of years of workshop, family school and further education. Today, more than ever, we like to reinvent them while keeping faith with a precise objective, that of renewing to surprise with originality and a touch of magic, which is never bad," says Enza Fasano.
It is the young, fresh and unpredictable character of these creations that makes each object unique and suitable to satisfy a cosmopolitan and demanding customer base. And so the contents of the box become a promise of an emotional journey to discover the flavours, colours and artistic creations of this wonderful land.
Inside the laser-cut wooden box are four ceramic plates made using different techniques. Two of them feature a freehand brushstroke decoration that recalls familiar pasta shapes: penne, farfalle, rigatoni and fusilli. Two other plates, in the same colour palette, are made using an ancient technique revisited in a modern key, characteristic of the decoration of Grottaglie, the capital of Apulian ceramics: the “smammriati” plates, as those decorated with verdigris spots were called. In the old days, in order to recover discarded or defective pieces, a dry olive branch was dipped in verdigris or manganese and the ceramics were sketched freehand and then the plates were fired a third time. Enza Fasano revives this ancient tradition, bringing it up to date and experimenting with new colours to match. The box combinations offer mustard yellow, antique pink, pastel green and dark grey paired two by two in both decorative versions.
The colour palette matches well with the selection of Pasta Felicia chosen for the occasion: eight products based on cereals and pulses to allow well-being seekers to experiment with new, appetising recipes that nourish body and soul thanks to an innovative, organic, naturally gluten-free and extremely versatile product that can be consumed at any time of day, with whoever you want and how you prefer. In detail, buckwheat tortiglioni are appetising, a source of fibre and rich in important minerals such as magnesium, and are particularly suitable for those who love traditions and old-fashioned flavours; farfalle with brown rice give every dish a rustic and traditional flavour and are always cooked al dente; half rigatoni and penne with oats have a unique and delicate flavour and can be combined with both sweet and savoury foods: they are also good if served cold, they are perfect for those who want to enjoy a pasta dish outside of a meal. Red lentil sedanini and yellow lentil casarecce bring all the benefits of pulses to any recipe. Together with lentil or pea stelline, they provide all the energy of vegetable proteins, and adults and children, who are usually reluctant to eat legumes as they are, can agree. Finally, fusilli with green mung beans, a pulse recommended by ancient Chinese medicine for its countless beneficial properties, is rich in important nutrients, highly purifying and tastes amazing. The wide offering allows for free experimentation while cooking in search of the tastiest combinations for every taste and for those who prefer to be guided in their discovery, a specific recipe book suggests the proposals of Casa Andriani's chefs.
"Felicia's collection of plates in collaboration with Enza Fasano is available as a limited edition in Felicia's e-shop https://shop.glutenfreefelicia.com/. Part of the proceeds will be used to re-launch Apulian craftsmanship, at a delicate time for the industry and for our region", concludes Francesco Andriani, Vice President and CEO of Andriani S.p.A.
Andriani, based in Gravina in Puglia, has been specializing since 2009 in the production of high-quality naturally gluten-free pasta, <br />which is marketed both under its own Felicia brand and under third party brands. The raw materials used, including maize, brown rice, rice, buckwheat, oats, lentils, chickpeas and peas, are carefully selected and naturally gluten-free. Processing takes place in a 100% gluten-free production facility: six production lines, 55 plus different formulations and 1000 managed SKUs. One of the main players in the gluten-free pasta market, Andriani is sold by major distribution chains in over 30 countries worldwide. Flexibility, a dynamic organisation, research, innovation and commitment to economic, environmental and social sustainability, with concrete actions and good practices towards all stakeholders, are the factors that drive the company's performance, which contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda, promoted by the UN for a more sustainable global economy.
