I have a multitude of memories from spending summers in Italy with our grandparents, Nonna Lidia and Nonno Gino, on their smallholding or 'Fattoria'. Helping feed the animals, picking tomatoes, helping Nonna make pasta and joining Nonno on his daily meticulously inspect the grapes on the vine.
He even taught me how to press grapes ‘the old-fashioned way’, something of a rite of passage; although I should add the sensation of grapes in-between your toes is not particularly pleasant! You may notice the majority of the memories tend to centre around food, and there’s nothing that Nonna Lidia used to love more than to watch people, be it friends or family, eating and enjoying the food that she had produced.
Apart from a definite resemblance, I’m pleased to say I have also inherited this trait. Watching people enjoy food we have produced is truly a heart-warming experience. On more than one occasion customers at Punto have ordered various items, antipasti, pasta, pizza all to come at the same time. Picking at the dishes in an almost frenzied fashion, not knowing what to taste next. It’s something I utterly adore seeing. I now understand why my Nonna enjoyed this all those years ago. It’s fair to say that since our parents opened ‘Out of Town’ back in 1981, the world of hospitality has changed. Customers are far more adventurous these days not to mention far more au fait with Mediterranean cuisine than they were 40 years ago. What hasn’t changed is the desire for good food. While the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t do anything to help the hospitality industry, it did provide a unique opportunity, which many companies seized upon in the form of ‘Cook at Home’ meal kits.
From the inception of Punto Italian Kitchen, some sort of cook at home offering was always going to be on the cards but rather than rushing in, or having to jump at this as a sole means of survival (as many did during the pandemic) we have had the benefit of being able to really plan and hone a product that can deliver the experience of Punto Italian Kitchen’s food at home with minimal effort.
The starting point for this was ingredients. My Zia (Aunt) Rita had a saying, ‘perfume in, perfume out’. If you start with flavourful fresh ingredients, you will end up with a flavourful dish. On our grandparents farm they had control over food from start to finish. They grew their own fruit and vegetables, raised their own livestock, fed them on food grown on the land, and used natural fertilizer, which, combined with the Mediterranean sunshine really created food of unparalleled flavour. We might not grow our own produce but we can source excellent quality ingredients. Next is authenticity. We grew up with Italian food and the Italian way of preparing dishes and seeing our relatives prepare these dishes from scratch on a daily basis. We live and breathe our Italian heritage, even here in Newcastle!
The final element is the desire to share. Our national pride for great food feeds this desire. We want everyone to be able to enjoy the incredible flavours of Italia without needing to spend hours in the kitchen. Thus our mantra for Punto at Home: Prepared by us, Made by You.