Molto Buono is my latest superduper fantastic discovery! Downtown Carpentras, next to the City Hall, with its ‘pedestrians only’ beautiful square in cobblestones which has just been entirely renovated last winter, is where you will find this small Italian sparkling Gem ♥
Meet the friendly Owners
As you can see, Héloise & Andrea are no ordinary couple…young, energetic, innovative, courageous, friendly, a bit crazy 🙂 and multilingual! Not surprising thus that they have built up a regular and international clientele in a very short time since their recent opening on July 7th, 2016.
BRAVISSIMO!
A bit more About Them
Andréa Farioli, 27, of Italian origin, always was a very passionate family cook back home in Italy. He also worked as a cook in many restaurants abroad, but it was his grandmothers cooking that inspired him most to create his todays best recipes. Whereas Héloise Giraud, 25 years and from Carpentras, followed five years of hotel school and worked three years in the commercial field in Paris.
Italy or France?
At first they were doubting…a French shop / resto in Italy or an Italian one in Provence. But they made up their minds quickly thanks to the financial aid of “Ventoux initiative”. This is a platform that supports young entrepreneurs financially as well as advisory. It allows them to receive an individual loan per person that is ‘interest free’. They are being guided and monitored throughout their adventure and this for a period of three years. They can also sign up for courses, ask questions about hiring personnel etc. etc. I believe this to be a superb initiative and that is indeed the reason that more and more businesses are opening up these days in Carpentras.
Trattoria & Italian Fine Food store
Oscar Wilde once said, “Non riesco a sopportare quelli che non prendono seriamente il cibo.”
Meaning, “I can’t stand people who do not take food seriously.” In Italy, food is taken VERY seriously. So too is the designation of their dining establishments. The store designations hold a very distinct meaning in Italy in terms of culture, history, and economics. They belong to a classification system that differentiates exactly what type of eatery you are dining in. In most cases, it even indicates the class of people dining there.
Let me explain a bit…
Ristorante vs Trattoria vs Osteria
Traditionally a ‘ristorante’ is more upmarket and formal. In Italy, the term came into use to describe elegant and sophisticated dining establishments. Less formal than the ristorante is the Trattoria. It is a casual and unpretentious place to eat. Although more formal than the bare-bones osteria, a trattoria makes the best of local favorites, and features an ever changing seasonal menu. Oftentimes there are no printed menus and the service is very casual. Emphasis is on steady clientele rather than on haute cuisine, so the portions are larger and are served family-style at common tables. Exactly the way it is @ Molto Buono… ♥
The word Trattoria is equivalent with the French traiteur, meaning a catering business with the purpose of providing take-out food. I can strongly advise you to follow Molto Buono’s facebook page to catch the daily fresh homemade take-out dishes. In summertime, they have their terrace out and you can enjoy your lunch / dinner outside but in wintertime, Molto Buono functions more as an ‘épicerie’ (grocery store) and traiteur.
Christmas spirit
1st of December means Christmas decoration time in Provence! A very creative day for the shop owners to add some jingle bells, Christmas balls, shining stars etc. to their window. So uplifting!
Christmas Gift Box
As inventive as they are, Andrea & Héloise came up with the bright idea to create a self-made Christmas gift box. You simply go choose in the shop which goodies you’d like to have added to the box and you add the name of your friend or family member on the address label and ‘voilà’! You have the perfect gift for under the tree!
To End in Goodie style
I still have so many more beautiful impressions of their wide range of products but you know what, I am not going to show them all…I want you to go visit this friendly shop for yourself…and discover…to re-discover. I promise you, you will go back, over and over again!
Oh yes, Contact Info
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