Bottega da Re is the latest project by Luca Marchini, a prestigious Michelin Star Italian chef. This Tuscan by birth decided in 2008 to create in Modena, where he has lived since the age of seventeen, his first restaurant, L’Erba del Re.
Since then the name of Luca Marchini has become synonymous with success in the world of haute cuisine thanks to the different businesses that he has given life to. Just to name a few, the Catering Erba del Re, the Amalthea Cooking School and the Trattoria Pomposa Re Gras. Finally, at least for now, in 2020 he inaugurated a new business of preserves and ready meals, Bottega da Re, with the intention of selling them directly to third parties and also through their online store, inaugurated in September 2020.
With his newly launched gourmet preserves business at Bottega da Re, Luca Marchini shares in glass format his passion for the most precious flavors of the Emiliana region and all of Italy. In this fashion he now produces all kinds of preserves, from pickled vegetables, roasted peppers, to sophisticate sauces, the result of years of research and experimentation in his own restaurant. Without forgetting at any time the basic fundamentals: raw materials, technique and love for cooking.
“For me, this new line of preserves is a way of entering homes through food. And also a way of accompanying the new habits and needs of people.”
Luca Marchini, Michelin star chef and owner of Bottega da Re
Problem: getting your products to Italian homes
After the COVID-19 crisis, Luca Marchini and his team at the restaurant L’Erba da Re set out to bring their products closer to Italian homes. When it came to preserving their different products, they ran into the difficulty of not knowing how to offer the best product while avoiding any type of structural and aesthetic oxidation, delivering at people’s homes without any damage, guaranteeing its integrity and offering total security to the client.
Challenge: preserve your products without any alteration
Their goal was to bring haute cuisine to Italian homes through Bottega da Re, so they spared no time or resources to achieve an excellent result. They knew that after the relevant trials and errors they should pay off their efforts. Hence, they set out to achieve high quality preserves even after undergoing the sterilization process.
Solution: have the right technology
“Here the important role is played by technology. After some tests, we found the solution to make our haute cuisine preserves.”
Luca Marchini, Michelin star chef and owner of Bottega da Re
Finding the solution was not easy. Luca Marchini confesses that “it was a new challenge for all our staff.” His team had never done this kind of work before. They were amply prepared to work directly with food, its handling, cooking and preparation.
Likewise, the quality of the raw material was ensured from the beginning, since it is the same as the one used in their restaurants. However, the preservation method, without artificial preservatives, required study and testing. All staff were required to receive more specific training in order to achieve the type of product that their customers deserve.
“A good recipe is not enough, our product is finished when the excellence of the raw materials and the authenticity of the recipe are preserved intact and unaltered.”
Luca Marchini, Michelin star chef and owner of Bottega da Re
For this they received the consultancy services of TERRA Food-Tech®. Thanks to the Italian distributor, Fabio Marchi from Astori Tecnica, who at all times contributed with his knowledge on food safety, formulations and sterilization processes.
From there, they worked closely with Fabio to optimize the entire process and achieve the maximum production capacity per cycle and thus transform their elaborations into haute cuisine preserves.
“Both myself and my team are delighted with the TERRA Food-Tech autoclave ®. It has met all our expectations and the most important thing is that it has allowed us to work with quality and safety. Without a doubt it has been a great purchase.”
Luca Marchini, Michelin star chef and owner of Bottega da Re