L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JULY 17, 2014 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano 9 You could say that Master Baker Dean Chiotti knows bak- ing. While this is a true state- ment, it is also a vast understate- ment. Baking is what his family has done for generations - nine generations to be exact. "I love it," says 70-year-old Chiotti. "It's what we do," he adds with a shrug of modesty. Dean's family dates back to 1687 in the Piemonte region of Italy, with Michelangelo Dompe. It is still recorded in the church records that Dompe's weekly tithing was five loaves of bread and one kilo of flour. To this day, there are still Dompe family members running a successful bakery in Brossassco, a town just on the other side of the hill from where the very first bakery originated. In 1903, Michelangelo's daughter Marcella Dompe (Dean's grandmother) married a baker, Joe Chiotti, who was working for her father. The newlyweds were gifted passage to America. Marcella's cousin Alessio was in Portland, Oregon and happened to be acting presi- dent of the French Baking Company at 607 SW 6th Avenue in downtown Portland. When Marcella and Joe arrived, they joined forces with Alessio and opened the New French Bakery at SE Hawthorne and Grand Avenue on the east side of the city. When asked why they opened French bakeries, Chiotti explained, "Simple; in the early 1900's Italians were discriminat- ed against. They were met with racial prejudice. Thus, using a French name made sense for business." The business boomed! And though they named themselves the French Baking Co., they were one of the only bakeries in Portland to serve freshly made Panettone at the holidays. In 1970, Dean was a young man just out of the service. He and two of his cousins decided to open their own bakery and became owners of Pierre's French Bakery. Pierre's was the newly evolved version of the French Baking Co. that Dean's grandparents had opened in the early 1900's. Pierre's estab- lished itself as an exemplary baking company, supplying breads to many of the area's finest restaurants. They worked hard over the years and deservedly became an iconic Portland establishment. With time came change, and in 1992 Pierre's merged with Gais Bakery of Seattle. Gais then merged with Franz. One of the old Pierre's locations on NE 10th and Oak Street is now a Franz distribution warehouse. Pierre's French Bakery was no longer. Dean Chiotti has many fond memories of growing up in and around his family's bakery. "I got to go in during the evenings when I was a young boy and tape boxes together for the deliveries of the bread," he smiles. "I also remember a time there was a fire in 1951, and Fred Meyer himself offered to let our family use his bakery until we were able to rebuild. He even had rooftop parking." Fred Meyer went to school with some of Dean's family and they were all friends. They had grown up in SW Portland together and they simply helped each other out. The years passed without Pierre's, but Dean Chiotti could not get baking out of his blood. In 2002, with his partner, Rita Boyd, and his granddaughter, Sarah Willett, Dean decided to give it another go. The Alessio Baking Company was born in the old SE Portland Italian neighborhood. When asked how he came up with the name, Alessio, Dean explained, "I have a grand- daughter named Alessandra and my dad's middle name was Alessio." "Actually," he added, "There were several people in the fami- ly named Alessio. We started over from scratch. There was nothing from Pierre's left. My granddaughter, Sarah is now training to take over the busi- ness." Currently, Alessio Baking Company is going strong. Dean is proud of the bakery's vast array of handcrafted preserva- tive-free products, including specialty breads such as ciabat- ta, focaccia, crusty long rolls, and grissini, which are made sti- rati a mano - stretched by hand - the same way they have always been made in Italy. Customers are also encouraged to place special orders for fami- ly dinners and celebrations. Just as Pierre's once did, Alessio Baking Company now provides beautiful hearth-style breads and baked goods for some of Portland's finest eating establishments as well as with several food carts around the city. The bakery is located at 2025 SE 11th Avenue in the old southeast Portland Italian neigh- borhood. For more information, contact Dean or Sarah at www.alessiobakingcompany.com TONyA ruSSO HAMIlTON Dean Chiotti continues his family's baking traditions at Alessio Baking Company The Alessio Baking Company – Nine Generations Strong Club Paesano's Annual Italian Picnic Brings Families and Friends Together In the 1940's and 50's, the Gardener and Rancher's Association, an organization of Italian produce dealers and farm- ers in Portland, held an annual summer picnic called the Gardener's Picnic. As the years went by and this picnic ended, a group of Italian farmers in the area decided to carry on the tra- dition of an annual summer pic- nic. The group rented Cedarville Park in Gresham for the occasion and the picnic became a huge success. This early group of farmers eventually formed Club Paesano and, in 1975, they purchased the park and named it Club Paesano Cedarville Park. The Annual Italian Community Picnic has MArC ANd KATHy BATTIlEGA carried on every year with music, food, and games for the whole family. This year's picnic on Sunday, August 3rd will see some changes. "There is so much competi- tion in the summer with events and activities that we kept seeing our attendance drop," explained Marc Battilega, President of Club Paesano. "We felt if we offered something new it might generate renewed interest in the picnic." In addition to the usual fresh- made spaghetti lunch, the event will feature a few outside food vendors, and there will be a beer and wine garden for the adults to enjoy. This year, picnickers will be entertained by Michael Maffei playing traditional hits on his accordion and by two local bands, Death by Thumb and Mbrascatu. Bingo will be played through- out the day and the annual Jim Calcagno Cup Paesano Bocce Tournament begins at 10:30am. Individuals can sign up on the day of the picnic to join a team. The park gates open at 11:00am and admission is only $8.00 per person, which includes a meal ticket worth up to $5.00 towards a meal at any food ven- dor. Children 11 and under always receive free admission into the park. This is one day to come early, stay late and enjoy the day with family and friends. July 24, Thurs. – Columbus Day Banquet Committee meeting at 7:00pm in Balestra Hall, St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, 424 SW Mill Street in Portland. For infor- mation, contact Theresa Rossetto Berney at columbusdaypor- tland@gmail.com July 27, Sun. – Italian Hour on KBOO 90.7 FM from 9:00 to 10:00am. Contemporary and classic Italian music, featuring news of the local Italian community. Listen online at www.kboo.fm Aug. 3, Sun. – Club Paesano Annual Italian Picnic, Cedarville Park at 3800 E. Powell Loop in Gresham. Gates open at 11am. For more information, contact Marc Battilega at metromarine@mac.com Aug. 7, Thurs. – Amici d'Italia monthly meeting at 7:30pm, St. Michael's Catholic Church, 424 SW Mill Street in Portland. For information, contact Kerry-Lynne Demarinis Brown at 503-287-3255 or difamiglia@aol.com Aug. 10, Sun. – Italian Hour on KBOO 90.7 FM from 9:00 to 10:00am. Contemporary and classic Italian music, featuring news of the local Italian community. Listen online at www.kboo.fm Aug. 12, Tues. – Italian Businessmen's Club meeting at 6:30pm at DeNicola's Italian Restaurant, 3520 SE Powell Blvd. in Portland. For information, contact Robert Iannacone at robert202@comcast.net, or Guido LaCesa at oaktreelo@aol.com Aug. 14, Thurs. - Vancouver USA Sons of Italy meeting at Family of Christ Lutheran Church, 3500 NW 129th St., Vancouver, WA. Dinner at 6:30 pm; meeting starts at 7:30pm. Contact Barbara Blair (360) 253-7984 for more information. Aug. 15, Fri. – Ferragosto in Piazza at Cannery Square, 15601 SW Willamette Street in Sherwood. Italian Marketplace opens at 4:00pm; movie night begins at 8:00pm. For more information, contact Tonya Russo Hamilton at hamilton.tonya68@gmail.com Aug. 16, Sat. – Festa Italiana Mass in Italian at 7:00pm, St. Michael's Catholic Church, 424 SW Mill Street in Portland. Reception follows with homemade Italian cookies. For more information, contact Barbara Blair at (360) 253-7984. Aug. 17, Sun. – Festa Italiana Bocce Tournament at Cedarville Park, 3800 E. Powell Loop in Gresham. Bocce starts at 9:00am; food and beverages available. For informa- tion and team entry, contact Mario Pompei at mpompei2@aol.com Aug. 19. Tues. – Festa Italiana Movie Night, presenting "l Comandante e la Cicogna" at 5th Avenue Cinema, 510 SW Hall Street in Portland. Movie begins at 7:00pm. For infor- mation, contact Barbara Blair at (360) 253-7984. Aug. 21, 22, 23, Thurs. thru Sat. – Festa Italiana in Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown Portland at corner of SW 6th and Morrison Street. Live music, dancing, marionettes, grape stomping, cannoli eating contest, food courts, wine and beer gardens, fun for the whole family. All events are free to the public! Open each day from 11am to 11pm. To see the entire schedule, go to www.festa-italiana.org

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