L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2015 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano S pread the love, share the wealth and eat well while doing it. These concepts drive the successful business model adapted by Ilyse Rathet and Ron Post, co-founders of Ritrovo Italian Regional Foods in Seattle. The couple has spent years carefully cultivating top-quality, regionally inspired, authentic Italian food items, from olive oil to pine nuts, fig jam to a truffle- salt blend. The foods they sell are produced in small batches, according to the season, and use local, even heirloom, ingredi- ents. They know their growers and their products, and each tells a distinctive story. Even the company name was c a r e f u l l y s e l e c t e d : R i t r o v o means a reunion or a "re-gather- ing" of friends as well as the act of refinding something that has been lost. As with many small busi- nesses, Ritrovo germinated from the tiny seed of an idea. In 1993, after receiving graduate degrees f r o m t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Washington to teach English as a f o r e i g n l a n g u a g e , t h e d u o moved to Italy where Rathet had received a Fulbright scholarship to train Italian teachers in didac- t i c s . B u t w i t h i n s i x m o n t h s , funding was cut and she had to scramble to find other teaching assignments. At night, the cou- ple started taking classes with Slow Food, learning more about indigenous ingredients, regional traditions and the value of diver- sity. "It was a juggling act but we managed to stay in Rome for five more years," said Rathet. "Our interactions with Slow Food grew. We took more class- es, we went on trips. Each fall, we went to different festivals, or sagre, where we learned about polenta or chestnuts." Year by year, the couple's gastronomic education intensi- fied. Soon, they added wine to the mix, completing the one- and-one-half year sommelier p r o g r a m o f f e r e d b y t h e A s s o c i a z i o n e I t a l i a n a Sommelier. "In the States, when y o u r e a c h a c e r t a i n l e v e l o f s o p h i s t i c a t i o n w i t h f o o d o r wine, there is an element of elit- ism, of snobbery," said Rathet. "Not so in Italy. Even at the highest levels, we were always warmly welcomed. These expe- riences gave us courage. We s t a r t e d t o t h i n k : M a y b e w e could start our own wine and food export business." After some soul-searching, t h e c o u p l e r e t u r n e d t o t h e Pacific Northwest in 1999. "We did not want to leave Italy," said Rathet. "We truly loved it there, but the reality is that the U.S. is a great place to start a business. We did not have family connec- tions in Italy and it would have been very difficult for us to get established there." In its infancy, Ritrovo was housed in the couple's Seattle a p a r t m e n t . " I n t h o s e d a y s , e v e r y t h i n g w a s s h i p p e d b y i n t e r n a t i o n a l f r e i g h t , " s a i d Rathet. "We'd have these big trucks off-loading product in the street. We converted an extra bedroom and a family room into storage and we worked from there." The couple's big break came in 2001 when Epicure Market in M i a m i B e a c h s u b m i t t e d Ritrovo's zolfino white bean appetizer to the Specialty Food Association where it won first prize in its category. The result- ing publicity put the company on the map. Since that time, Ritrovo has received 22 finalist or winner awards from the trade a s s o c i a t i o n . I n J u n e 2 0 1 5 , a R i t r o v o p r o d u c t o n c e a g a i n brought home gold―this time for Ritrovo Selections organic apple balsamic vinegar. Ritrovo celebrates biodiversi- ty in all its regional foods, work- ing with growers and producers from Alto Adige to Puglia. The company sells more than 300 specialty products through a net- work of 800 retailers and distrib- utors, such as Williams Sonoma. About 60 percent are under the private label, Ritrovo Selections, and many are certified organic. O n e o f t h e i r p r o d u c e r s i s Radici, located in the Tuscan hamlet of Loro Ciuffenna and owned by Sandra Masi and her h u s b a n d V i v i a n o V e n t u r i . "Sandra and Viviano come from humble roots in Tuscany," said Rathet. "They have four kids. Viviano grew up in a very poor village where the mainstay crop was chestnuts. Today, he wild- gathers elderberries for us in the Pratomagno Hills to make the most amazing jam. It's so great, it' a limited offering. Over the years, even though their busi- n e s s h a s g r o w n , t h e y h a v e stayed true to who they are." P a o l o P e s c i a i s a n o t h e r Ritrovo supplier, a passionate second-generation honey maker who practices nomadic beekeep- ing. Pescia transports his bee- hives to seasonally flowering zones and national parks in the Tuscan coastal hills. All of his honey production is done by hand, even scraping the honey- combs. His company, Apicoltura Dr. Pescia, uses acacia, wild heather, cardoon flower, sun- flower, blackberry and chestnuts to create a lush, richly flavored product. Ritrovo also promotes part- nerships between producers and regions. "If you know anything a b o u t I t a l i a n s , " s a i d R a t h e t , "you know that is not an easy thing to do! Recently, we found an awesome baker in Matera and an Abruzzo company that makes an amazing herb blend. We got the two of them together and soon we will be offering fla- vored breadcrumbs to our cus- tomers." Ritrovo also supports busi- nesses and events in its own b a c k y a r d . T h e c o m p a n y h a s partnered with several Pacific Northwest companies to develop new products, and they are long- time supporters of local cultural entities, such as Seattle's popu- lar Cinema Italian Style film fes- tival, now in its 7th year, and the S e a t t l e - P e r u g i a S i s t e r C i t y Association. For more information, visit www.ritrovo.com or call 1-866- RITROVO (748-7686). RITA CIPALLA Ritrovo preser ves culinary traditions and authentic flavors of Italy Hands-on quality control is what makes Ritrovo products successful. Owner Ilyse Rathet tests a Tavolozze cracker with the help of Figuli's Filippo Albertini (center) and distributor Marco Damiani. Photo credit: Ritrovo Nicolo Verini, right, from VR Aceti, the Italian company that developed the award-winning organic apple bal- samic vinegar, joins the Ritrovo booth at a New York City food expo this summer. Photo credit: Ritrovo Sandra Masi and husband Viviano Venturi of Radici (left) taste wild mushrooms at Villa Ambra Hotel in Orbetello, Tuscany with Ritrovo co-owner Ron Post (far right). Photo credit: Ritrovo

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