Our story
This is the story of Stefano and Michele, two great food lovers who became close friends then business partners in this great profession of feeding people.
Growing up, cooking was a big part of Stefano Faita’s family life. It wasn’t an obligation or a hobby but rather a way of life. Everyone in his family cooked! Stefano had his first cooking experiences as a young boy alongside his mother and grandmothers. His first job was assisting his mother at her Mezza Luna cooking school. The two of them could also be found demonstrating how to can tomatoes during harvest season at Montreal’s Jean Talon Market. It’s certainly there that the idea of someday selling his homemade sauces based on his mom’s recipes started.
Today, at the heart of his day-to-day life and with his own family and friends, cooking is celebrated in the most traditional way: eating together.
After having had several successful TV shows and written a few books, Stefano was dreaming of opening his own restaurant but knew he couldn’t do it alone.
Stefano and Michele met in 2011 when Michele was the chef at Osteria Venti in Old Montréal. Michele Forgione was often praised for his great talent and knowledge of Italian cuisine. And for good reason! Stefano went for dinner at Michele’s restaurant one night and was blown away by his talent in the kitchen. Michele is a walking encyclopaedia of regional Italian cuisine. He is as passionate about the act of preparing a dish as he is about cooking with wholesome ingredients that preserve traditions.
Having so many things in common, Stefano and Michele became fast friends and in 2013, partnered up in their first common venture, opening Little Italy’s Impasto restaurant, then pizzeria Gema, Chez Tousignant and pizzeria Vesta.
The adventure of producing a line of Italian products started with the desire to offer a real Italian tomato sauce in grocery stores. Authentic, simple and good. Stefano and Michele wanted to create sauces like the ones made by their mothers, the ones they grew up eating. Our sauces are made with real ingredients without any preservatives or added sugar. They’re prepared in Quebec with Italian tomatoes from the Striano region, near Naples, Italy. We started with 4 basic flavours, the ones that we personally use the most in our kitchens.
Those quickly won the hearts of Canadians and launched this great adventure! Since then, we’ve created other sauces and products, including pasta, frozen pizzas, Italian sausages & meatballs, olive oils, vinegars and much more. All of our products share the same attention to detail with simple and real ingredients.
Check out the sauce that started it all!
