Interview from America with Sfoglina Simonetta
Itinerant puff pastry, that is, the woman capable of making puff pastry everywhere. This is how Simonetta Capotondo wanted to be called, a girl who has turned the ancient manual skills of our vergare into a successful profession, expertly combining tradition and entrepreneurial ability. And not only in her city, Ancona, and not only in the Marche, and not only in Italy, but in Europe and even in America. That's where we found her and interviewed her.
Where did this commitment in the USA come from? “I had already worked with Antonio Trabocchi's restaurants. Then came the proposal to collaborate for a year. The decision to accept was not exactly easy, even if only for a year it was an important step with all that comes with it…. the distance from my loved ones, the daily difficulties of finding myself alone in a big city... the language... and a thousand doubts... Then everything fell into place thanks also to my new American friends I met in Italy before leaving".
Is it true that the restaurants have the name Sfoglina? “Yes, now I work in Fabio Trabocchi's Sfoglina restaurants in Washington DC and I carry out my promotional activity for various media, magazines, newspapers, television channels. The restaurants bear this name precisely because the chef wanted to give a very specific identity to these places: fresh handmade pasta with authentic recipes and ingredients. And good Italian taste is not only in the dish but also in the environment and furnishings. Fabio Trabocchi is famous in America for his successful restaurants, one of which is starred. There are seven in Washington DC, one in Miami and another newly opened in Venice, Italy.”
I see you like this job in America. In addition to satisfaction, does it offer you stimulation? “Working alongside great professionals is very stimulating, I am always constantly looking for traditional, alternative, creative recipes and I must say that I have found fertile ground to express myself. What I have encountered here in America is certainly the great enthusiasm and interest in my profession and the opportunity to grow professionally.”
What is special about Sfoglina Simonetta's lessons? "Mine is a precise teaching method that allows anyone to learn techniques and secrets for rolling out the dough. Making pasta by hand is an artisanal job that engages body and mind, relaxes and involves all the senses. It is a stimulus for our brain to produce endorphins and seratonin, the good mood substances. But the secret ingredient for a good lesson always remains knowing how to convey and empathize with people ".
How did you approach this profession? "My scholastic preparation gave me fundamental foundations: I graduated as a Catering Services Technician from the Hotel Institute. Then I decided I wanted to bring this manual art to life by transforming it into a professionally structured activity. The impulse came from the memories of the grandmother, of the smell of the dough, of the skillful movements she made with the rolling pin to roll it out, of the noise of the "knife" cutting quickly, and then of that gesture that enchanted every time when from his hands unrolled the tagliatelle. Today, with the advent of new technologies and mass consumption, knowing how to do things by hand is an increasingly rare and niche skill, often dictated more by passion than necessity.. "
What are the most requested techniques? "The basis is the rolling of the pastry, for tagliatelle and for ravioli and tortellini of various kinds, but I also give lessons on short pasta, gnocchi and on the many varieties of formats that our regions present in large numbers. I also teach the method for rolling out the pastry with flowers and herbs.”
Who asks to be initiated into these practices? "The audience of students is the most varied: not only housewives, but also women and men of different backgrounds who want to recover fresh pasta techniques and want to try their hand at the practice, people of all ages and even young people. An important part of my work consists of the lessons attended by professional chefs in whom I teach all regional pasta shapes."
What's in your future? “I will return to Italy with a baggage full of enthusiasm, desire to do and above all with new ideas and new goals…then we'll see where the pastry takes us”
In the meantime, anyone who wants can contact her here: www.sfoglinasimonetta.it – @sfoglinasimonetta
Carla Virili
