Many of the exhibitors on the Artisan Producers' Row at Taste of Dublin this year are hoping for exposure to a wider or more influential audience, but Pastoria is using the event as a launchpad for its take-home pasta meal kits.
Alex Lowden and his partner started making home-made pasta in lockdown, developing recipes and experimenting with ingredients for nearly two years.
"It's just something we adored, cooking together," Lowden says. "A lot of people got into making sourdough [during lockdown], so instead of sourdough we went into pasta. And it's an art – it's just such an interesting one to get into.
"I think a lot of people see pasta as something you can typically buy off the shelves, but there's such history behind it, every single dish, and that's what we were really, really inspired to learn about."
Lowden left accountancy to work in a London "nose-to-tail, Italian-inspired" restaurant, where he learnt the ins and outs of making pasta before he and his partner travelled Italy, learning from local chefs, producers and suppliers, and at one point truffle hunting in Tuscany.
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"They all get passed down from their nonnas through the ages," he said of the techniques and recipes of the Italian chefs they studied under.
"We've recently just landed back in Dublin, bringing with us a taste of our Italian adventure," Lowden added. "We are absolutely delighted to be launching at Taste of Dublin where we will be selling our take-home pasta kits, which are essentially restaurant-quality pasta at home.
"What we specialise in is hand-making our pasta and sauces, which we make ourselves here in Dublin, and then after Taste of Dublin, you can find us atat Herbert Park market every Sunday, where we will be selling our hot food, alongside our take-home pasta kits, featuring a handy cooking guide for people to follow our recipes."
"We were really interested in the fact that you can get really good, fresh quality pasta ... and we thought let's start making it for ourselves and offer that to the Dublin market," Lowden said.
Lowden and his partner are now in the process of getting their company set up and finalising their launch dishes ahead of Taste, with Lowden describing it as an "incredibly exciting time" for them, and he talks a big game with regards to sustainability too.
"One of the ethoses that we're keen to strive towards in our business is the farm-to-fork methodology: screening our suppliers, making sure they come from sustainable environments; supporting the local economy, and using Irish produce as much as we can.
"So we're spending a lot of time at the moment reaching out to various suppliers, to ensure that we source the best quality produce to bring you a taste of Italy, at home here in Dublin.”
The kits will come in bespoke mailer boxes filled with fresh pasta, sauce and a cheese portion, along with the cooking guide, all of which the couple make at home each morning.
Pastoria will be at Taste 2022 June 16 - 19, located at the Artisan Producers Row in front of the band stage. Tickets for the Iveagh Garden event can be found HERE.
