About us
Gustosecco goes back to 2005 when I was broke in Dorset with a bare storecupboard.Times were tight for me and not only that but there’s been a tradition in this house dating back to times of war that storecupboards have to be well stocked.
One thing I did find there was a pack of Italian ‘risotto pronto’ – a gift from a foodie house-guest. I ate it, enjoyed it and (it could have been that I ate too much at one go) a light went on in my brain.
A few phonecalls later I’d managed to cadge the loan of a drying machine from a friend, read the book that went with it and (it was March) I headed out into our very beautiful local countryside to collect wild garlic leaves to bring back, blanch, drain, refresh, roll into balls (the Italian way) then slice and set onto the drying trays. While that was going on I went into Bridport and, following the risotto pronto recipe managed to piece together the ingredients for my own wild garlic version. It was good. The storecupboard was soon stocked with wild garlic risotto pronto and then its cousin nettle risotto pronto. Friends liked it, I got into the way of doing it, there was more than I could eat and so I took a stand at Bridport Market and began to sell it under the name of Gustosecco – roughly translating as tasty and dry – in deference to its Italian heritage.
As I stood at my stall that Spring I began thinking about my pre-Dorset existence and all the fantastic times I’d spent travelling around the Mediterranean and all the meals I’d eaten. Checking through all my old guide books I found the notes I’d made about those meals from Bologna to Beirut via Bursa and was soon able to translate them into yet more Gustosecco products: more risottos, couscouses, bulghur wheat pilaffs and then, thinking back to when I was a kid here at Sherwood Cottage, the rice puddings-in-a-bag.
Each week began with a visit to the fruit and veg market or a trip out to see local growers. The kitchen steamed with vats of water for blanching and resounded to the sounds of chopping and (now two) driers whirring away. Local shops started to be interested in Gustosecco so I borrowed the money for a van and each week after days of packing set out around Dorset, Somerset and Hampshire delivering with Marmite the dog to keep me company.
Now Gustosecco is made by a lovely team of people in Cullompton, Devon and I spend more time trying out new ingredients and recipes for our range than I do on the road. Gustosecco began with the ingredients and that’ll always be the most important thing to us: their flavour and their quality. I’d like to tell you a little more about how we enjoy my products here at home. I’m not a trained chef but I do enjoy cooking and I expect you do, too – so I hope you’ll like my ‘serving suggestions’. You can always tell me what you think – or share serving suggestions of your own with other site visitors by emailing them on to me. Please also feel free to send your recipes or observations on food from your own Mediterranean travels. I expect we’ll have plenty in common and I look forward to hearing from you.Follow our blog: www.gustosecco.blogspot.com