Last month our founder Giovanni was invited as both speaker and guest at the 2022 UK Grain Lab Conference in Nottingham.
UK Grain Lab is an annual meeting of farmers, millers, plant breeders, bakers, cooks, scientists, academics and (since we were there) pasta makers too providing an opportunity to bake together, eat, drink, learn from each other and talk about the future.
It really felt very special to share stories, skills and strategies as well as meals and music with a lot of other people working with non-commodity grain. There were around 250 attendees this year, surprisingly quite a few Italians, including the Slow Food Community of ‘Grano Alto’, one of the first in the world, set in the Upper Apennine Mountains between Bologna and Florence.
Giovanni was asked to talk about about our journey into artisan dry pasta making, working with British grains and stoneground flour and what are our projects for the future. Preparing for the talk was a great opportunity to reflect on Pastificio Carleschi’s journey so far, to remember the very first days and all the challenges faced until now. Most importantly it reminded us of all the great achievements and rewards we had received so far. The room was full, there was definitely a great energy in the air and lots of interest in our pasta. It felt great to receive an applause at the end of the presentation. It felt fantastic to get recognition and praise, there is nothing more motivating when our vision and values are shared. This is what drives us forward.
Participating at the Grain Lab as a guest was also enriching, not just because the workshops were very interesting and practical but especially because after 2 years of COVID restrictions we finally had a chance to connect personally with like-minded amazing people.
This is what Giovanni had to say when asked about his highlight at the UK Grain Lab 2022 - “It’s difficult to pinpoint a particular event and call it the highlight of the weekend as I truly enjoyed the entire experience, from giving the talk to listening to incredible speakers, from making sausage rolls to partying until late! When my car was already loaded and I was just leaving, I met Vanessa Kimbell at the doorstep and I started chatting to her, I had never met her before and honestly I hardly ever met someone with as much charisma, talent and knowledge as Vanessa. We talked for almost an hour when we should have already been on the road, we ended up exchanging gifts and I walked away with a bag of her ‘Botanical no5’ flour blend with the idea to turn that into a dry botanical pasta. A thought I’ve been coming back to often ever since and that I know will soon make it into a new floral shape and a limited edition pasta. Watch this space.
I believe creating new products, forging new relationships and setting new paradigms for non-commodity grain are the objectives of the UK Grain Lab and I’m honoured I had a chance to be a part of it.”
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use 'UKGRAINLAB20' at the checkout - buon appetito!