WHO
WE ARE
Our company President, Marco Rossi, was born in Florence Italy, to a family of amateur food critics. He laughs as he recalls moments , when the family would sit down to eat. "The food was always amazing, but someone always had to comment on how the crostini of chicken pate’ could have used a little bit more anchovies and capers, or the wine used to make bolognese sauce was not Chianti. With Tuscan grandparents from his fathers side, and Emilia Romagna grandparents from his mother’s side Marco has two great culinary cultures in his blood.
Every Italian nonna (grandma), is always the best cook in the world, he tells us, but nonna Maria Rossi , really was. Her recipes are not found in cooking books. Collo di pollo ripieno with vitello, polpette di sedano al sugo, and pomarola (tomato sauce), made with costoluto tuscan tomatoes and fresh vegetables and herbs.
When still very young, Marco with his family opened a fruit and vegetable stand in Florence, which also supplied some local Restaurants. The produce market, where they would purchase wholesale fruits and vegetables, would open at 6:00 am, but by then Marco had already purchased the choicest produce available, by contracting with local farmers and distributors ahead of time.
His clients were very demanding. "I was always asked to provide better quality, he says. The zucchini had to have the flower, and it had to be open. That meant that the zucchini were just picked that morning, after sunrise.
After moving to the US, he opened a pasta factory in Holladay, Utah. When Costco took notice, of the high quality of his fresh ravioli, tortelloni and sauces, they asked him to supply the Seattle region. He later sold his company to Monterey Gourmet, and continued in manufacturing ventures, that brought him much satisfaction and gratification.
Marco has had the honor to continue working with Costco, and has created recipes that are selling throughout North America. Costco’s pesto and tortellini sold under the Kirkland brand are two examples of his accomplishments. His latest enterprise, has been with Urban Farmer, where he developed gluten free recipes, that are selling nationwide, in thousands of Supermarkets, clubs and Restaurants.