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GOURMET NEWS SEPTEMBER 2015 www.gourmetnews.com BUYERS GUIDE 1 6 Organic Single Source Pasta from Italy searching for the best organic grains and then combine that grain with pure spring water from springs in the Italian Alps around their pastificio production facil- ity. The pasta keeps its great taste and tex- ture regardless of the degree of al dente to which it's cooked. Even in Italy, there's no consensus about that proper degree of firmness for the cooked pasta, says Fe- licetti. "It cooks to your preference," he says. "The most important thing is that you cook it the way you like it." Putting food into the body is an ex- tremely intimate act, and Felicetti hopes that the consumers who ultimately pur- chase, prepare and eat his product will choose it because they understand and appreciate that the pasta was made in a modern production facility with 21st century sanitation practices using a safe process that enhances the grain's natural flavors. "I trust that always more people will be interested in knowing what they are eating," he says. "We will continue to offer high-quality product to interested American customers because we believe they will understand the difference be- tween a high-quality pasta and another pasta." GN BY LORRIE BAUMANN One of Riccardo Felicetti's favorite meals is his Monograno Felicetti pasta with butter and anchovies. "It's very easy, very simple, but it's exactly the pasta meal I eat when I come back from my travels," he says. "This is exactly my comfort food." A single-source organic pasta from the biggest organic pasta producer in Italy, Monograno Felicetti was a sofi Finalist last year in two categories: once for Best Organic Product and once for Best Pasta, Rice or Grain. The buyers from Pastificio Felicetti travel Italy and the world Celiac Disease Diagnosis Spurs Innovation Food and Beverage Innovation (FABI) Award for its Organic Quinoa Pasta that provided a product that satisfied dietary need and kept pace with culinary trends while maintaining quality and taste. Edison Grainery carries lines of Organic Quinoa Pasta Spaghetti, Fusilli, Penne and Elbows that are all certified gluten-free, free of the Big-8 in known allergens and im- ported from Bolivia. Each product is a great source of protein and contains no corn, so the noodles hold up well in water and even gives consumers a little lee-way when it comes to preparation. Paired nicely with any pomodoro, red sauce or white sauce, any traditional dish – or non-traditional dish – can be prepared without sacrificing taste. "What's really great is that people can't tell them from traditional pastas," says Barnes. John De Puma, whose wife was diag- nosed with celiac's disease 12 years ago, saw a lack of flavorful gluten-free pastas and used his background as a chef to create his own. "There were a limited amount of pastas that were up to par compared to tra- ditional pastas, so I decided to solve that issue," says De Puma. His company, De Puma's, is celebrating its eighth anniversary this year. De Puma's Three Cheese Tortellini is classically made with ricotta, Parmesan and Romano cheese and cooks just like tradi- tional ravioli, needing only a scoop of water in a slow boil. De Puma's raviolis come in choices such as Wild Mushroom, Lobster and De Puma's personal favorite, Spinach and Ricotta. "We're a smaller company, so we can make different options that main lines don't try, like our Sun Dried Tomato and Goat Cheese Raviolis," says De Puma. GN BY RICHARD THOMPSON Lynsay Barnes of Edison Grainery says that the company's interest in gluten-free prod- ucts came out of necessity. Her mother, Amy, was diagnosed with celiac disease three years ago and after her father saw the high prices on specialty gluten-free prod- ucts, he decided to start creating gluten- free pastas that the whole family could enjoy and afford. "We were already supported the organic movement, but we needed to find foods that could be eaten by everyone," says Barnes. In 2013, Edison Grainery won the

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