Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Carlo Raciti. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Carlo thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
On a weekend trip to Miami, I met the love of my life, Rebecca, made the choice to propose and move to Miami to start a family. When we welcomed our first son Mario Carlo, we decided to take off a year and move to my family’s house in Sicily to raise our son. I really wanted him to experience firsthand Italian customs and life. This was the perfect time for me to focus on my craft and my family.
While in Sicily, I went back to my cooking roots and completed a certification in Pastry Chef at Chef Academy at Terni, Italy. I trained with Pastry Chef Stefano Fittuccia at his bakery Pasticceria Fittuccia, Master Pastry Chef Guiseppe Giangreco at Pasticceria Quaranta in Catania, Italy, and went on to train with other various bakers like Giovanni Gandino, Master Pastry Chef Roberto Lestani and Carmelo Recupero.
One night, over a bottle of pinot noir, Rebecca and I dreamed up a bakery called Almotti, a combination of “almond” and “biscotti.” We knew we wanted to sell classic Italian cookies in the states so we quickly returned to Miami determined to share our family’s Sicilian baked goods with the local community. I continued training in gluten free baked goods to bring a unique twist to the Sicilian bakery and to provide the Celiac and gluten intolerant community with Sicilian handcrafted treats. Our daughter Lucia also has dietary issues so we really wanted to create something that was for everyone regardless of dietary restrictions.
Almotti was established in 2015 and is now run from a 100% gluten free dedicated facility in Miami, FL.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I grew up in Viagrande, a Sicilian village not far from the smoking peak of Mount Etna. As a child I would read recipes from loose pages of an old family cookbook, dreaming about becoming a pastry chef. I spent most of my time at the family bakery, Panificio Raciti in Acireale, Sicily learning from my uncle Zio Tanino Raciti and cousin Marcelo Raciti.
My parents really pushed me to make another career choice, so I graduated with a Diploma in Hospitality and Tourism from the Instituto Alberghiero in Sicily. After working 10 years in the field, I knew it was time for me to follow my heart and ultimately left to become a pastry chef.
We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.
I’m lucky enough to be married to my beautiful business partner and the VP of operations for Almotti. Rebecca’s dedication, drive, and attention to detail have really taken our business to the next level. Her honesty and love for our company and family is what makes her the perfect person to have alongside me. I’m so glad I met her that weekend in Miami and took the leap and proposed. Best decision I’ve ever made.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Almotti started off in the farmers market circuit. We took the time to really perfect our gluten free craft, share it with the community for feedback, and tweak as we went. From there Almotti cookies quickly sold out and became extremely in demand. Since then, we’ve expanded to local food stores like Milam’s Markets and now have an e-commerce shop setup for nation-wide shipping. www.almotti.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://almotti.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/almottidelicacies/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/almotti
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/almotti-miami
Image Credits
Almotti Gluten Free Italian Delicacies