Taste Florence 2024: The Antonio Mattei Biscuit Factory Collaborating with UNICI

TASTE! Already in its 17th edition, It’s the gastronomic fair held annually in Florence, dedicated not only to food but much more. It’s intriguing for enthusiasts but above for the professionals in the food sector. This year's fair was organized by Pitti Immagine and featured an incredible 640 companies!

From savoury to sweet, wine, spirits, and accessories, a carousel revolving around food.
Keywords: Made in Italy and quality.

On this carousel, us from the Mattei Biscuit Factory were also present with our products: Prato Biscuits with Almonds, naturally taking the spotlight (known as cantuccini for the uninitiated), but also all our other different varieties and slices of toasted brioche bread were on show too. We also set aside a special place for our tin boxes, and... to attract a bit of attention, prominently displayed on the counter, we created a sort of explosion of biscuits spilling out of a Clara biscuit tin.

The Friday before the opening is always dedicated to setting up the STAND; this year I had two exceptional helpers: Filippo (son of my sister Marcella) and Pablo (son of my brother Francesco), both are the eldest grandsons, the fifth generation of our family.

As always our friends from the UNICI group were next to us and in the stands in front of us: Borgo del Balsamico, La Nicchia, La Via del Tè, Pasta Mancini, Savini Tartufi, Ursini. 7 Italian producer friends who share the same values as the Mattei Biscuit Factory and have the same passion for artisanal food and beverages.

It was March 2006 when the first edition of TASTE took place, an idea by Davide Paolini, a unique event dedicated to the cultural and biological diversity of Italian foods, which was organized by Stazione Leopolda Srl, later curated by Pitti Immagine in subsequent editions. This year marks the 17th edition hosted at Fortezza da Basso, it was enriched with new exhibition spaces and dialogue among the various organisations involved in this increasingly important sector: exhibitors, journalists, restaurateurs, buyers, food and drink enthusiasts, or simply just curious individuals...

But what has changed?... from our perspective?

Elisabetta Pandolfini (my sister) tells us:

"TASTE has changed a lot over the years; the first editions were very simple and all to be discovered. We started with just over 100 exhibitors, and now there are over 650 of us. From the beginning, it was clear that it would become the fair it is now. Certainly, the spaces of Stazione Leopolda (which hosted the first editions) were unique and more romantic, but when TASTE became as big as it has, it was necessary to also think about a suitable space that could accommodate so many highly selected producers and professionals from all over the world! This year's edition was beautiful, perhaps the best ever. Thanks to Pitti Immagine for working so professionally all these years and for setting up a fair that we can define as the absolute best in the world for Food! Well done!!!"Ma cosa è cambiato? ...dal nostro punto di vista?

And Angela Giancaterino, who handles sales at the Mattei company, adds:

"We have participated in TASTE since the first edition in March 2006. The only change has been the location: from a salon-like atmosphere in the evocative Stazione Leopolda to a more structured space like Fortezza da Basso to become an internationally renowned event. The event dedicated to Italian food and wine excellences has improved year after year also thanks to the direct collaboration with the Pitti Immagine team with the exhibiting producers and involving the whole city with the Fuori di Taste events. Much appreciated is the fact that the level of producers is aligned in terms of quality and that all stands are of the same format. The funny note is that many visitors don't know the exact pronunciation of the fair's name: they call it Tastè, pronounce it like an Italian word exactly as it is read, or Test."

Let us tell you: It's written TASTE, pronounced "teist," it's an English word that in Italian has a lot of meanings: taste, flavour, but also a sample... perhaps that's why Davide Paolini chose it... Italian food cannot have just one meaning! Do you agree? We look forward to seeing you at the next edition.

Letizia Pandolfini