London Inc. December-January 2024 - 12

Upfront Food processing
A RETURN TO BASICS
No need to smuggle back noodles from your next Roman holiday. An artisanal pasta
startup offers a new take on traditional dried pasta
BACK AT THE beginning of 2023, pasta made a bit of a
splash in London when Italian pasta giant Andriani SpA
announced it had purchased a parcel of land in Innovation
Park and would open its first North American production
facility here in 2024.
But as substantial as that announcement was, it wasn't the
only pasta maker stirring things up in town.
During the pandemic, when people were locked down in
their homes, many were doing two things: thinking about the
future, and cooking with the family. And for some, this combination
was the push into entrepreneurship they needed.
At least, that's roughly how it worked out for Alex Dreja,
who founded Peretti Pasta (www.perettipasta.ca) in the
spring of 2022. When the pandemic hit in 2020, he was
working for a bank, but suddenly found himself at
home, spending a lot more time cooking with his
wife and kids. Gradually, his thoughts turned to
sp ng
hom
2022. When the pa
the future.
working f
" The t
at
in
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if and ki
future
. Grad
ll , h
" The thought was in the back of my mind -
endin a l t more t me c
my mind -
what am I going to do for the next 25 years? Am
I going to keep my job and the stability it offers or
try to do something a little bit different and take
on some new challenges? That's where we landed, "
he says.
do for t e ne
my job a
try t do s
on ome new ch llen es? T
he says.
Peretti Pasta founder Alex Dreja
yea s? A
y it offer
fferent a
where we lande , "
ic hit in 2020, he wa
ly f und hims lf at
ing wi
is
" We decided that if we were going to start a business,
then we were going to launch into it and go full-board, " he
adds. " So, I quit my job at the bank and started making pasta
full-time. "
The first iteration of Peretti Pasta was a frozen ravioli,
filled with meats and a variety of sauces. But Dreja says he
struggled to produce the exact desired results, so he made the
switch to dried pasta. " We realized it was a fantastic product.
People were really enjoying it, " he says. " And it didn't have
any of the logistical issues that were involved in the frozen
ravioli, so we pivoted and started focusing directly on the
dried pasta. "
What makes Peretti Pasta different? Dreja says it's about
sticking to a few fundamentals and doing things in " the
ancient way that people used to do it, years and
years ago. "
p o
ncient w y t at peo e u
yea s a
to o i , yea
ht i
re
rom I
ur, s
wh
ys t stes
es
li
er a d p
who find tha
gh
qu
or eopl
at
Step one is to use the right ingredients.
ng
Peretti uses a durum semolina flour, stonemilled
and imported from Italy, which he
says tastes better and produces a lighter
pasta that is easier to digest for people with
gluten intolerance or who find that pasta
can be bloating.
can b
Step two is to use the right equipment.
In Peretti's case, this means using
an extruder equipped with
bronze dies to produce
a variety of pasta
shapes and sizes
is means
an ex
bron
er equippe
ies t pr
y o
shapes
nd
with a distinct
rough texture.
rou h t
te
12|londonincmagazine.ca|DECEMBER / JANUARY 2024
http://www.perettipasta.ca
London Inc. December-January 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of London Inc. December-January 2024
